UKC

Portland Bouldering

© Ben Stokes

Despite being popular for sport climbing and deep-water-soloing, bouldering in Portland has never had many followers other than the usual bunch of committed locals. The development of bouldering venues lagged behind sport climbing and deep-water-soloing, but thanks to an intense period of developing and documenting Portland is now ringed by venues that offer a diverse selection of settings and problems. This article takes you on an anticlockwise tour of the island.

What's on offer?

The rock is limestone (dont judge just yet) and varies from smooth and fine-grained, to rough and wave-splashed. Some of the beach venues will rough up your hands like any good granite boulder. There are highballs and lowballs, slabs and roofs, boulders and outcrops, technical and powerful surely something for everybody. Falling just short of the cutting edge, the difficulty currently extends to f8A+ / f8B.

West Weares

The tour starts at Chiswell, which as this is where the island joins the mainland, is a good enough place to start as any. West Weares is a 10 minute walk from Chiswell and is the most amenable of the west coast beaches. The problems are generally lowball and powerful. Short, but sweet, Hallelujah Arete is probably the stand-out problem. Above the beach is the Green Hump with another good handful of problems. West Weares is a perfect venue for a relaxed summer evening and not just because the Cove House Inn is passed on the walk out.

Hallelujah Arete f6A+, West Weares  © Ben Stokes
Hallelujah Arete f6A+, West Weares
© Ben Stokes, Oct 2015

Blacknor Beach

Beach-level bouldering can be a wonderful experience. However your first visit to Blacknor Beach will probably scare you witless. The lines are big and bold and the landings off-putting. The problems however are full of character and if youve got the mats, the spotters and the minerals you can have a very memorable experience. Blacknor Beach is still being developed and an update will be available in the New Year.

Where Angels Dare to Tread f7A, Blacknor Beach  © Ben Stokes
Where Angels Dare to Tread f7A, Blacknor Beach
© Ben Stokes, Oct 2015

Battleship Beach

Battleship Beach is the jewel in the crown of the Portland beach venues with fine problems through the grades and relatively amenable landings. The Petit Peabody and Shipwreck Areas have the greatest concentration of quality lines. Autumn and early winter (before the ground gets slippery) are the best seasons to visit and, as with West Weares, summer evenings can be magical.

Power by Proxy f6B, Battleship Beach  © Ben Stokes
Power by Proxy f6B, Battleship Beach
© Ben Stokes, Oct 2015

Portland Bill

Portland Bill has numerous little venues in close proximity to each other, the car and a cafe. White Hole has a handful of technical highballs. Pulpit Overhang is the ultimate summer evening venue with superb climbing and great rough rock - Date Night and Winkle Picker are the classic ticks.

Date Night f6C+, Portland Bill  © Ben Stokes
Date Night f6C+, Portland Bill
© Ben Stokes, Oct 2015

Roof junkies will get their fix at the Promontory Roof where a bewildering array of problems and link-ups weave through tiered overhangs right by (sometimes over) the waters edge. The Hidden Cove is a lovely spot with a main wall featuring some of the best problems in the area. The nearby Muggleys Plain is a great low-to-mid grade venue with over 50 problems lined up in succession. Butts Beach is another classy beach venue with the eye-catching Butts Beach Arete stealing the show.

photo
Butts Beach Arete f6A, Butts Beach, Portland Bill
© Ben Stokes, Oct 2015

Cheyne Cliff

If youre after technical and crimpy problems you cant beat the Neddyfields Bouldering Wall where there are well-established testpieces throughout the grades. Flowstone liberally adorns the vertical faces providing some very unusual holds and some very memorable problems. Cool conditions are a must if you are intent on pushing the grades.

photo
Totem Pole f4+, Neddyfields Bouldering Wall, Cheyne Weares
© Ben Stokes, Oct 2015

If you have climbed most of the problems at the Neddyfields you could consider the nearby Longstone Ope. The blank, quarried walls of the Tar Pit and the sea-level steepness of the Sea Gods area make a good and varied day out.

photo
Barn Door Arete f6A+, Longstone Ope
© Ben Stokes, Oct 2015

Southwell Landslips

The Southwell Landslips have matured in recent years and now offer a continuous collection of problems scattered along the path from the Cheyne Wears car park to Church Ope Cove. These include some excellent, mostly steep challenges in the f7A to f7C range at the Terrace Area, Hidden Quarry and Ope in Hell Area, with Ope in Hell, Sit-start the top trump at f7C.

The Terrace, Right-hand f7A, Southwell Landslips  © Ben Stokes
The Terrace, Right-hand f7A, Southwell Landslips
© Ben Stokes, Oct 2015

The Cuttings

The New Cuttings is the traditional forcing ground for Portland Bouldering with many stern testpieces that will leave your fingers screaming. Sheltered, with flat landings and a short walk-in, problems such as Phat Slapper, Stompin with Bez, Guy Fawkes and My Chemical Romance are worth investing time and skin for.

Guy Fawkes f7C+, New Cuttings  © Ben Stokes
Guy Fawkes f7C+, New Cuttings
© Ben Stokes, Oct 2015

Fans of short and powerful lowballs should be able to find something to keep them occupied amongst the 500 problems in the Cuttings Boulderfield. The boulderfield was initially developed in 2000 to 2005, but the number of problems has doubled over the last 5 years.

Hard Labour f5+, Cuttings Boulderfield  © Ben Stokes
Hard Labour f5+, Cuttings Boulderfield
© Ben Stokes, Oct 2015

Relativity f7A, Cuttings Boulderfield  © Ben Stokes
Relativity f7A, Cuttings Boulderfield
© Ben Stokes, Oct 2015

Logistics

First things first, bouldering mats are essential, and often more than one. Many of the finer problems are found on the beaches, which unfortunately are not of the sandy variety. Realistically a couple of regular-sized mats and a tiddler for sit-starts will suffice. Some of the other problems require more, but hopefully you will be accompanied by some friends with their own mats.

When to Go

Portland is well known for its amenable climate, with some of the most meagrerainfall in the country, and if it does rain, it is highly unusual for a whole weekend to be washed-out. It is possible to boulder year-round though summer is hot and the best conditions are autumn and winter. Having said that, the west coast beaches can be very pleasant in the summer with the cooling presence of the sea and the chance of a quick swim.

Accommodation Advertise here

No Premier Listings found in this area

No wild camping is allowed on Portland. There are three campsites near Chickerell to the northwest of Portland and thereis the Portland Bunkhouse at Portland Bill.

Food and Supplies

Weymouth is packed with every shop you could need. There is a large ASDA on the roundabout as you approach Portland. On Portland there are a couple of mini-markets in Weston and two Co-ops - one in Fortuneswell and one in Easton. There is a large Tesco in Easton, just off of the square. There are a number of post offices, cash machines and other small shops on the Isle.

Outdoor Shops Advertise here

No Premier Listings found in this area

Climbing Walls Advertise here

No Premier Listings found in this area

Guidebook

Dorset Bouldering Cover
Dorset Bouldering

Dorset has emerged as a major bouldering area in recent years thanks to the hard work of a bunch of diligent locals who have combed the coastline seeking out every block, problem and traverse. In addition to the well known areas of the Cuttings, the Boulderfield and the Neddyfields, the book has extensive information on the West Coast of Portland, many more areas on the East Coast, plus Swanage and Lulworth. It describes over 1500 boulder problems on over 350 pages. More info




2 Nov, 2015
Excellent intro article on Portland Bouldering. My first trip was a total dud as info was sparse then and finding problems was a chore until the excellent Dorset Bouldering book was published (seriously a great guide to the area). The bouldering around the Portland Bill and the lighthouse is excellent mostly because of its breadth of difficulty. You can take newbies to Mugley's Plain and then crank on harder stuff near Pulpit Rock while non-climbing peeps can take in the sun. Traffic is a bummer through Weymouth so I highly recommend the leave very early and leave very late approach. For rest days, nothing beats mackerel fishing off the Dorset cost (and think of all the anti-inflammatory properties of oily fish!).
2 Nov, 2015
Thanks for the heads up! Will have to add this to the list of books to buy!
2 Nov, 2015
What a cool looking feature in photo 4! Wonder when it will become a stack (again?) ?
2 Nov, 2015
My grandad was a Portlander and knew the guy who cut steps on the slab to the top of the stack (Pulpit Rock). Amazing feature.
2 Nov, 2015
As a fan of bouldering in the Cuttings, I bought the Dorset Bouldering Guide, and I'm not disappointed. I Ventured out on to West Weares, and had a fantastic time, Hallelujah arete is indeed fantastic, as well as Uber Creep, well worth a visit. Looking forward to visiting the other areas and escaping the boulderfield.
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