UKC

Hi folks
There have been quite a few comments and questions of late about the current access situation at the infamous Craig Y Forwyn. Very briefly (as it's a complex situation), here's the latest access info....

Firstly, despite climbers for many years recognising and naming the crag as Craig y Forwyn - this is incorrect, as the correct name is actually Craig Isallt or Craig y Marian depending on which side of the cliff is being referred to. The real Craig y Forwyn is much higher up the hillside and is known to climbers as Craig Bryn Dulas... damn confusing when trying to negotiate with land owners and conservation bodies!
There are four different land-owners and all of the crag is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), for its geology, flora and for bats. This means removal of any vegetation or disturbance of any of the features of the SSSI without legal consent is a criminal act.

Access to the left hand side - full agreement with the land owner and with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) for both climbing and to remove invasive cotoneaster, red valerian and ivy from the cliff face. Access only from the car parking area in the field above the crag or park at the green at Trawsgoed Road and walk down the track - it's all as described in the North Wales Limestone Guide and on the BMC RAD. No access from below the crag, no dogs, no litter, keep noise to a minimum, don't block the gate, go to the toilet before coming here!

Access to the Central Area - area between the fences, includes Mojo/Great Wall etc. up to Purple Haze.
Owned by the new owners of Plas Newydd Caravan Park. Previous owners aggressively objected to access or climbing here, including taking legal action against some climbers. No agreement yet for climbing or vegetation removal. BMC are in negotiation with the new owners and NRW and I'm very hopeful of a quite exciting agreement here But....please stay away from this area for now. Negotiations are ongoing and may take some time. A single altercation, a complaint from the residents of the caravan park, a climbing accident or similar at this crucial time and the new owners are likely to withdraw from negotiations.

Access to the right hand side - From Purple Haze to the end of the main crag.
Another new owner. Verbal agreement to climb here but as yet no formal agreement from NRW to remove any vegetation. Having said that, removing invasive cotoneaster and red valarian is seen as a good thing as they are invasive plants they are having a detrimental affect on the protected flora and it's unlikely that action would be taken against anyone removing these plants. Access details are the same as for the left hand side - again no access from below, no dogs, no litter, no loud noise/swearing etc that could affect neighbours or residents. (noise really does carry here - due to the amphitheatre effect of the topography, literally whispered conversations can be heard from the caravan park and the residents don't take kindly to hearing "take in the F***ing rope" or similar!).

Two Tier buttress - highly vegetated and currently not really climbable. Will need lower-offs installed to protect rare/protected plants before climbing can re-start here.

Finally - much of the crag has some seriously loose rock and the gear placements in blocks and cracks are highly dubious, probably due to the lack of traffic and the encroaching vegetation. There have been some near misses.....you have been warned!

Updates on access will be posted on the BMC RAD https://www.thebmc.co.uk/modules/RAD/View.aspx?id=798


Elfyn Jones
BMC Access & Conservation Officer (Wales)

In reply to Elfyn Jones:

Thanks Elfyn for your continued efforts, and fingers crossed for a favourable outcome

In reply to Elfyn Jones:

I would suggest that the BMC RAD includes decent pictures of the plants that can be removed; i.e. cotoneaster, red valerian and ivy (although I'm assuming most know what ivy looks like). If it doesn't look exactly like these - then leave it for someone who knows better.

In reply to Michael Hood:

I would have thought this information would be too specialist for 99% of the people who climb there.

For the 1% of activists involved with cleaning a simple search would do. For instance: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+does+cotoneaster+look+like%3F

I think there may even be 3G at the crag too

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:
Activists I'm assuming would be responsible enough to find out what they're doing. But what about Jo Bloggs who hears that CyF is open again and decides to give it a visit. Starts up a corner and half-way up finds a damn great bush (hidden from below) in the way. It being an SSSI, is it an offence to pull it out or not?

In reply to Michael Hood:

In all honesty I can't see Joe Bloggs ever visiting Crag y Forwyn, it's simply not that popular a crag.

In addition to this I doubt having pictures on the RAD is going to stop the uninformed masses from cleaning plant species, as the individuals in question are even less likely to have heard of the RAD than they are the plants in question!

Still, all rather hypothetical as I strongly doubt that these people - whoever they are - are likely to even visit the crag, let alone start cleaning routes. If they do go to Craig y Forwyn at all they'll almost undoubtedly be there for the (clean) classics.

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:


Isn't that because it's been banned for 25 years? Isn't it the best middle-grade trad crag along the A55 coast?

In reply to Coel Hellier:

Havent climbed there since uni in 1984, but i rember it being the loveliest limestone crag ive ever visited

In reply to Michael Hood:

Realistically, anyone climbing in the area should know what ivy and cotoneaster look like (they're very common), so could trim the bush if necessary. (Although there is the possibility that there could be native non-invasive cotoneaster present). Valerian is unlikely to make a big difference to climbing.

Part of the problem is that some of the most likely "problem" vegetation here is bramble, rose and gorse, all of which are found on the routes and, though very common, removal of these is not officially permitted.

Essentially, if you don't know what it is, climb around it.

And until Elfyn says otherwise stick to the left hand sector!

In reply to Elfyn Jones:

Very excited by this potential agreement for the RH side and Main Wall. Looks great.