UKC

I am very local to Shakemantle and have respected the nesting restrictions but with a little bit of resentment. The reason being that the entire quarry is under climbing restriction although the nest site is up on the main slab on the upper tier. The lower tier climbs are well over 100ft away from the nest. My main thoughts are based on other nesting restricted areas like Avon Gorge main area for example. For years there has been a nesting ban there on the Pink Wall yet climbing was allowed adjacent to, and level with that section, barely 50ft from the nest in some seasons. Shakemantle also has several footpaths below, above and alongside the nesting site. I will always respect restrictions, and the work of the BMC, but based on my experience of other venues with nesting bans I'm struggling to understand why climbing would be banned on the lower tier of Shakemantle. Don't even get me started on the local youth who insist on sitting on the top of the slab, just feet away from the nest, often throwing bottles and other rubbish down the face, even during nesting periods! Are there any specific guidelines regarding proximity of the public (including climbers) to nesting sites? 

The danger is that you'll scare the birds onto the far superior cliffs on the other side of the road! 

Good answer! They aren't sunny slabs though. Unless you wanna climb a green slide. Not really climbed Ruspige. You really think they're that good? 

Generally any disturbance of a nesting bird is a criminal offence, the BMC along with bodies like RSPB put restrictions up: 1 to protect the birds, but 2: also to protect climbers (there have been cases of climbers being prosecuted). Depending on the species will dictate the restriction, peregrines generally have a bigger restriction, but its normally down to how the birds react, often restrictions can be reduced when a pair becomes more used to climbers being nearby. If you dont think the restriction is suitable contact your local BMC access volunteer https://www.thebmc.co.uk/list-of-bmc-access-reps.

I thought it was a great venue when I lived down that way. If you are climbing VS-E1 then there are great routes at those grades. I'd really recommend:

VS

Back, Foot and Crack (VS 4c)

Burnt Mound (VS 5a)

HVS

The Lost Treasure Of The Kingdom of Mercia (HVS 5a) (soft HVS, probably as hard as the two above)

The Future (HVS 5a)

E1

The Quarry Effect (E1 5c)

I never got round to the below but friends who did enjoyed them a lot:

The Horned One (E1 5b)

Butch and Sundance (E1 5b)

It can be dirty and dusty but don't let that put you off (just pack a brush and some secateurs). There's also a weird phenomenon of hundreds of little black beetles trying to inch their way up the cliffs, which is good viewing. They never make it, but eternally try until they lose their footing and roll back to the base to try again.

Brian was very specific that it was The Horn-ed One with a grave accent on the 'e'. Don't think the UKV database could cope though

Your best course of action is to bring it up with the local BMC access rep. 

I would say this venue probably creeps into the Southwest area where there is a meeting on Tuesday 23rd which is also available on zoom it may be worth getting into that.

Thank you for your input. I'm not invested in making a change here.  I was just inquisitive as to how the distances from nest are quantified as my experience has shown me that it is no exact science. 

The extent of closures applied does vary considerably from crag to crag for a number of reasons. Some of the difference does come down to who the monitoring body is and what they deem necessary, which is usually informed by what the expert advice they've received either internally or externally is. In simple terms some bird wardens perceive climbing to be more disturbing to birds than others. 

However, there are also more objective reasons for apparently disparate restriction policies, even between crags in the same area - e.g. Malham Cove V Blue Scar in the Yorkshire Dales. As I understand it birds become habituated to their surrounds to an extent. So in the dales example Peregrines nesting at Malham are very used to the presence of humans through most of the day, even fairly close to their nest and will not react in distress to what they perceive as normal, whereas at Blue Scar they see far fewer humans and may react adversely to any human activity even at quite a distance. 

Hi there

I was the access rep for the area until I moved away 3 years ago, and actually your post pricks my conscience a bit, because I actually agree with quite a lot of what you've written, though I never did anything about it when I was the access rep.  The climbing on the lower tier is a long way from the nest, and in particular is much further away* from the nest than the grassy area below the upper tier to which public access is freely available (and which is well used by the local youth for liquid picnics as you know!).  So I think there is a very good case for negotiating a de-restriction of the lower tier.  The upper tier is a different story as it's directly across from the nest and in direct line of site of it - so I could see that climbers on here might cause more disturbance than people hanging around on the grass below.  The BMC access team made the point (which I've heard elsewhere) that peregrines in different sites have differing tolerances for disturbance, but the ones here must have developed some tolerance to people around due to the public access to the ground below.  

As to why I never did anything about it between 2007 and 2021, to be honest Shakemantle wasn't really on my radar much, and in particular I wasn't sure if anyone was ever climbing on the lower tier.  (To anyone reading this who's not familiar - please don't all stampede over to the lower tier of Shakemantle looking for acres of pristine rock when the bird ban comes off - it's a somewhat esoteric venue, with a LOT of loose rock!).  I know both Julio (the current rep) and I have in the past helped out the local raptor conservation group with ringing, and last autumn the the Gloucestershire MC had a big litter clean-up at Shakemantle, so hopefully we have a little credit in the bank.  That said, I suspect Julio has his hands very full at the moment with Symonds Yat, but it is worth raising even if we don't get the benefit of any change this year.  

Finally, I agree with Paul above - if you are local and haven't yet done much at Staple Edge then you really should, but bring a nylon brush and some secateurs as the brambles and moss keep creeping back on to the established routes.  It's actually at its best at this time of year, when the sun is high but the leaves are still not fully out.

Cheers

Rick

*I'd say a lot more than 100ft from the nest by the way - at least 100 metres horizontally I'd have thought, and well below.

I entirely endorse Access BMC's point about the sensitivity to disturbance of particular peregrine pairs. As climbing support to the peregrine ringing teams that cover Wye, Avon , N. Somerset and Mendip I spend a lot of time monitoring different sites. At one site I go to the female is so sensitive that she will come off the eggs when I am 200m away, whilst at another the pair go happily about their business as a car breaker's business is conducted less than 20m away below the nest ledge.

In the case of the Shakemantle pair, they are very sensitive. So please observe the ban.