UKC

hi,

i can't find any details on the bmc site about access restrictions at stannington ruffs. big painted sign saying no climbing or keep out or something on the rock at the top. i fancy a day up there. i don't think it looks as bad as its reputation and fancy a clamber to see. any details appreciated...

cheers,
danny

In reply to DannyC:

Its shit. The crag looks climbable but the holds aren't attached to the rest of the crag. The topout is death and the walk up to the base of the crag is the most arduous 100yd slog you'll ever do in your life. Oh and enjoy the slugs too if its been raining.
p

p.s. I have actually climbed there. I wouldnt bother again.

In reply to DannyC:

As a peak obscurist its the only place Ive ever been where I could have climbed and I chose not to: shit routes on shit rock in dingy surroundings where the lower grade climbs clearly bear little resemblance to equivalents elsewhere.

In reply to DannyC:

This is my local crag - a 5 minute walk from my house. Needless to say I have never climbed here. As your local BMC access rep I'd advise you that, although there is no official access restriction on the site, I just wouldn't bother... Go to the pub instead. Or head to Rivelin.

In reply to TN:

Its more suited to taking home and making into a nice garden feature. Wouldn't bother with a hammer and chisel, Just a sack to put the loose holds in.
p

In reply to Hotbad Peteel:

Christ it looks hard and dangerous enough to climb there anyway let alone carrying a sack of broken holds.

In reply to Offwidth:

Remember you're also in danger of flying household rubbish landing on you from the houses at the top. Adds an extra, erm, 'dimension' to things - rubbish dodging.
And then there's the dog poo...

In reply to TN:

One thing which worried me was the soft soil at the base of the crag with all sorts of added detritus. Its of a type normally only seen in bad horror movies and I didnt want to sink in it or get it on my kit or meet things that live in it.

In reply to Offwidth:

I like the line in the guidebook about it being created by a landslide in 1970. Pretty much explains how soft and steep the ground is.
p

In reply to Offwidth:

Muz damaged his shoulder the first time we went and investigated 'the ruffs' and that was just trying to get to the base of the crag. 'Trecherous' doesn't come close...

In reply to Offwidth: <its of a type normally only seen in bad horror movies and I didnt want to sink in it or get it on my kit or meet things that live in it>

It?! Blimey, what's old 'Ruffles' - Brigadier-General (Retired) Stannington-Ruffs - done to deserve such harsh abuse? His bark is a lot worse than his bite. Maybe you caught him on an off-day?

In reply to Marc C:

Like a few retired officers I've met 'it' may have seen better days... but I doubt it. When it was the only climbing available during a previous foot and mouth epidemic I realise climbers wouldn't worry much about tetanus when there were routes to be done!

In reply to Offwidth:

The houses haven't always been there - I am not sure when they were built but I suspect it probably WAS nicer before they happened. And I don't think - from what Muz has said - that Matlock Woods was always as green and overgrown as it is now - there used to be at least one house and a shooting range in there you know?!

In reply to DannyC:

cheers! you have painted such a lovely pictuere that i'm gonna have to give it a go! character building etc etc...


danny

In reply to DannyC:

Take a picnic and make a day of it.
p

In reply to DannyC:

Email Al Evans who posts on here. IIRC, he put up a lot of the original FAs there...daft bugger!

In reply to Rob Naylor:

Just checked...in fact, it looks like Al put up the majority of the FAs there!

In reply to Rob Naylor:

Yes, he did - and now he lives in Spain doesn't he? See - damaged!!

In reply to TN:

Would be a good cliff in Lancashire.

In reply to Hotbad Peteel: You dont realise how hard it is to develop a crag like this, hundreds of dead dogs and cats had to be cleared from the foot of the crag before we could even approach the routes, plus numerous very smelly and unidentifiable objects in plastic bags.
My mitigating circumstances is that this was in the foot and mouth outbreak before the last one, about 1800 I guess, and you could not climb any where else in the whole of the Peak.

Since I live 5 minutes away I have climbed there a few times. I've done about a dozen routes now.

The whole crag is covered in thick green lichen which, if you remove it, only exposes the fact that the rock surface has the consistency of sand. Everything moves and the only reliable protection is the trees which means you have to 'climb' 3 or 4 metres of 45 degree rotting vegetation at the top of each route with the knowledge that if you slip you'll hit the ground followed by the rest of the crag when your gear pulls it down on you.

There are also some areas of the crag which I have failed to even reach due to the impassable steep mud and dense vegetation.

I enjoy it but then again I never claimed to be sane.

In reply to Al Evans:

After a day at the ruffs, you wouldnt want your foot anywhere near your mouth, not even in the same sentence.
p

In reply to Hotbad Peteel:

I feel dirty just thinking about the place....

In reply to TN:

oh er
p

In reply to Hotbad Peteel:

I know - I thought that after I typed it, then I thought what the hell...

I just mean dirty though, as in covered in muck and unpleasantness.