UKC

Just wondering if anyone has spent time on Owey? If so, what did you do about sleeping and water? Im off there in July. Any other tips and whatnot welcome. Cheers. Tim

Probably doesn't answer your questions but always worth a watch

youtube.com/watch?v=5dQNlUi7DcM&

We were there a couple of weeks ago but only stayed one night.  We camped - the camping area is  pleasant and only about a 15 minute walk from the ferry.  There are no facilities, though, and it got quite midgy if the breeze dropped.  We just took bottled water over with us.

I really enjoyed the climbing - we were around Main Wall both days.  It was handy to have a spare rope to leave in place for abseiling.

Actually @AdrianC we were on Gola not Owey

Hmmmmm.  I must be getting old.  Elsie is quite right - we were on Gola.  Sorry - just ignore my comments!

Rob greenwood and Ramon Marin went over a few years back, I’m sure Rob will be along shortly with a detailed itinerary and exactly what wires each route requires!😂

Hi, a few of us climbed there back in 2016 for a week and stayed in a small bunkhouse. For the life of me I can’t remember what it was called but there is another place called Owey Island Cottage Island which is a self catering place aimed at climbers, paddlers etc. You can find them on Facebook
For more info and a downloadable pdf guide check out Iain Millers website, Unique Ascent which has some more info on climbing on the island. Enjoy, it’s a magic place!

Fantastic! Best post for ages!

Cracking film, and instinctively ponders about sea cliff climbing, against an Atlantic ocean backdrop! Would love to know more about getting there too. 

Excellent, downloadable PDF guides to boot!

hey, thanks for the info! Much appreciated.

Sorry for the delayed reply, last week was a bit mad, partly because I had COVID, but also because of a variety of other things that were going on.

When it comes to water I asked my climbing partner, Ramon Marin, as I couldn't quite remember what the score was. There's definitely water on the island, although neither of us could quite remember where we got it from, although I'm sure someone will be able to help. We camped quite close to the harbour area, in/around some ruins, which helps to provide shelter (not that we needed it, as it was roasting whilst we were out).

The one thing it'd be worth confirming before you go is who's sailing out there. I gather that Dan (the man) isn't sailing there anymore, but that it's worth asking him anyway. If he can, great; if he can't then there's another guy around the coast who can, but that he needs to know Dan isn't keen before confirming due to some sort of gentleman's agreement that they have.

When it comes to advice, the only thing I'd say is that (at least when we were there) there was no point in even attempting to climb before the sun had hit the cliffs, because they were inconceivably greasy. For the Holy Jaysus Wall and An Sron Buttress this means leaving quite late, which isn't always ideal, as the routes there take time. Maybe we got unlucky with conditions and others will be able to advise otherwise, but in our experience it was literally impossible to climb if the sun wasn't on the cliff (and when it was it was around 5000 degrees celsius). 

From what I recall, the cliffs in/around the Wild Atlantic Wall came into the sun a little sooner, so were an ideal place to warm-up before getting on the bigger stuff - if it's the bigger stuff you're after.

I wrote a long, rambling article about our trip there, of which around 2% of it covers the actual climbing, with the remaining 98% focussing on the experience of both getting there and being there.

It's an amazing place.

https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/destinations/owey_-_the_picture_of_a_dr...

yes so seconding Rob, I certainly don't remember carrying jugs of water in the boat, but at the same time I can't remember where the tap is. I think once you sort the passage, just ask the boatman on the phone. You park by the gold course club that's right next to the jetty where he comes pick you up. 

Thanks for the message Rob. Very helpful indeed. Yeah we have a boat ride, a bloke named Garath has sorted us out. Not sure if he'll be taking us or Dan (the man)? He just said a 'man with a boat will be there'. Sounds like we'll also have quite the experience getting there! 

Amazing 😂

This video has footage of "the only water source on the island". youtube.com/watch?v=Tms4qGxnzNc&