UKC

Hey all,

Possibility I may be moving to Falmouth in a year and have been looking at the climbing around there. I mostly climb indoors as I live in London, but have bouldered a top-roped outdoors and have some sport climbing trips upcoming. I've seen that there is only one climbing gym in Falmouth and looks like it caters for kids/beginners? Otherwise there is the tide an hours drive away. What is the outdoor climbing like in and around falmouth? Any bouldering nearby? Or is it mostly trad? 

Also is there any word of any new gyms opening in Falmouth/nearby and would people be interested in a new one opening there? (I know some people that own climbing gyms/other business's and idk maybe this could be my solution...?)

Thanks!

In reply to Lozzypoz123:

I don't think you'll have an problem on that score. You'll be in the heart of granite climbing. A lot of that is quite small and there are plenty of routes that can be top roped. You might also think about taking up sailing. Many would give up a limb to live where you are headed. 

In reply to Lozzypoz123:

Defo think about sailing, kayaking or surfing in that part of the world!

In reply to Lozzypoz123:

Falmouth is a wonderful town to live in - I lived thete for three yeats but now live a little further 'up the line'as folks say around these parts. Still Cornwall though, haha. 

There is basically no worthwhile climbing in Falmouth, except for sone easy bouldering on Gyllyngvase Beach sea wall, which has been bouldered on and traversed for decades. 

Falmouth is one of the less well situated towns for climbing in Cornwall, but despite that coming from London it will feel like climbing Shangri La. 

Many lifetimes worth of trad climbing both straighforward abd very adventurous is about an hour drive away in Penwith. Similar amounts about half an hour away on The Lizard and Rinsey. Towering adventure an hour to an hour and a half away all along the north coast. Bodmin Moor and hour away and Dartmoor 2 hours for cragging. Bouldering all over the place, similarly with Deep Water Soloing. Some sport around the edges of Bodmin Moor, but not huge amounts. 

There are decent scenes based around The Tide and The Barn climbing walls and presumably within the university crowd in Falmouth itself.

The climbing is great in Cornwall. Not as ready a scene as Sheffield or Llanberis perhaps, but a definite improvement on London.

Cheers,

Tom

In reply to Lozzypoz123:

Sorry about ridiculous phone typos. 

In reply to Lozzypoz123:

Falmouth is an amazing place to live, although not ideally suited for climbing. The wall is pretty poor I'm afraid but you do have some of the best climbing in the country within an hours drive. There's enough routes to keep you busy for many years once you get the hang of trad climbing. There is some great bouldering (although god knows why Carn Brea seems to be popular 😉).

Winters aren't ideal for climbing in Cornwall. Sea Cliffs always feel colder than tucked away quarries, and it can be difficult to find others who are keen through the colder months.

In reply to Lozzypoz123:

A number of Falmouth based climbers seem to think it's worth the long drive to the Barn for an evening's climbing...

In reply to Lozzypoz123:

If indoor bouldering is your main focus you'll be sorely disappointed. 

There some OK local outdoor bouldering.

To all intents, there is no sport climbing until you get to the Torquay area which is over two hours away.

There is very high quality trad. climbing in the west and north of Cornwall. Falmouth would be pretty good for a trad. enthusiast. It's quite an assumption this will be to your taste if your outdoor experience so far is bouldering and southern sandstone top-roping.

The posters upthread won't like this but, from what you've told us, you'd be better staying in London.

In reply to flaneur:

There’s also some great bouldering just outside Redruth, at Carn Brea. https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/carn_brea-9597/

In reply to Lozzypoz123:

As others have pointed out above, if indoor and sport climbing are your thing, then you are going to be left sorely wanting if you move to Cornwall but, if you are prepared to embrace the wealth of trad climbing (from short, fierce test pieces, to full on adventure on collapsing cliffs, where survival is more important than an Instagram post), then you will be rewarded with a lifetime's worth of climbing.

Some things to consider:

Cornwall is a rural county. It does not have all the modern conveniences that you will be used to having in London. For a climber looking to get to the crags, having the ability to drive and owning your own car is far more important than knowing how to read a bus timetable.

Also, the road network makes even the shortest journey take longer than expected, especially during emmet season and the harvest. Be prepared to have to drive at least an hour or more to any climbing venue from Falmouth.

The main A30 is currently undergoing an upgrade between the two Truro roundabouts, which has increased any journey time up and down the county. This isn't due to completed until the end of 2023. (Although it won't affect your journey west from Falmouth).

Despite what someone mentioned above, it is possible to climb all year round. It is not uncommon to be climbing on the Lizard and the south coast of Penwith, in winter, in a T-shirt.

There is also extensive bouldering. Tom Last (above) is the person to speak to.

To be fair to the guys at Granite Planet, they were the first 'modern' commercial indoor climbing wall in Cornwall. They have been in existence for at least 15 years, but they have been under the threat of losing their venue due to the expansion of the university. They have been waiting for the landlord to find them another suitable venue for a number of years, but this hasn't happened and, as such,  aren't prepared to invest further in the place if they are going to lose it.

If you are looking to build a wall/gym, you definitely will need to do your homework. Property down here isn't cheap and is comparable to London prices. The majority of local folk don't earn anything near what folk in other parts of the country earn (even less in the current situation).

Population density is considerably less than places like London, Bristol etc and there aren't any big population centres nearby (eg N Wales benefits from being surrounded by Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham...and good transport links). To get a feel for what it's like, you'll have to speak to the folk at The Tide. They opened in 2019, I think.

Best of luck.

In reply to Captain Haddock:

I don't understand the popularity of Carn Brea. The location's quite nice and there's some good problems there.

But the holds are so savagely sharp that, as someone with thin skin, I found it a real mental battle before each attempt to convince myself that I wanted to pull on.

Maybe it doesn't feel so bad for people who are used to climbing on Dartmoor granite but Peak grit had done nothing to prepare my skin for it.

Cornwall's coastal bouldering is superb, albeit a bit of a drive from Falmouth.

In reply to Lozzypoz123:

You’re moving to a mecca of granite sea cliff climbing. Find a partner, learn the ropes, and  leave the indoor stuff behind! 

Funnily enough I just got back from the tide after not going for a couple years. It’s not bad, mostly bouldering, but it’s a ballache to get to from out West with the a30 works, and would be from Falmouth as well. Traffic down here is worse than ever.

In reply to Lozzypoz123:

There's always the old viaduct pillars in Penryn for a bit of fun, another set at Devoran too.

Also a few small quarries out near Longdowns. 

Best to learn to Dive, SUP and or Kitesurf for the evenings and leave the climbing for the weekends. MTB is awesome (if you like hills).

In reply to deacondeacon: I must have lived in a different Cornwall during the mid ‘60’s to mid early ‘70’s and again through the ‘80’s, climbed year round and no end of partners but then it was pre indoor walls and  before bouldering!

Falmouth couldn’t be a better centre 

In reply to Stephen R Young:

Of course there's better places to live for climbing than Falmouth lol.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Cornwall, in particular Falmouth and have also lived there in the past. Most crags are at least 45 minutes away and local bouldering is very, very limited.

I'm in Sheffield and I can find dry rock 365 days a year. Yes it may be some bouldering cave or a crag under a bridge but this definitely isn't a possibility in Cornwall. Also if I want to go Trad climbing at 9pm on a December evening I know that I can have a phone around and find someone else who's up for it and If I want to go soloing before work my nearest crag is 6 minutes away, this wouldn't be happening if I still lived in Falmouth.

Falmouth is absolutely great but for a climber it's mediocre at best.

In reply to deacondeacon: remember Cornwall is hollow, endless dark holes with futuristic challenges!