UKC

Me and my wife are heading to cornwall in may and are bamboozled by the choice on offer. Can anyone recommend a sea cliff without abseil approach and plenty of 3 star routes up to severe. this is the first experience of sea cliff climbing so nothing too intimidating.

In reply to Daniel Sutherland: Should mention we're staying near st ives so anywhere around lands end and the north cornwall coaast would be good.

In reply to Daniel Sutherland:

Bosigran

In reply to Daniel Sutherland:
And Senenn
sjm

In reply to Daniel Sutherland: go on the north coast around bude.

u might not find lots of 3 star routes on the same crag, but the crags are so close, u can hit 10 in a day.

In reply to El3ctroFuzz: That's serious sandbagging for someone who wants to climb severe and is planning to stay in St Ives. I'd recomend Sennen http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=198 - you don't need to ab in - a scramble to a very large platform well above high tide, but if you want to get plenty of climbing in, an ab rope gets you back to the bottom quicker. As others have mentioned, Bosigran http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=199 is also excellent.

In reply to Daniel Sutherland:

Bosigran is probably the second best crag in the world, chair ladder is the best but is a bit more intimidating & tidal.
You should go to Bosigran & do doorpost, guide says it's HS but it's well protected & pertty soft for the grade, has some fantastic climbing & amazing positions.

In reply to Daniel Sutherland:

Prepare to be further bamboozled. Pick something that sounds nice from the guidebook!

In reply to Daniel Sutherland: Also, Trewavas, http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=212 non-tidal, climbing from grassy ledges well above the sea, but still has a seacliff atmosphere. Very like a smaller, less intimidating, version of Bosigran.

In reply to Daniel Sutherland:

I'd argue - in a nice way - that sea-cliff climbing is kinda intimidating no matter where you do it and therein lies part of the appeal. But Sennen's a logical location, with some great V Diffs. Enjoy it wherever you go!

In reply to Daniel Sutherland: Sennen fits your criteria, split your day beach and cliffs and think about timing your routes so that you top out the last one as the sun sets. Then a pint or two in The Old Success.

In reply to Daniel Sutherland:

Sennen and Bosigran are the obvious choices..

forget north cornwall around bude, too far to travel and in order to get the most VS is a good grade to be aiming at..

If you fancy some nice climbing without the crowds try the following areas:
Porthguarnon Cove
John Wayne Memorial Crag
St. Loy cliff

mark kembell suggestion of Trewavas head is an excellant one..

to be honest where ever you go will be fantastic

enjoy

james

In reply to Daniel Sutherland:
bosigran is not intimidating at all like most sea-cliffs are - the sea is a long way away from you when you are climbing and is more like a background thing. it also has some incredible multipitch routes at every grade, and is one of the best crags ever.

sennen is fantastic, the location, the routes, the rock itself, however even if the abseil approach isnt what you want it is probably the better way to experience it (it isnt a scary abseil at all, whereas the walk in is a little scrambly/wet). the other thing about sennen is that there are a huge amount of single-pitch routes up to severe that are all good, you would be able to get more worthwhile climbing in there, and you would definitely get much more of the sea-cliff experience and excitement without it being too intimidating (whereas bosigran in most sections is essentially cragging where you can see the sea)

have you considered going to both? i really would if you had a weekend.

In reply to Tdubs:
yehhhh sennen, the crags underthe NT hut. just before the shipwreck.
some nice climbing.

In reply to El3ctroFuzz:
looe is the place too go!
nah sennen is said to be amazing! really wanna go but i had bad experiances with flying surfing kayaks which ended me up in hospital with an op t put a plate to hold my jaw together...anyway yer dont listen to electrofuzz he hasnt been charged today

In reply to Daniel Sutherland:

Commando Ridge alongside Bosigrand is a nice multipitch VD (5-7 pitches).

In reply to Daniel Sutherland: Thanks guys, Looks like it will be a toss up between senenn and bosigran. going to hire a guide for a day so i can do some of the harder climbs on chair ladder.
Also which guide book shall i get. living in the north of britain its not often i get to the south west so would be south west climbs guide book that covers devon and cornwall be better than the definitive guide to west cornwall which is split in two?

In reply to Daniel Sutherland:

The pat littlejohns sw guide is good for a bit of everything below britol, although many of the routes are vs+.

Littlejohn is good for whole of Sw, but if you think you will spend more time in West Cornwall then get the CC guide.

Bosigran would be a great place to start, at the landward end there are several good Diffs and VDiffs to get going on:
- Alison Rib
- In-between
- Kate

Then some slightly longer and harder VDiffs on main cliff:
- Ledge Climb
- Andrew (has a tricky short steep section high up)

And then Doorway just to the left which is great Severe

And if you are going really well, then climb Doorpost, a national classic, though it is definitely HS

You could also go down to the Seaward end, even if you only do Black Slab, which is a superb Diff, though there is a nasty bad step on the path down there which requires care.

Have a great time!

In reply to helix: its been said already but Sennen is your best bet, especially from st ives. The rock is about as good as it gets, the acess is easy with or without an ab and the routes are interesting and varied despite being quite short.

TRewavas is a good crag but not a sea cliff really (i.e you can see the sea but you a a fair distance above it). plus from st ives its a lot further when sennen is just up the road.

Bosi is great, well above the sea but still very full of the sea cliff atmosphere. Easy access in by foot at the west end plus a number of easy scrambles into various other points of the crag. Awsome longer routes with a few shorter gems at either end.

There are lots of others, as you say, and to pick the best of the rest is hard. The guide is pretty accurate in pointing out the looser, more friable areas; avoid these and you will be fine.