UKC

Hi there,

We're considering a trip to North Wales this summer to do some sport lead climbing or top-roping (not enough gear/experience for Trad lead yet). We would be staying on the north coast near Rhyl/Colywn Bay.

We're fairly new to outdoor climbing and are looking for a mix of sport grades between 5a and 6c to cover all abilities but looking on the UKC map it's pretty overwhelming with the number and range of options!

This is obviously a good problem to have, but a little local knowledge would be much appreciated.

So... if you have an opinion about the best/most iconic/most fun Sport Crags in this general area to help focus our search that would be great.

Thanks

Dave

Buy the A55 Sport guide. Plenty there to keep you entertained around Colwyn. Castle Inn and Penmaen Head worth a look. 

For that grade range, the best crags are probably Castle Inn Quarry and Penmaen Head which have extremely easy access, although they arent what I would think of as holiday crags, and are getting polished!

The crags on the Orme, particularly Lower and Upper Pen Trwyn are the classic sport climbing venues in this area, and are definitely worth travelling for, but the flipside is that below 6c, there isnt a huge amount to go at.

Llandulas cave and Waterfall crag at Dyserth have a few gems in the lower grades too, but hardly classic (The setting of Waterfall crag is far better than the actual climbing looks!).

Another option, is the Clywd crags north of Llangollen. Fantastic setting, and if you select the right crags, there are plenty of low-mid grade routes.

There is also sport climbing in the slate quarries at that grade for a change of rock type (llanberris).

Whilst North Wales has a few crags that offer a bit of sport at easy to moderate grades there's not a massive amount at that level, (either there or really anywhere else in the uk), and what there is is pretty poor quality when compared to crags in mainland Europe.

I'll probably get hammered for suggesting it as this isn't what you asked, but are you able to get to Europe instead of North Wales?  If you were able to make it to one of the big sport destinations there you would have a pick of dozens and dozens of absolutely brilliant routes at your grade.

You didn't say how long your trip was so if it's only a day or two it might not be worth it, but even a long weekend is enough to justify a trip abroad.

Plenty of areas with the middle grades, but more limited if you want to have crags with a selection of 5s too. 

Nothing around Rhyl itself but the Dyserth area crags are worth a look.

In Colwyn area definitely look at:

Castle Inn Quarry 

(Plus 'Marian bach' round the corner and Penmaenhead and Llanddulas cave each a mile or so away)

A little further along the A55 is

Penmaenbach Quarry

And an hour or so from Colwyn but definitely to be visited

Australia

and other areas in the slate quarries around Llanberis.

Nice try, but the lure of free accomodation with my sister is too strong!!

Thanks everyone for the suggestions - I'll definitely look into those in more detail.

We will definitely venture over to Llanberis to get some 'slate' experience.

Cheers

Dave

Small and a long way from iconic but I enjoyed Dyserth Castle Slabs - you might walk from Rhyl or squeeze in as a bonus venue?  Dyserth Castle Slab

Ah I see!

I'm sure you'll find enough in N. Wales then - the slate quarries are good fun.  It's an unusual and interesting type of rock, and if you happen to have any chance of showers it's the place to go as the slat dries in minutes once the rain has passed...