UKC

Hi,
I'm planning a climbing trip in the UK next year (mainly bouldering I guess).
I'll probably be around for a few month and I'm looking for information and ideas :
best time & conditions, interesting areas (The peak will obviously be one of the highlights, but I'd also like to visit Scotland and I heard about snowdonia ...) guide books, ...
Any suggestions ?

Thank you all for your help, looking forward to visit you

cheers

Benoit

In reply to Weshgro:

The colder months are much better for bouldering, although there's also a much higher chance of rain (or snow). Any time from now to May will be pretty good provided you're lucky with the weather. In the depths of winter, it really is very cold and you're generally limited to the south-facing sheltered venues; the good bouldering days with no wind, bone dry, bright blue skies are few and far between - but they are fantastic.

Personally, I would stick to the sandstone and gritstone. The Peak is excellent, but the bouldering in Yorkshire (an hour or so north of the Peak) is also on gritstone and is actually better than the Peak.

Places that I consider essential in the Peak and Yorkshire are:

Slipstones - world class, best rock in the world, beautiful setting
Caley - great venue with excellent climbing but often damp and a bit of a dump (by a busy road, litter and dog turds)
Stanage - classic. Go beyond the popular Plantation area (much of which is not that amazing) to find the best bits.
Bridestones - slightly crap sandy rock, but some amazing problems. Atmospheric.
Cratcliffe and Robin Hood's Stride - a beautiful place, lots of nice safe problems
The Roaches - spread out over a big area, with many perfect problems in a beautiful setting

Another great place but rather out of the way is St. Bees on the Lakeland coast:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/videos/play.php?i=1807

Lovely sandstone.

I haven't been to Northumberland, but there's plenty of sandstone there too.

Personally, I would avoid limestone bouldering like the plague. It's appalling. Not as bad by any means, but still horrible IMO is bouldering on the volcanic rock of the Lakes and Snowdonia. Others will disagree, I just think climbing really hard moves on sharp, polished rock is deeply unpleasant. It also rains continually in the mountains over the winter.

That's a start for you. There's a book called Boulder Britain that might be just what you need.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

Wow, that was quick ! Thanks a lot, this will really help !

About the weather, as I'm also planning to fly for the US next autumn, I thought about visiting Britain right before (end of spring/summer) ... is it a really bad idea (because of the heat and damp) or is it still climbable ?
Also, Do you know what are the rules about camping ? I guess this is regulated in national parks.

The guide book looks like what I need, indeed.

Thanks a lot.

In reply to Weshgro:

I'd come here in spring rather than summer for bouldering. Spring is my favourite time of year for climbing, it's cool enough to get good conditions for bouldering, but warm enough to enjoy the sea-cliffs and sometimes the mountains too. If you want to do some trad climbing, then early summer is better - have a trip to somewhere like Pembroke or best of all the North West of Scotland.

Camping depends very much on the area. In the Peak and Yorkshire, you'll need to pay for a campsite. Some climbing areas (e.g. Pembroke, which is trad sea cliffs) have very basic, cheap sites which are very popular with climbers. In the Lakes, I tend to camp by my car on the mountain passes. In Scotland, wild camping is more usual and permitted. In general, I would advise you to budget for campsites at about £6 per night. You'll find some places that are cheaper (or you don't need a campsite) and others that are more expensive.

In reply to Weshgro:

Our weather is variable enough that you can't say any time of year is good or bad for bouldering. Summer should be fine and if it's hot go high or seek the shade, just watch out for midges in mountain areas.


Campsites are frequent enough in national parks etc. Wild camping (eg on unfarmed land) is tolerated as long as you're out of sight of roads etc.

In reply to pasbury:


The midges are just as bad on grit as in the mountains - while there are some nice breezy days, I generally find grit unclimbable (or certainly unboulderable) in mid-late summer.

In reply to Weshgro:

Pretty much every bouldering crag covered on www.lakesbloc.com all with free pdf topos

In reply to Weshgro:

Niall Grimes' Boulder Britain guide is pretty good to have in the car if you're travelling around - there's at least a day or two of stuff to go at in a pretty wide range of areas. It's very sparse on Scotland, though, and there's meant to be some fairly amazing stuff up there.

Quite a few areas seem to have good free online information from local activists, eg javu.org for the South West and the aforementioned Lakesbloc for the Lake District.

In reply to Weshgro:
Thanks a lot guys ! This will surely be a nice road trip

In reply to Weshgro:

I boulder all year round in the UK, and while gritstone is best on crisp clear winter day, there is still plenty to go at on a nice summer day if you seek out exposed or shaded problems (slopy problems will feel much harder than they should). While the grit is famous, I actually think that the bouldering in North Wales is just as good (and more varied). It is also better in the summer as it is less friction-dependant than grit. There are some lovely mountain venues and Porth Ysgo is absolutely incredible.

Good conditions and good bouldering can be found at any time of year in the UK, but the weather can also be crap at any time of year. With a decent amount of time, and the flexibility to travel with the good weather, you can get a lot done.

In reply to Weshgro:
If you are heading up to Scotland on your way you have to visit Shaftoe Crags in Northumberland. Lovely area to Boulder and take in the scenery. Check out Northumberland bouldering guide or again covered in the excellent Boulder Britain.

Enjoy!