UKC

Me and a friend are planning to drive down to Portland, Dorset this Saturday evening and to spend Sunday out sport climbing. It's my first time there, can anyone recommend good novice crags and also a campsite that is fairly close? Thank you!

In reply to Fenda:

If you have good weather Blacknor central area & Blacknor beach would be good bets. Blacknor beach has has a number of good easy routes especially on fallen slab (Fallen slab arete is brilliant). If the weather craps out then The Cuttings ain't bad, just don't do any of the initial routes as they polished to buggery. Camping down by Portland Bill or in Weymouth.

In reply to Fenda:

What's novice?

Sub-6a, heading to Blacknor Beach on first day and do Fallen Slab routes for starters. Sling Shot also worth seeking out.
Cuttings is a bit crap for easy routes. Try Cheyne Wears instead as gets early sun.

Blue Fish Cafe in Fortuneswell does best breakfasts. Check Sunday opening times when exiting Portland on Sat night.
West Coast crags - Blacknor, Battleship etc - generally unpleasant before noon/1pm but Beach routes (fallen Slab etc) should be OK.

Don't say the R word, in public or in private. Nothing good will come of it.

In reply to Fenda:

Recommend camping at Osmington Mills, if coming from E, or Sea Barn if coming from W. No camping on Portland itself.

In reply to Fenda:

All the routes at the cuttings were graded by a giant with suction cups on their fingers and toes. Or at least that's how it seemed to me on my first visit there this week. I struggled to climb 2s and 3s! I went there intending to climb 4+/5 and got a massive shock when I couldn't climb the 3+ I picked for a warm up. I'm not sure if it's just a style thing, but I've climbed 4c at other crags.

In reply to Fenda:

If the weather forces you to the East coast and the Cuttings, ask to be pointed towards The Bower or the Bottom Deckio, the easy routes there are much newer and far less polished than the horrendous (and always packed) routes on the way in.

In reply to Fenda:

the veranda at battleship is not bad for a handful of routes at < 6a. they are short but not polished.

In reply to Oujmik:

Left hand routes at the Cuttings are terrible for low grade climbs. No idea why they're graded so low but everyone I've ever talked to struggles. Technical boulder problems really.

In reply to Fenda:

Fallen slab is a great first lead for the novice; gentle sport intro, it's down by the sea and is a proper sun trap when the weather is good. Walk in can be a little interesting; either down the rungs in the rock or via the chimney with the thick rope. Take care on approach to the actual slab as when it's dry at can get rather prone to skidding.

Veranda is also a good starting place, a good mix of grades, decent enough walk in, and another sun trap.

In reply to Fenda:

Don't got to The Cuttings. Got it?

In reply to Fenda:

I second the fallen slab area as a must, what ever grade you are climbing. The arête is an awesome route with amazing exposure and at 3+ is a good starting point. The other routes on the slab are also really good and well bolted too.

The cliff directly above the approach path to the fallen slab also has some worth while climbs around grade 3/4. I cannot remember the names at the moment tho? Sorry!

There are some great climbs at the cuttings. You just need to drop the grade a few notches as all of the climbs I have tried there are well under graded. 4+ felt like 6a's? Some good routes to seek are Amen Corner, Jam, Chips with Everything & Quality Family Day.

There are also some short easy climbs in an area called the bower which is opposite the climbs mentioned above. There is a good 6a in this area called Tinkerbell.

I found most climbs at Portland to be under graded a bit so start low and get a feel for it. Have fun!

In reply to Fenda:

Cheyne Wears is probably the best area for the grades you are looking for. Blacknor beach is ok but the slabby style won't really ready you for the rest of Portland which is by far in the main much steeper.

In reply to Oujmik:

Was this at the cuttings? If so those routes have been polished to death by outdoor instructor groups and are therefore much harder/ less fun.

Have a go on some of the routes suggested above like fallen slab.

In reply to Tru: Yep, the cuttings. The polish was pretty bad and the rock was also incredibly dirty - covered in fine sandy stuff. To be honest, even without those factors the routes would have been fairly hard for their grades as they often only seemed to be climbable by snagging a jug at maximum reach and just hauling up whilst trying to smear something with your feet (which can't help the polish situation). We did a couple of routes at the Bower where the rock was much better but they still felt very stiff at the grade. Wanted to do fallen slab, but thought 28m of grade 'cuttings-3' would probably kill us! If it's more like a 'normal-3' then we'll get back there and get on it!

In reply to Owen W-G:

The low grade routes (3+); drew blood due to constant slipping off trying to reach the first bloody bolt. Gave up, went for a 4+ instead and it was much easier.

Also +1 for The Bauer and +1 for Cheyne as well. Have a look at Ocean Boulevard, if the overhanging start is too much, skip to the right. Also check out Bundle of Joy for a good intro.

In reply to Oujmik:


Nope, it's fine. Superb route (though should never have been bolted). Those routes down on the boulders by the sea are generally OK and reasonably graded.

28m of grade 'cuttings-3' would probably kill (any of) us!

Mick

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. What about if it rains? Any crags that will stay relatively dry?

In reply to Fenda:

Not really. Depends on which direction the wind is blowing. But it drys very quickly, just be aware that some approaches can become horrible after a bit of rain.

In reply to Fenda:

i went to Portland last year for the first time and loved it!
we ended up finding a great campsite a few miles out from Portland
www.westfleetholidays.co.uk
I agree with everyone about the cuttings, i normally climb 5 - 6a and found most routes ridiculously polished but dont let that put you off visiting there and giving it a try
Having said that all of the crags are well worth a visit. A lot of harder routes especially Blacknor beach but i blame Gary Gibson for that

In reply to Fenda:

No camping on Portland unless you stay hidden (I have never been caught camping there).
Blue Fish Café do good breakfasts but quite expensive, better to go to The Cove pub
If its raining go to The Cove pub, If its a nice evening, go to the Cove pub, if the suns out during the day and is a scorcher, go to the Cove pub. Basically just go to the cove and watch the sunset with a pint.

I cant recommend enough, go to the Cove pub.

In reply to Fenda:

Went there with a friend looking for easy stuff and would agree with the warnings about sandbaggery and not just at the cuttings.
Try Crazy Old Hippies (5b) at 4+ for an idea of the grading, its quite hilarious. Same for Do Ixtlan (5b) and many others.
Basically don't expect the grade 3 and 4 beginner paradise that it looks like in the guidebook (and 2? what the hell is a 2 anyway?) . They are really just hard polished 5c graded badly. Maybe they're using Font grades because they certainly seem comparable.
I was so traumatised by the 'warm ups' that I didn't get anywhere near the admittedly modest level I'd normally climb at. Which is probably a shame since by all accounts quality improves around 6a.

DO climb fallen slab arête. Its easily one of the best routes at it's grade (probably about 4 really) and that includes compared to stuff in Kalymnos and Spain.
Also check the height of the routes before visiting. Some of the cliffs look huge in the guide photos and are only 6-10m in reality.
There are lots of big cliffs too including some with easy routes, just check the height in the guide.
Also be prepared for 'apparently' poor rock. I was put off by it but if it was as bad as it seems there would be piles of stricken climbers at the bottom. Use your judgement I guess.

One of the cuttings routes was actually pretty good Maybe Quality Family Day (4c). Its fine at the 4+ grade and on solid rock too although the route just left is a massive sandbag. I sure there must be others there that are ok especially once a leader has struggled to the top and other people can top rope. The Cuttings seemed to have a nice social atmosphere.