UKC

Hi,

I know the winter season is fast approaching but I have recently taken up rock climbing in the last year, I have now built up the confidence to invest in my own gear, where would it be best for me to climb single pitch locations on the Dorset coast? which are accessible at the top for anchors and the bottom for belaying.

Thanks for your help!

William

In reply to willgrist1986:

Dancing Ledge is the easiest place around there to set up bottom ropes, on the lower tier. There'll be some spots on Portland too but I'm not so familiar with those.

Once you start leading you'll have loads more possibilities

In reply to jezb1:
Thank you for your reply I am hearing good things about dancing ledge so I will start there.

Many thanks

In reply to willgrist1986:

Cattle Troughs at Swanage is another possibility - there are belay stakes to set up a toprope from, and it's an easy scramble into the crag (or you can ab from a stake at the top of the descent if you don't fancy the scramble). If you're confident enough abseiling, Subluminal could also be a good call.

In reply to tehmarks:

I don't think Subluminal is a great idea. Until you know exactly where the routes are it isn't going to be easy on a first visit to know exactly where to set up the top rope. And as a total outside beginner, getting it wrong could be a very steep learning curve !

Different kettle of fish if you were leading, of course, because you can then find the route from below.

In reply to GrahamD:

Thank you for your advice, I am going to start with the cattle troughs and dancing ledge,.
Thank you to all that responded.

William

In reply to GrahamD:

That's a very good point - I was considering ease of access and suitable routes. I entirely forgot that you'd need to know in advance where the suitable routes were!

In reply to willgrist1986:

When you say "anchors at the top", is that because neither you nor your partner has experience of leading yet and therefore need a top rope from the outset? Also the other contributors seem to be assuming that you are looking for trad routes rather than sport. Obviously on sport routes there is a permanent lower off (clip your own draws to the bolts so as not to wear them too much). If sport and your partner can lead then the choice is enormous; if the two of you can't lead just yet then there is still a choice of sport routes at Portland; The "Bower" at The Cuttings, Blacknor Central where the path down via the quarry is above some routes, Neddyfields (where you do have to lie flat at the top and reach over) and no doubt more which I can't think of. And if you want to start leading there are some very easy sloping routes where it is unlikely you could hurt yourself, t the aforementioned "Bower" and at the "Veranda" on the west coast.

In reply to silhouette:

I certainly hadn't discounted sport routes - after all if you are top roping there is no difference ! However I was assuming that its unlikely that routes would be led first and I can't (off the top of my head) think of anywhere where the lower offs are readily accessible from above.