UKC

Hi everyone

Have been a regular visitor to Dorset for many years and now looking for a new favourite sport climbing venue. Considering Cheddar but don’t know much about the area so looking for some advice on access, guidebooks, camping locations etc. 

thanks in advance

To be honest, I've never really enjoyed the climbing at Chedder. I hear it starts to get good in the 7s but in the 5s and 6s, you're mostly looking at polished roadside. The stuff in Dorset is much better at those grades and you have a lot more to choose from.

The other thing about Cheddar is the AWFUL boy racers. The steep sides of the gorge make their winkys tingle when they rev their engines, and the multiple little carpark bays make it an ideal meet for them. It really ruins my time there.

Depending on where you are based, you might want to have a look at some south wales sandstone. It's not much harder to get to than Cheddar from the m4, and there are a number of great crags with 5s and 6s and a different variety of climbing than the lime.  Navigation Quarry,  Tirpentwys,  Sirhowy,  The Gap,  Bargoed, to name a few good ones.

All the info you're after (except for campsites) can be found in the excellent guide from Martin Crocker

https://www.martincrockerclimbing.com/cheddar-gorge

https://www.tauntonleisure.com/navigation-watches/maps-and-books/martin-cro...

There are sensitive access issues, so make sure you understand the areas before climbing. Additional info can be found on the BMC RAD

https://thebmc.co.uk/modules/RAD/View.aspx?id=930

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/modules/rad/view.aspx?id=929

any idea if the RAD notice about the stake is meant to infer that the BMC are going to replace it OR that they are simply waiting for anyone to go whack in some angle iron?

Seems odd to leave a popular area like that for over a year without an update.

Thanks both. South Wales is my other option but thought I’d investigate Cheddar area first. Pretty much climbed everything I can in Dorset hence the change of scene.

I had found the Crocker guide but wondered if that was the best one. Sounds like it is. I’ll take a good look at those links thanks. 

The best and only one!

From your logbook looks like you're climbing mid 7s in which case cheddar is a much better option than South Wales. Loads of routes to go at, a lot of the good ones don't have any stars on ukc logbook so go by the guide and/or number of logs on here. When the south side is open there's loads of brilliant routes to do that are high up away from the road with less noise from the cars and less polish.

I wish I climbed in the 7s because there's absolutely bags to go at up high. Sunset buttress for example is a spectacular piece of rock.

The other area worth looking into is the Wye Valley as there's lots at Wintours Leap, Ban Y Gor and Wyndcliffe Quarry.

Agreed, there is tonnes of good stuff in the 7s, the effort to get up to a crag away from the roadside is usually rewarded. 

There's many years of excellent climbing to be done in Cheddar. Especially in the 7s but also plenty in the 6s. Noise from boy racers is only an occasional summer evenings issue, mainly at the lower end of the gorge.