UKC

Dear all,

has anyone been up to the terrace at nesscliffe recently? I’m thinking of going on Sunday but not sure how damp it has been up Shropshire way and don’t want to waste a journey to be disappointed with soggy sandstone.

cheers,

tom 

It's been a pretty dry week generally, so I reckon you'll be alright unless there's heavy rain between now and then. Forecast looks dry. If you're wanting to try Little Northumberland (V9) then there is a crucial foothold that was recently glued back on, but not sure how long it'll take to set.

Nice one Ross, that’s incredibly helpful. I’ve got my eye on kyloe in and one inch pinch, I’ll steer clear of the trav to save busting it up. Cheers. 

Any updates from the Shropshire cognoscenti? Looks pretty grim round here! 

I'm not sure exactly how heavy it's been as I'm out of the area at the moment. Sunday looks lovely and sunny, so unless it's been absolutely hammering it down today/overnight I'm sure it'll be fine.

Is Nesscliffe like some other sandstone types where dampness weakens it (meaning climbing it when damp damages it), or is it hard enough so it's immune from that issue?

Definitely best avoided when damp at all, it's fragile. The terrace is fairly sheltered from showers though and gets all the westerly wind so tends to be a bit more reliable than the walls lower down in the quarry.

I'll risk it for a biscuit, at the very least it's zen af on the terrace and a nice place to eat a butty

Soft stuff at Nesscliffe. Even climbing it when dry damages it!

But still not as soft as Worcestershire sandstone, places like Blackstone between Bewdley and Stourport, very close to unclimbable.

I’m not sure there’s any sandstone where dampness doesn’t weaken it, maybe Torridonian, but that is a billion years old. 

Ed Ward Drummond put up quite a few XS routes on Blackstone. Either a visionary or a nutter, or both.

Please report back. Keen to know how it's looking.

Main walls down in the quarry and kynastons are gopping, but the terrace is bone dry except for a tiny bit of seepage on the far left. Bit green on the top outs but conditions are good, defo worth a trip. 

Thanks.

Was more these bits I was wondering about tbh.

To be honest I didn’t get a proper look up at red square/ cones and currants etc. Might be a bit nicer up there. Kynastons was green and damp/ seeping. It was dry and sunny today though and looks to have been relatively dry recently, I’d say odds were good at finding something in decent condition.