In reply to UKC Articles:
Good article and a great venue, I can understand the controversy over the bolting, but it seems a pretty rational decision to me. Thanks to all those who put in the hard work equipping the crag and great that the development didn't stop once the classic hard stuff was put up, Mermaid Wall is a brilliant addition, bar the tidal situation it's about as family friendly as climbing can get.
I visited a couple of times last summer and would endorse several points from the article:
* The area is fantastic, one of the most beautiful beaches in Europe.
* Lemon Soul is a fantastic F6a (low in the grade), several others I did in the same sector are good too - Dawson's Creek and Corner are both top routes.
* Helmets are a good idea - I unexpectedly took a whipper from the Naughty Step F6a when a solid seeming half brick sized chunk detached in my hand.
* A small tarp is good for keeping your rope sand free, especially useful to have a decent landing zone for the rope when pulling it from top anchors. I discovered rope ends coated in sand and holding the rope in your teeth before clipping was a bad combination!
* If water state is calm you can extend your Mermaid Wall window a little by wading in - we took this to extremes last year, when we ended up having to strip a route we'd put draws in earlier as the tide rushed in. I belayed on a raised rock that just stayed dry before a thigh deep wading escape, fun and added an element of adventure to a Sport Climbing day.