Climbs 20
Rocktype Dolerite
Altitude 100m a.s.l
Faces SE
Making the most of the Stirlingshire sunshine © Samuel Wainwright
Crag features
Set above the glistening waters of North Third Reservoir, this extensive outcrop of dolerite certainly boasts one of the best outlooks of any of the crags around Stirling. The crag is of the same rock type as the nearby Cambusbarron quarries, however being a natural outcrop, the rock is a lot more weathered providing some really superb traditional jamming crack lines with very little in the way of face holds.Must do's include Jezebel, Flying Dragon and Sma' Gell.
There is almost certainly scope for new routes at this crag.
There is also an entire separate buttress to the north of the dam that appears to be untouched.
Approach notes
The easiest approach is from the North Third Reservoir Road.Park at the wider layby at 56.091221 , -3.9970533 and walk SW back down the road for 200m till you get to the private road heading SE towards the dam.
Enter through the gate and follow the track past the houses and the buildings all the way to the base of the dam. (Ignore the first wee bridge on the left).
At the base of the dam cross the small bridge on the left and climb the slope onto the dam itself. Continue East and follow the track into the forest and under the fence. This continues round to the base of the slope leading up to the Birds and Bees butress (with the distinctive bulbous 'nose' rock formation). Scramble up the slope.
For the other butress to the south, there's no easy way through the trees, so better to keep following the path past the Birds and Bees butress till it splits and goes uphill to the south. Take the south fork up the hill and along the top of the escapment. Head south past the Birds and Bees butress to the next open section and you will be above the other climbs. An abseil can then be made into whichever area required...assuming you can find something to abseil off - easier said than done!
Restricted Access
28/04/22 Raven nest right next to red shift. 4 fledglings and a noisy father! Quite big so I suspect they'll have flown the roost in a few weeks.
| For Red Buttress we abbed of a small hawthorn tree set back a few metres from the top and down the line of Jim's Chimney (30m rope needed). The trees at the bottom have grown a bit since some of the photos were taken but the rock was clean. Felling some of these would open it out nicely. petegunn - 28/May/22 |
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| Had a look at this on sat. Red Tower looks good (solid clean rock) but most of the rest was covered in lichen. Needs more traffic for sure. CyberTaff - 21/Nov/11 |
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| Probably THE best jamming between Yorkshire Grit and Staffin / Ardmair! Fiend - 12/Apr/10 |
Climbs at this crag
| Name | Grade | Stars | Type | Logs | Partner Ascents |
|---|
These climbs you have climbed by seconding or top-roping.
These climbs you have Dogged.
These climbs you Did not Finish.
Climbs are waiting to be checked by a crag moderator, and may not be accurate. Climbs can't be verified by a crag moderator, and they need more information to confirm it. Climbs are no longer climbable.
Moderators Updates to this page are checked by UKC volunteers James Milton and Samuel Wainwright