Climbs 29
Rocktype Limestone
Altitude 158m a.s.l
Faces W
Mike on Hayabusa © RockWest
Crag features
Pandy Quarry (Pen y Fron) is a small quarry which has been developed with a set of sport routes. It is located near Pantymwyn and The Devil's Gorge. The Main Wall has routes which are mostly just off vertical with rests and the occassional steeper section. There is a band of slightly softer rock rising diagonally across the wall but, apart from this, the rock is mostly good. To the right is The Dark Side - a short but steeper section that gets little sunshine.
The crag is located in a clearing in a sheltered wooded valley. It doesn't get much sun in winter because of the shadow of the opposite hillside. Seepage is of little issue on the main wall, however the side wall is likely wet after prolonged rain .
In summer the sun reaches the main wall at about 14:00, The side wall (The Dark Side) faces north and is always shady.
Approach notes
Follow a minor road from Rhydymwyn or Pantymwyn to a small chapel at Pen y Fron with a few parking spots. Park considerately - there are services on the first Sunday of every month so please use one of the other approaches on these days. Take a footpath slanting down through the trees from opposite the chapel gate. Pass a branch of the path that joins from further up the road then, after a few metres turn sharp left at an intersection with a bigger trail and follow it downhill (west) to a gravel road. Turn let on to the road and follow it and the continuation path down into the open area at the foot of the quarry.
Alternatively, turn off the A541 opposite the garage at Rhydymwyn and follow the minor road to Nant Alyn and park on a bend in the village. Cross the river by the footbridge and follow the path to a gravel road. Turn right onto the road and follow it up the valley to some houses where you join the last part of the Pen y Fron approach.
A third approach is from the large parking by the river on the Pantymwyn to Cilain road. From the parking go back a short way towards up the hill towards Pantymwyn to a bend and from there descend a path down a steep slope to gain the path along that runs along the south bank of the river. Follow this to the quarry. If you approach from this car park DO NOT go through the caravan site (Ty Bont Caravan Park) directly from the car park. People doing this are causing access issues.
Restricted Access
The crag is on private land and also within the Alyn Valley Woods Site of Special Scientific Interest designated site.
Please dont approach the crag thorugh the Ty Bont Caravan park, only use the public rights of way. It's highly likley that any climbers seen here could be asked to leave by the landowner. If approached by the land owner, please be courteous and follow instructions and report to the BMC. In the meantime the BMC is attempting to secure a negotiated access.
Although there are public rights of way that pass close to the crag, the landowner has written to the climbers involved with re-developing the crag that he doesn't wish to see climbing being "advertised" here, stating that climbing here is "unsafe and on private property".
| To make the route identification clearer I invented provisional names for the old mystery routes for use until the original names are provided. From left to right Old Routes 1 to 5 are now referred to as :Anonymous Seam, Mystery Wall, Magwitch, Whodunnit and Secret Santa. harold walmsley - 25/Jun/19 |
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 a UKC volunteer harold walmsley