UKC

Climbs 696
Rocktype Granite
Altitude 100m a.s.l

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Following the Breadcrumb Trail in Bovey Woods © Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing

Crag features

A huge area comprising of five main sectors - Shaptor Rock, Lower Shaptor, Rock Copse, Bearacleave and Stonelands Waste. Classic problems of all grades but be prepared to invest a little time in 'getting orientated'.

Approach notes

Keep a low profile and treat with respect - this is a beautiful, ancient and (mainly) litter free wood. Please park considerately, brush off chalk and remove all finger tape (and other litter). Land owned by Woodland Trust and National Trust.

Restricted Access

Bearacleave Wood is owned by the National Trust and contains some fantastic quality bouldering with something for everyone. Access problems have arisen recently at this and other bouldering areas on Dartmoor due mainly to excessive cleaning of boulders, but also some other issues. Please follow the Respect the Rock code as well as the following site specific access code of conduct:  

  • No new development - there are in excess of 700 exisiting lines across Bovey Woods as a whole and further development would mean more cleaning and removal of important mosses and lichens. This is a real concern to the landowners and continued development and new cleaning could result in loss of access.

  • Keep cleaning to a minimum. A completely clean boulder might look good to a climber, but to the landowner it looks a lot like environmental damage. Keep individual holds clean, don't strip entire faces of vegetation.

  • Chalk really stands out in the environment, so remove as much as possible from the rock before leaving a problem.

  • Please don't use this area for lantern sessions (night bouldering) - this has been a contributing factor in the developing access concerns of the landowner.

  • Take your litter home with you as well as any other litter in the area. This includes things like pieces of finger tape which can be easily forgotten.

I've had Dan's permission to publish his amazing map. Seriously impressive work. These are the co-ordinates Dan collected loaded into google maps: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1EEWzjPBVLVynr5LZYFNfNndYV-hcP8DS&usp=sharing From there you can export to KMZ/KML and load into any smartphone maps app for when you're in the woods.
apwebber - 03/May/18
How come so many problems here have at least 1 star?
apwebber - 04/Apr/18
Hey, I've put together a pretty accurate map for Bovey woods, and please message me if you want a copy. It's basically the coordinates (and names) for the boulders, which are used with a smartphone app to find your way! Dan
Dan 85 - 16/Apr/15
The wiki site has changed its address to: http://shaptor.wikifoundry.com/ Directions and parking details have been added.
tomrainbow - 12/Jan/14
Is there a rough map available anywhere? The only one I can find are the sketches on shaptor.wetpaint.com, which are brilliant, if you know where you are/where the rocks are anyway. The sketches dont seem to match up with OS maps?
tomwheeler - 23/May/11
Named problems constitute about a third of the climbed problems in the Woods. For more detailed info, topos, video footage, comment etc visit http://shaptor.wetpaint.com/
tomrainbow - 15/Jan/09
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