The Leicestershire venue Forest Rock​ has come of age after its one remaining aid route has recently been freed - Top Slice (7c+) 7c+ - a former aid route which came in at the grade of A2.

The route was freed by Ollie Torr, who told UKC:

''Top Slice is a great line crossing the centre of the cave from right to left. It has had climbers on it for years but no one has finished it due to its style and difficulty. A couple of people almost did it originally but decided to opt out of finishing, allowing the bolter to get the first ascent. Since then it has been left alone for years until a recent flood of interest has been sparked in local climbers. I was actually a bit lucky (cheeky) to get in there the morning before a good friend, Robin Richmond, got the 2nd ascent. We believe it is soft 7c+ but that's up for debate. Either way its great climbing and deserves further attention. It involves delicate slab work, bridging, cutting loose, roof and crack climbing. You couldn’t ask for more."

He added:

"I would like to take this opportunity to mention the delicacy of climbing there and not disturbing local residents. The council have chopped the bolts on forest rock twice now hence the use of carrot bolts. The locals are nice people but expect peace and quiet in the area, so if you want to climb there please be aware of this and show respect.''

Bouldering development is ongoing at the venue, as demonstrated in the video below from Robin Mueller and Dawid Skoczylas and in our recently featured short film of GB team member Orrin Coley climbing Searching for Tyler 8A+: