Climbing in the Peak District

Picture of Peak District Climb at Burbage North crag.In the early days of climbing, the Peak District was an extremely important area. It was easily accessible from the cities of Sheffield and Manchester. Many world renowned British climbers of the various eras visited and put up hard new routes.

Rock climbing in the Peak District really started with J W Puttrell. Jim Puttrell was climbing at the end of the nineteenth and during the early part of the twentieth centuries. He seems to have started at Wharncliffe but did not neglect the limestone outcrops. He climbed High Tor Gully with a couple of mates just before Xmas 1903.

The post-WWII years saw a massive increase in rock climbing with names such as Joe Brown and Don Whillans at the cutting edge of gritstone climbing. But these guys were renowned ‘ard men, so when you see their names attributed to a climb, you should expect to expend quite a few calories!



You will spot many first ascents for the team of Peter Biven and Trevor Peck. I am sure that I have read somewhere that Trevor Peck was not keen on walking to crags and often parked as close as possible, driving through farmers fields to do so! Please don’t troll me if that is b”%&ocks.

The opportunities for new routes on gritstone dwindled, therefore, climbers turned to developing the limestone crags. Quarries were seen as fair game for sports climbers and so the bulk of the bolted routes are found in such places. The natural crags are generaly trad climbing. Notable exceptions to this are in several places along the river Wye, e.g. Cheedale.  In the 80’s and onwards, many routes that were deemed impossible in hobnail boots became possible as new gear was invented or developed.

Peak District Climbing Guide Books

Eastern Grit.

Western Grit

Peak Limestone

BMC Peak District Gritstone Climbing Guide

Bouldering

Peak District Gritstone: Over 2,000 classic trad routes on eastern, western and moorland grit

Peak District Climbing Styles

There is a huge variety of climbing styles, from bouldering and bolted sports routes to some of the hardest traditional routes. The main rock types are gritstone and limestone. If you can’t smear or jam, you will find Peak District gritstone climbing fairly tough.

Probably the best known crag in the Peak is Stanage Edge (gritstone), which can absorb hundreds of climbers at weekends. If you prefer a quieter climbing venue, there are always some more out of the way limestone crags to be found. Some of the other gritstone edges such as Froggatt and the Burbage valley can be quiet on weekdays but are busy at weekends.

There are a number of novices and beginners crags, for example Burbage North and Birchen (often and incorrectly called Birchen’s) edge. Froggatt has a wide range of grades to suit all abilities. If you prefer to boulder, there is plenty available. Some of the better and consequently more popular places are the Burbage valley, Higgar Tor, Cratcliffe and Stanage.

Eagle Tor was a superb little bouldering venue but is now in the hands of an owner who does not allow climbing. Apparently climbers were too noisy and shat in the surrounding woodland. Fair enough. So when you do come, please treat every venue with respect, we don’t want to lose any more venues.

Some crags are home to nesting birds, please check  for any bird bans and respect them too please.

Peak District Accommodation

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Booking.com

Retail Therapy

If you are not careful, climbing can become really obsessive. Once you have started to buy all those nice shiny karabiners, nuts and other weird devices, you may find it difficult to stop. “Just popping into Longland’s for a brew” you say. Ha! everyone knows you will be sitting there reading the technical details leaflet of your new camming device or flexing the soles of your new climbing boots.


No, I am not convinced that it is possible to enter Longland’s through Outside without making a purchase. The best route is through the side door, that way, you get upstairs without passing a sales point. Make sure that you sit inside, rather than on the balcony otherwise you will end up going down to buy a tent or pair of bouldering pants! Oh yes, the bit where you actually stuff bits of your tender flesh into nasty hard rock that follows a session at the “caff” is nearly as good! Mind you, we go to the deli now as we find Longland’s has deteriorated in both a friendly welcome and quality.

Outside is no longer the only shop selling gear, there are some smaller outlets around too. It would be nice if you could spread your custom around a bit, particularly to the smaller independents.

Climbing Walls near to the Peak District

For those days when you turn up and the crags are too wet/cold or both to make it an enjoyable and appealing day out, there are a number of climbing walls near to the Peak District. In Sheffield, the last time I counted there were four. In the west there a couple at Stockport and in the North there are Leeds and Manchester. Further east, Nottingham has three walls at the time of writing. In the south there is the small but friendly wall at Wirksworth (The Face) and the various walls in Derby.

Peak District Climbing Venues – Crags and Boulders (or some of them anyway) …

These pages were written a few years back and I will be gradually updating them.

Training for climbers and other articles about climbing

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