A Taste of the
Peak District
Peak District, Derbyshire rock climbing crags and bouldering, B&B, self catering holiday cottage accommodation, hotels, tourist attractions, walking, climbing, mountain biking history, towns, villages, geology, mining, local information, Derbyshire businesses and much more …
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.
There is a huge variety of climbing, from bolted sports routes to some of
the hardest traditional routes. 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 is now in the hands of an owner who
does not allow climbing.
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!
Climbing walls
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, there is the Edge, and if
you are prepared to drive a few miles further, on the other side of Sheffield
is
the Foundry.
In the west there is the Rope Race at Stockport and in the North there
is Leeds wall. Further east is the Nottingham wall which gets unpleasantly
chalky at peak times and in the south there is the wall at Wirksworth (The
Face).
Climbing Venues - The Crags and Boulders of the Peak District (or some of them anyway) ...
- Peak District Bouldering
- Birchen Edge - popular crag for beginners and groups
- Burbage North - as with Birchen, but does have a better spread of grades plus bouldering
- Curbar - warn your arms before heading to Curbar, steep classic Derbyshire gritstone climbing
- Froggatt - A gritstone crag for all abilities, Diff to E8!
- Gardom's Edge - long and somewhat broken but with its fair share of classics
- Harboro Rocks - dolomitic limestone bouldering venue with (short) routes
- Lawrencefield - collapsing quarry with some great classics
- Millstone - soaring classic gritstone lines
- Roaches - Staffordshire grit, classics
- Stanage - climbing on grit for all!
- Wildcat crags, Matlock Bath - mid grade traditional Derbyshire limestone climbing
- Willersley, Cromford - north facing trad limestone crag
Climbing Courses in the Peak District - Switchback Mountain Activities Ltd.
Training for climbers and other articles about climbing
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