[Hydraulic Man]

First post here after lurking for a while……been gone from the Peak for a fair few years but notice that a few people on here are still hunting out the last bits of rock…..which got me thinking did anyone ever go and look at/or repeat these bits of esoteria?

The old A2 aid route in Cave Dale, Belial? Know it was looked at by some of the big boys and a few fairly big numbers were bandied about, I am sure an undercut was glued at the start….anyway it looked hard…..still not free? Interesting fact, the 7C to the left was led on gear before it was bolted by the guy from the Youth Hostel…..obscenely strong but got bored of climbing….Big Al.

Winnats Pass, always though Rite of Way needed a direct start through the roof…..whatever…the original is a brilliant 7B that feels a bit out there…

Tequila Tory at Stoney West, got the start of this sorted in 93 (showing my age) however when it came to time to lead it, a crucial (well to me) foothold fell off….I followed shortly after and despite trying it for sometime could never get through the start. This is now a lot harder than when it was first done (Boulderers may like the start) would be keen to know how hard this is.

And now for the Crème de La Crème (or maybe not) this one may appeal to Boulderers, If it is a bag sorry but I am going back 13 years.
Between Stoney West and Eyam Dale is Cucklet Delph, if you park on the A623 and follow the stream eventually you will come to an interesting Geological formation called the Salt Pan, you can also reach this from Eyam as well. Seem to remember on the left hand side there being a steepish wall of good water worn rock…..it needed cleaning but I think (!!) there is a potential for a hard traverse here….the rock is high enough here for routes.

Have fun and don't come looking for me….

[grimer]

Yeah saw a pic of Rite of Way in the old stoney guide yesterday (was attempting Wilt at ravensdale - brilliant route) and noted the pic of Basher on RoW. Is there an access issue? I think there is, but was wondering how serious an issue it is. LuckyJez once told me he'd tried it, and how good it was.

[Hydraulic Man]

Funnily enough I recall telling Jez about it after me and Danny B did it in 94.....access has always been a bit funny but no one can really see you when your'e on it if that makes sense? Best approach is pull in at the farm at the top of the Pass on the right and tell them you are a Caver-they may charge you for the priviledge but is the safest place to put your car.

Then follow the path over the cattle grid past the cave-The route is awesome, need two ropes for the start, drop one after the traverse-and then follow about 20 bolts to a lower off-gear is probably gash by now but there are so many bolts one would stop you. Lots of exposure up there too.

[Ru]

Interesting! I'll certainly check some of these things out.

[grimer]

And is that A2 roof the one on the right as you go up the cave. It's sport bolted, and remember seeing it and thinking it liiked like your basic 8b+ power route. I told Steve Mac and Nic Sellars about it but I'm pretty sure they never went. It looks about as good as anything else. I think Malcolm Taylor might have bolted it.

[Hydraulic Man]

Thats the one-and that kind of grade was mentioned in the past-Probably are Taylors bolts as the route to the left is his.

[rc]

Admittedly heading off topic - aforementioned Al (grande fromage at castleton youth hostel) does still climb, though perhaps not with the dedication witnessed in his youth. He's one of those who maintains an annoying level of competence, regardless of lay-offs. I remember going to lawrencfield with him I think it was in April a couple of years ago, he'd not done any climbing since the end of the previous autumn or something and yet calmly strolled up the three E4s at the back of the pool. He also makes a decent fruit cake and, crucially, often brings said cake to the crag - making him a chap well worth looking out for!

[(woz)]

And now for the Crème de La Crème (or maybe not) this one may appeal to Boulderers, If it is a bag sorry but I am going back 13 years.
Between Stoney West and Eyam Dale is Cucklet Delph, if you park on the A623 and follow the stream eventually you will come to an interesting Geological formation called the Salt Pan, you can also reach this from Eyam as well. Seem to remember on the left hand side there being a steepish wall of good water worn rock…..it needed cleaning but I think (!!) there is a potential for a hard traverse here….the rock is high enough here for routes.

If this is the one i think it is then It's ok - but nothing special, so dont get too excited. Great topic though, esp for peak limestone nerdy types like myself.

[grimer]

Went today to examine Cucklet Delph. Hope I found the right one (sign said Eyam Delph). Really beautiful little place, tons of wild garlic and nettles and other flowers. Any rock I found was pretty ivy'd over. Saw no nude rock of any promise.

Stoney West too. That was a mixture of iny'd over or nude and very clean. Kind of attractive looking, but very noisy. TQ was clean. The E3 there looks good, and the E4 6b direct, Arbiet Macht Frie looked good. The Two harder ones looked like you could highball them, as the landings are perfect. The other buttress with Northerners Can't Climb looked good, but couldn't make out which route was which from guidebook description. You climbed them Hydraulic man?

[Hydraulic Man]

Yes-did them a while ago-the E3 is a good pitch with plenty of runners-Northerners is a good pitch with not so many runners but what there is good enough-quality climbing as well and well worth its 2 stars if I remember-start at the thin crack in the slab and follow a very direct line to the top-a certain size of friend will calm your nerves once over the roof. The other routes on this buttress are worth doing as well-good rock.

Arbiet is not bad but the top peg was useless when we did it-must have nearly gone by now-this was one of Proctors old projects that he cleaned using a step ladder.

When you went to Cucklet Delph did you follow the stream as far as you could? You walk though the trees until you come into the fields-the natural "Plague church" used by Mompesson for his sermons is up on the left-keep going until you come to a mini gorge-almost underneath the houses in Eyam-this is the place I was talking about-perhaps it is under the Ivy now.

[Johnny Brown]

Went today to examine Cucklet Delph. Hope I found the right one (sign said Eyam Delph)

C'mon Grimer, didn't the sign give it away? They have different names for a reason. No climbing in Eyam Delph, lots of caves though. Beautiful spot this time of year.

For Cucklett it'd make sense to park in Eyam.

[CYH]

Just to clear up the history of the Cave Dale Bolts and routes.  Belial has still not been led.  It has two glue bolts, good but not very well positioned (my fault - I hadn't placed many at that time).  The route to the left has two small bolts, these were placed by Malc Taylor (early 90s?) although the route had been climbed before without (he didn't know that at the time though).  It had been claimed as 'Monkeys on Juice' I think in the mid-late 80s and I did a second ascent.  It turned out (according to Malc) that the first ascent claim was dubious/false, he didn't know about my ascent so wasn't willfully bolting a trad route.  The bolts on Rite of Way and its neighbours are all unusable now.  There is an access issue there but subtlety may work.  I will try to persuade the National Trust estate manager to let me replace the bolts, they were/are good routes although they may have changed as there have been two rounds of 'descaling' work in the Winnats since I last climbed them.
I know this because I was that 'Big Al'.  I'll see if I can find the time to re-bolt and re-open some of Castletons esoteric gems this summer.  Puttrels classics are still ok though.....
Ask at the Youth Hostel for the latest info.

[Bonjoy]

Had a look at the crags of Castleton on Sat. The Belial project looks quite good from the ground, there also looks to be one good boulder prob to climb on the steepness some way down and right of this, probably not worth a trip in itself, but if you were there to have a look at the proj it would be worth bringing a pad for.
 Went up for a look at the Winnats crag. Nice looking routes, in an awesome position, with room for two or three (at least one v good looking) new lines. CYH - if you do decide to re-bolt them, get in touch and I can supply you with the fixings.
 Also had a look at the entrance to Peak Cavern. Now that is an impressive crag!! Damn shame we can't climb on it  . Some amazing lines including a forty degree, two foot wide, big black tufa and a long steep hairline crack system with a steep start, somewhat like  Caveroute Righthand but harder. It would be one of the best sprt crags in the country  .

[Bonjoy]

[Bubba]

Winnats Pass, always though Rite of Way needed a direct start through the roof…..whatever…the original is a brilliant 7B that feels a bit out there…

Bizarrely I think I  actually started cleaning this up back in the day with a view to whacking a load of decent bolts in. I never did the original which seems a bit odd but I guess i was gripped by new route fever or something.

I'm pretty sure I abandoned it on the grounds that it would have been too hard for me, and also the fact that the rock was a bit shit. I cleaned a lot of loose stuff off though, at one point managing to hit a moving car on the road below with a near football sized chunk of rock. I jumared down and hid at the base of the crag and the poor bloke eventually drove off thinking it was an unlucky accident.

[Ru]

I also checked out the Cave Dale stuff, and may go back on the glue-ins project. Like Bonners said there's room for a little bouldering here too, up the gorge.

I've never been to the cavern - that's an amazing bit of rock, it looks like one of the best/the best bits of lime in the peak/uk  - is there absolutely no access to the stuff left of the doorway, just over the wooden fence? I don't know why I'm asking really, I know the answer.

[Bubba]

There's an old bolt ladder from out of the back somewhere but guess that was done before the show cave became popular.

I very much doubt climbers will ever get access.

[Fiend]

The old bolt ladder was from a televised aid ascent in 1981, done with permission one presumes, there were previous aid attempts in 1961.

It's all in the history of the '87 Stoney guide....you kids huh

[Hydraulic Man]

You can still see the Bolt and sling they lowered from-it was two mates of mine who did it when the show cave was shut in the winter.

As for access, I would not write it off, certainly the crack on the left as you are not above the path-I used to work for the guy who is now the Custodian, and spent a lot of time digging in there during the early nineties-we could have got on it then (not that I would have got much done) Still have a couple of mates who are active and get on well with the owner so will ask them-I am back in the Peak in a couple of weeks so will find out for sure.

The crack is a stunning line for sure....

Some more for you;

Prow left of Esau/Jacob? on Froggatt down below Downes crack? Might even have gear in it?

Bradley Quarry-the first bay you come to has a blank wall with a flake petering out halfway then a very blank finish-might have a peg placement for the finish-tried this for a while, good climbing up he flake but the finish was too hard for me .

The limestone quarry down in the Amber valley itself still has one blank looking wall left of the E5.

Have fun

[Hydraulic Man]

The old bolt ladder was from a televised aid ascent in 1981, done with permission one presumes, there were previous aid attempts in 1961.

It's all in the history of the '87 Stoney guide....you kids huh

Called Satan A3+ F.A Ian "Buster" Wright (R.I.P) and Rob Harrison

[Dolly]

I know I'm resurrecting an old thread, but I couldn't find any other reference to Cucklet Delph.
I've read the access info on Peakbouldering.info, so I can give it a go that way, but please does anyone else have info on which problem is which ?