[kingholmesy]

So, after 12 years living in Manchester, I'm moving back to the South West.  I've got a job in Plymouth and will be living the other side of the Tamar in a village called Kingsand.

What I need to know from the UKB collective is ...

Crags / guides

Are there any rain proof equivalents to Malham / Parisella's Cave / Minus Ten for either routes or bouldering?

What about quick drying crags?  Where's sheltered on cold days?

What is the best guide to get for bouldering?  Maybe Boulder Britain plus internet PDFs?  My old man has got some of the old definitive guides, but I don't recall them covering blocage.

Walls

Is the wall in Plymouth OK?

I'll be an hour's drive from the Barn so it would have to be a lot better to make it worth the journey.  Is it?

Has anyone got a woody nearby I can use?

Partners

I was thinking of joining South Devon Mountaineering Club to meet partners.  Is it worth doing so?

Does anyone want to show me around sometime?  I'm keen for trad up to E4/5, and sport and bouldering
 in the 7's.


Cheers in advance for answers to any of the above.

Luke.

[chris j]

I don't know much about the far side of the Tamar I'm afraid (based in Exmouth), but your best info for the Dartmoor bouldering and many other things is going to be www.javu.co.uk. Hopefully someone will  be along who can give you some info on Bovey Woods which seems to be where everyone vanishes into in the winter.

Probably your easiest crag to get to will be the Cheesewring which has it's own guide and both sport and trad climbing.

The closest quality sport I know of will be Torbryan and Ansteys, the main Empire Wall at Ansteys is sadly not quick drying, but you get a calm sunny winter day and you can be climbing in a t-shirt. Adventurous trad there's lots around Torbay (Berry Head, Sanctuary Wall etc) but from your side of Plymouth you're as close to the north coast and Tintagel and Carn Gowla!

Walls, I've not been to the Plymouth Wall; the Barn has a lot of loyal devotees from the Plymouth area. Otherwise there's a 45 minute trek along the A38 to Exeter and the Quay which is good for lead climbing, or you can stop in Buckfastleigh at Dart Rock, though the roped climbing is much smaller there but I hear the bouldering is slightly better than the Quay.

[andyd]

Where's sheltered on cold days?

If you're used to living in Manchester you won't notice the cold weather that south Devon experiences.

I'll let other people comment on walls etc as I'm out of the loop. Trad climbing should be your friend as you'll exhaust the bouldering pretty quickly.
Learn the back roads through residential areas to get to Ansteysor you'll be in traffic forever.
Dartmoor has some frustrating microclimates. The west is certainly wetter than the east, so it can often be wet in Plymouth but dry when you get to Totnes/Exeter.

It's a great place to live. Really beautiful so congratulations on the move. Make the most of the moors, you'll have them to yourself!

[turnipturned]

I can only really comment for bouldering as i have been on a few occasions, seriously rate the area and some great problems.

Best blocks/crags and problems

Hartland: Ache ball (7c), supercede (7c+ sds 8a), carnage (7b)- lots of trad too
Pentire: pyscho cowboy (7c+) and the others on the block- lots of potential here! Great Wall is amazing for trad!
Tintagnel: Purple haze (7a+), kids (7b+), Colorado dreaming (7c+)
Burrator: King of swingers (7b+/c) can stay dry in very bad cons.

Lots more I have missed here, for guides check out www.javu.co.uk and www.rustypeg.co.uk and a bit of info in boulder Britain.

Bouldering wall wise I would recommend the barn however would be a bit of a trek from Plymouth. Lots of good guys climb there, super friendly bunch and sure they would give you a better idea of the areas thst me. Some dark horses that way get involved... If you want some contacts for the area give me a PM!

[A Jooser]

You'll struggle to find much genuinely rain-proof climbing in the area but there are some wet weather options. The Agent Provocateur Wall corner of Cheesewring Quarry is one place that stays dry in the wet if the weather's blowing in from the South West.

Crags / Guides

The recently published Cheesewring & South East Cornwall guide (avaiable at:http://www.stivesworldwide.co.uk/product.php?id_product=45) is the definitive guide for just west of the Tamar. It includes the nearest routes to Kingsand - the esoteric shale adventure climbing at Rame Head - and is probably the best source of info for the nearest bouldering too - Downderry Beach. Downderry, like all of Cornwall's south coast can be quite sheltered from cold weather.

Walls

I've not been to many of the newer walls but The Barn's great and a good place to meet people. I've heard good things about High Sports in Plymouth too so I think you'll have plenty of choice on that front.

Partners

If you're on Facebook it might be a good idea to join the Bodmin Bouldering page https://www.facebook.com/Bodminbouldering. It's maintained by one of the local guide authors and most of the main activists seem to be on it. Another local legends lives near Kingsand too, so you shouldn't have much trouble finding partners. Having said that, joining SDMC could well be a good bet as I think it's always been an active club, and anyone who is into the club thing would probably get a lot out of it.

Hope this helps and maybe I'll bump into you when you're down.

[tregiffian]

The Cheesewring Guide is sine qua non.

[crimp]

Chudleigh is worth noting if weather is not good elsewhere. Two opposite faces, usually find something dry. Not everyone's cup of tea mind. Polish a tad slippery.

But it's low lying, and often has better weather than moors or coast.

Just off A38 so easy to check out on way to exeter.

[kingholmesy]

Thanks everyone for the replies so far.  Keep 'em coming.

Turnipturned - unfortunately recommendations over 7B/+ are wasted on me!  I may well PM you for some contacts once I'm settled in.  We move in a week and the Mrs is due with our first at the start of May, so will have to see how fatherhood impacts on my climbing schedule.  Hopefully it won't stopping me getting out entirely - one of the reasons for the move is to be nearer grandparents baby-sitters.

[granticus]

Greetings from the other end of the County   It's a 2 hour ish drive to N.Devon from Plymouth so probably not worth reccomending N.Devon spots for regular visits..  However, being on the janner side of Dartmoor has it's advantages.

unfortunately recommendations over 7B/+ are wasted on me!

So you will love Combeshead Tor which is your side of the moor and has an excellent circuit of top quality problems in the < 7b range.  Good stuff all over Dartmoor too.

Apparently Bodmin Moor is currently the place to be, lots of new problems are being cleaned and done at the moment.

Berry Head in late summer is a delight (I wish I lived nearer sometimes) for some great fun DWS.

When you have time to get to the North Coast and Cornwall there is loads more to explore, Culm Coast, Exmoor (give me a shout if you want a tour or reccomendations on where to go), St Ives, Carn Brea, Godrevy etc. etc.  Not too far to ssssssssssPortland either.

The Barn is probably the wall of choice and worth the effort to get to (I don't climb indoors much but if I do it'll be at the Barn normally).  Good comps throughout the year which are fun to take part in and a good place to meet active climbers from the area.

[ksjs]

Lazily, I haven't (but should) read this thread (will do - promise!) I'm after a bit more info on bouldering within an hour's drive of Mousehole. I've got Boulder Britain and some stuff looks decent but it doesn't look like there's loads. As this is a selective guide I was wondering if anyone could give me a bit more info on the area as I might be there next week.

I'm after 7A - 7C that doesn't need a spot and can be padded with 2 pads. Long or short is fine but probably prefer sustained rather than cruxy. Happy to spend a session working something or equally happy trying to get a few things done in a session around the 7A mark. Would be useful to know if there's anything that stays dry in rain too.

Overall could I reasonably expect to get 3 days good bouldering in the area based on what I'm after?

Any suggestions much appreciated.

[jstrongman]

Hi there are quite a few options probably the easiest would be to us barneys guide and go to clodgy for problems in the 7's

http://www.javu.co.uk/Climbing/Guides/Stives/BoulderingInStIves2007.pdf

There is also plenty of more out the way slightly eclectic places with good problems such as Carn Galva arete which basically on the hill above Bosigran and there is also quite alot of documented stuff at Zennor hill

The another area is Gwenver http://javu.co.uk/Climbing/Guides/CornwallBouldering/Gwynver/index.shtml which is ok

Bosworlas near St Just topo here http://www.blocspenwith.co.uk/#!venues

Or even godrevey (might be very greasy and wet this time of year, I have not been down so it might be fine)  and Carn Brea are not too far away either.

[granticus]

Hot off the press > 2013 South West bouldering, new stuff on Dartmoor, Exmoor and Bodmin updates can be found
here

http://www.javu.co.uk/Climbing/News/SWBoulderingUpdate2013.shtml

Lots of new stuff to go at including an 8a+ on Exmoor from Tom (lank master) Newberry..