[Fiend]

Not sure why this occurred to me the other day, but there we go. Oh actually it was fatneck rightly spooging about the Ruthven Stone in Strathnairn.

So.... best individual boulder / block in the UK?? NOT "best boulder problem" NOR "best bit of wall / crag for bouldering", but a proud, lone, distinct, block. You can choose the criteria (amount of problems? difficulty? aesthetics? rock quality? balance of grades? location? landing?) but please show your reasoning / calculations...

Some thoughts could include: The Pebble @ Stanage, The Trackside Boulder @ Curbar, The Bowderstone @ Borrowdale, Ruthven Stone @ Strathnairn, The Ship Boulder @ Torridon, one of the blocks @ Dumbarton, The Mallory Boulder @ Snowdonia, The Virgin @ Almscliffe, or many many more....

[Duncan campbell]

Grand Hotel Boulder at stanage gotta be up there surely?

One of the best looking boulders in the world; Careless Torque 8A

Plus Not To Be Taken Away; classic 6B+ or whatever it gets.

Not loads else but what else do you need!?

[cheque]

Barry at Stoupe Brow is the most impressive freestanding boulder I’ve seen in the UK. Not sure if it has the number of classic climbs on it to be a contender though.

The Calf, The Bowderstone and the Cowperstone all up there IMO.

[SA Chris]

Ruthven stone has great probs, and nice aspect, but rock is a little bit coarse. Virgin has to be a desert island boulder, everything from piss easy to utterly nails. Ship - nicest rock, great aspect, but just a bit too small. Boggin' landings too.

[Ross Barker]

Ooo, good thread idea. Better than stirring the pot of two members who obviously aren't keen on each other.

Three Pocket Slab Boulder @ The Roaches is a beaut. Classics abound.

There's probably some SW granite monolith that fits the bill, but I don't know the area.

Maybe The Calf @ Ilkley? I've only been once for a brief fiddle, but the big steep face looked amazing for highball frighteners. Probably some similar stuff at Caley but I've never been.

[SA Chris]

Probably some similar stuff at Caley but I've never been.

Sorry? You can get arrested for that confession.

Great Flake boulder is probably best of the bunch there, still take the Virgin

[danm]

Obviously the correct answer is the first of the Langdale Boulders as it contains the best rock in the universe.

I also have a soft spot for the Eaglestone despite the often wet landings and the fact it's mostly too hard for me.

[Tom de Gay]

If The Virgin was on a desert island that would certainly be an improvement.

Ruthven boulder is worth a trip if you’re in the area, but wouldn't stand out if it was in Font.

Obviously the best boulder has to be gritstone. Yorkshire folk might say the Cocoa Team Special block is up there, but the pockets are sharp and the slopers scrittly. The Calf was a good boulder in the 1740s but since then has lost points for chipping, graffiti and general neddery. Caley boulders all very nice if you like climbing green gunge next to a busy road.

So it has to be The Grand Hotel. Quality, not quantity.

[highrepute]

Tintagel superbloc comes to mind.

[brbushell]

Tintagel superbloc comes to mind.

Was just about to post the same, good location, landings and spread of grades with quality climbing.

Maybe lacks definitive lines though which is where I think something like the Grand Hotel beats it out.

[teestub]

In stark contrast to Tom, I'm going to go for quantity over quality. Mainly using the criterion of 'which boulder would I most like to be able to walk to from my house' I'm going with the Bowderstone. Skin friendly rock, great for training, and, mainly thanks to Jack Palmieri's attempts to link every problem together, there are now probably a couple of hundred problems to work through, from the most contrived of link ups on the front face to the genuinely class independent straight ups on the back.

[scragrock]

Think Ruthven is worth a shout {disagree with Tom, i do think it would stand up in Font} but it gets too much traffic.

Backstage boulder in the far north west gets my vote. Great spread of problems{with hard projects yet to go} immaculate rock, good landings, stunning setting and views.....And NO ONE there. Perfect

[turnipturned]

Surely this is a no brainer...... A Northern Soul boulder, Hepburn.

[Duma]

Tetris boulder, 4th cloud.

bunch of amazing quality problems on the best quality bit of grit

[Will Hunt]

Great thread idea.

Poetry in Motion block got to be worth a mention. Everything on there is good. All high enough for spice but by no means deathly. Verge of Tranquility doesn't get done much but is like a harder version of Psycho and not as obvious.

I keep getting stuck on the The Prune at Yeadon. It's obviously not the best, because the rock quality just doesn't cut it, but most problems on the are very good and Pruneaux and MmHF are both nationally significant in terms of quality.

I'd like to see more strength in depth than the Grand Hotel has.

Great Flake? Not for me. Andy's Problem isn't good, very few people do Nothings Safe. Bob's Bastard is meh. At Caley I'd propose Blockbuster, which has the eponymous Fawcett classic plus Zoo York and Ju Ju. Is Guacamole any good? I've never tried. Quite cool to have a big boulder with 4 individual independent lines and nothing else.

The Eavestone should be on the list somewhere.

[SA Chris]

I thought this was about

NOT "best bit of wall / crag for bouldering", but a proud, lone, distinct, block.

Therefore Blockbuster is invalid isn't it? it's more of a buttress. Memory could be shoogly. Likewise ANS at Hepburn.

[peewee]

This

Surely this is a no brainer...... A Northern Soul boulder, Hepburn.

[grimer]

I wonder if they were all in the same boulderfield, side by side, would the winner be more obvious?

[Duma]

Or how about:

Wonderwall boulder, Crafnant.
Every problem is brilliant (ok maybe not My Own Private Idaho), the rock and view also.

Or

Caseg Boulder.

[Tom de Gay]

I wonder if they were all in the same boulderfield, side by side, would the winner be more obvious?

If they were all in the same picturesque location, the Shoreditch Park Boulder would surely take the crown.

[Fiend]

Some good selections, and good extrapolation from Grimer. Also...

Wonderwall boulder, Crafnant.

...I really shouldn't have forgotten that as it's stuck in my mind many times reading the book (and once visiting). Top pick.

[Ross Barker]

Or how about:

Wonderwall boulder, Crafnant.
Every problem is brilliant (ok maybe not My Own Private Idaho), the rock and view also.

Or

Caseg Boulder.

Ooh yeah, top choices. I wish I was better at climbing to get more value out of them 

[Bradders]

I thought this was about

NOT "best bit of wall / crag for bouldering", but a proud, lone, distinct, block.

Therefore Blockbuster is invalid isn't it? it's more of a buttress. Memory could be shoogly. Likewise ANS at Hepburn.

Yeah I've always thought of that section as more of a buttress than a boulder.

Or how about:

Wonderwall boulder, Crafnant.
Every problem is brilliant (ok maybe not My Own Private Idaho), the rock and view also.

Goodness me no! Wonderwall is horrendously sharp, utterly grim. And the landings are dreadful. Yes it's a good boulder, but miles from being the best.

[Dac]

Another vote for Langdale (the top boulder). Lovely rock, lovely views, and a cracking collection of problems:
Stefan Grosman, The Overhang, (and their respective sitters), The Crack, The Pocket, V6 Traverse, even the stuff over the dry stone wall is worthwhile.

Many boulders like Stanage’s Grand Hotel, or the Hepburn’s Northern Soul have 2 or 3 classic problems, but for sheer density of top quality climbing I can’t think of any that would better it.

Fits the criteria as a distinct standalone boulder, and has classic problems from about font 5 (The Crack) all the way up to far too hard for me.

[PipeSmoke]

Groove armada boulder at lad stones is massive with loads of good problems on