[Andy F]

IMHO it's 7c. Dominatrix, New Dawn, Tremelo, Super Duper Dupont, Phantom Zone (both 7c if you ask me), Biological Need, Serious Young Toads, Body Machine, Bad Bad Boy, Comedy... some of the finest sports routes in the land.

[andy_e]

It's certainly not 6a-6c+ in Britain 

[Duma]

Andy - you left out Mark of the Beast.

Andi - you need to spend some time in Dorset.

[andy_e]

Yes I do- I've heard about a route called the Cutting Edge or something?

[Bonjoy]

 I prefer 7c+. Something of an under-rated grade. A lot of 7c-8a climbers tend to skip the grade, preffering either an easier tick or an 8 if they are going to put some effort in. Hence all the many classic 7c+s are unpolished and you never have to queue to get on them, unlike 7cs and 8as.
 Some classic 7c+s: The Ashes, The Bulge, Dreamtime, Herbie, L'Obsession, Proud Whore, Thormen's Moth (7c+/8a?)

[Andy F]

Isn't The Bulge 8a? 

[IanP]

I prefer 7c+. Something of an under-rated grade. A lot of 7c-8a climbers tend to skip the grade, preffering either an easier tick or an 8 if they are going to put some effort in. Hence all the many classic 7c+s are unpolished and you never have to queue to get on them, unlike 7cs and 8as.
 Some classic 7c+s: The Ashes, The Bulge, Dreamtime, Herbie, L'Obsession, Proud Whore, Thormen's Moth (7c+/8a?)

I'm currently on a 7c+ mission which has started with Herbie (brilliant) will hopefully continue with Mescalito soon(equally good) and have to agree that there are some superb and inspiring routes at that grade.  Like the idea that the Bulge is 7c+ since it look great and I believe it has some good opportunities for girly bridging if you're tall and weak (apologies to any strong girls out there  ). 

As too the original question despite my current involvement with sport climbing the the best route grade must be something trad - probably E2 (Left Wall, Vector, Darius, Saxon, The Rasp, Elegy etc ) or E5 (Right Wall, the Gorgarth Main Cliff routes, Rainbow Slab routes, Darkinbad, Supersonic, White Wand etc).  In the spirit of the vaguely elitist trend of this thread I think I'd pump for E5 - some of the most inspiring lines on British rock at a grade that is relatively accesible if you want it enough.

[AndiT]

Thormen's Moth (7c+/8a?)

8a

I'd personally go for 7b+, loads around, not too stressfull/absurd so they can be flashable or project potential. When things get harder they tend to get a bit tweeky and stuff. If all other graded routes were to be taken away tomorrow, I'd be happy to just climb 7b+ forever more although warming up would be a bit grim.

Trad grades tend to group together and are dependant on what crag you're at. At 'thuggy' crags the grade would have to be either HVS or E3 wheras more delicate crags lend themselves to E2 or E5, just an observation. However, if all routes were to be exterminated bar one grade i'd probably be happiest with E4 for ever more.

[tc]

What a very weird discussion

[Fiend]

HVS, obviously. I challenge anyone to disprove it.

[Paul B]

hmmm tricky question all of those routes in the initial post are amazing but I think its fair to say that British Limestone (however underrated) will throw up a decent amount of quality routes at any given grade (...above 7a)  so its extremely hard to choose.

[north_country_boy]

I'd be inclined to Agree with Andy F, there are so many class 7c's in the UK which would rival many other classics anywhere in the world!....New Dawn, Bad Bad Boy, Body Machine, Comedy....

(but then again there are also loads of class 7c+'s as Bonjoy stated)

[AndyR]

E0 or V8+

[Rice Boy]

I'd say severe, the pleasant place inbetween a scramble and a proper route or Font 7a+. Just about my limit for both genres.

[clm]

E4 6A/b.  well protected.  its something i aspire to but havnt managed yet.

[Johnny Brown]

Haven't you done Our Father?

[clm]

we are not brothers word despite what you may have been told.  you have pm.

[Johnny Brown]

Shouldn't this be called best sport grade? Anyway its a nonsense. Why not just have a poll aking what grade is two below your current limit. I suspect the answer would be the same.

Clm, Our Father is ideal for your purposes. Two steady boulder problems separated by hands off rests. Does Traveller in Time still get E4 6a? If so its a fuckin gift, you'll walk it.

[abarro81]

gotta be E5. It's the grade in pembroke, loads of uber-classics in devon (darkinbad, black magic, pacemaker, il duce), north wales - right wall, king wad, loads at gogarth etc, wall of the worlds and lean machine at swanage, peak - supersonic, castellan, london wall, edge lane, profit of doom, strapadictomy... [disclaimer: i havent done half those routes, just going on reputation for some of them] in pembroke alone there are enough 3 star E5s to keep you going for years.

[tc]

The best UK grade in the world...ever...is Hard Very Marvellous. This represents the current top grade of the open-ended adjectival grading system (Shite, Average, Pretty Good, Good, Very Good, Marvellous, etc..) Other candidates include Hard Marvellous and Mild Very Marvellous. Alternatively, you might wish to consider "Callerhues VS" for the accolade, a grade that covers everything from VS to E3. Or "Breck 5b" (V1 to V5)

[Fiend]

"Callerhues VS"

ROFL 

[hongkongstuey]

gotta be E5. It's the grade in pembroke, loads of uber-classics in devon (darkinbad, black magic, pacemaker, il duce), north wales - right wall, king wad, loads at gogarth etc, wall of the worlds and lean machine at swanage, peak - supersonic, castellan, london wall, edge lane, profit of doom, strapadictomy... [disclaimer: i havent done half those routes, just going on reputation for some of them] in pembroke alone there are enough 3 star E5s to keep you going for years.

E5's got my vote too - with E3 coming in not far behind (to think people are even contemplating british sport routes as 'better' than those listed above makes the mind boggle...)

[Bonjoy]

 To be fair I thought the thread was about which sport grade was best when I posted for 7c+. Tradwise I get most out of E5 probably. But what JB says is true for me, basically I have the most fun on whatever grade is at the possible/probable onsight level if I really try (or get in a sesh for sport grades).

[whispering nic]

E2 is where it's at in the uk. Left Wall, The Strand, Bow Wall,SacreCouer,Eroica, Saxon, Wuthering, Golden Tower, and hundrds mor I can'y bring to mind.

E5 is next with Right wall, Darkinbad, Positron, Cumbrian, Naked Ape, again more than I can remembr.

Not convinced that UK has best sport routes of any grade bar Marlina at Upper Cave 7b+...

[nash1]

Not sure I agree with the statement that all those 7cs or 7c+s are world class, there is some seriously classy things in the world! But I would say that some of our trad routes are up there with the best of 'em. As for the grade, well there is no doubt in my mind that E2 and E5 are the pick of the bunch here...
Vector, Left Wall, Troach, Elegy, Diabaig Pillar....
Then all the uber E5's talked of above...

E3 is pretty well represented too, and E7 should surely be up there. Poor old E4, a few gems hanging out of an otherwise unsung pack, Resurection, Central Wall (Kilnsey), The Axe. E6 has of course of few highlights, Skinhead, Conan, Lord, Rainbow (not speaking from experience) but generally 6's are perhaps to easy to be hard and too hard to be easy

[Andy F]

I should have said Sport routes, but what the hell...
As Whispering (soon to be dad) Nic said, E2 and E5 give the best Trad routes, but I stand firm that 7c is the UK's best Sport grade. Having done Dominatrix recently, I've got to say it's (probably) the best single pitch I've done. And it's 7c. (BTW the other best route is The Ashes, which back up Bonjoy's idea that 7c+ is the grade...). Cm'on, New Dawn, what else is there...