[nik at work]

Going to call in to Sea Walls tomorrow on the way back up North from Cornwall. Meeting a friend for quick bolt clip with the kids.
Looking at UKC there’s a fair few sport routes there, but I haven’t got my guide with me (and it’s only the Rockfax South West guide so hardly definitive??)
Has anybody got any recommendations? Probably looking for low 6’s to mid 7’s, ideally short(-ish) single pitch. Relatively none reachy would be good (sub-5ft child…)
If recommendations came with details (or guide pages, cheeky I know) that would be amazing

[jakaitch]

Mates happy to send across some pictures of the sport guide, drop me a message and Ill send his number!

[Adam Lincoln]

Duma is your man for all things Avon. Sure he'll see this Nik.

[jakaitch]

Some of the routes in new quarry are actually pretty decent, just make sure youve got helmets as it has a habbit of throwing rock down. I moved away from Bristol before the new sport guide came out but apparently theres some really decent new stuff been put up throughout the gorge

[fammer]

If you're with kids I'd say most of the new stuff best avoided, it's generally pretty esoteric and can still be fairly loose and dusty. Also access to a lot of the areas not very kind friendly.

New quarry will be the best bit but as said above be careful with loose rock. There's a trio of 6bs at the right hand end that are ok and a good 6b/+ that goes up past a tree in the middle of the crag. The second route from the left of the crag is a ok 7a+.

Bear in mind all of it is less than classic and extremely polished.

[andy popp]

Just Searing Away used to be the classic (only?) Sea Wall sport route back in the day, but I've no idea if it's reachy, or if there are now much better options.

[lukeyboy]

Agreed, I would give New Quarry (the clue is in the name?!) a swerve, it's quite loose and not very good. The couple of original micro-routes at the very LH end are better (i.e. ok) but not worth a visit. The ground level traverse of the quarry is probably the most fun to be had and less loose.

There's not much sport elsewhere in the gorge, other than the odd high 7 / low 8 and often a bit hybrid anyway.

I'd probably take a boulder mat (if possible) and enjoy the problems / micro-routes at the bottom of Sea Walls, or do some traversing.

[monkoffunk]

New like the New Forest or New College Oxford?

I quite like the New Quarry but then I was indoctrinated there from a young age. The 7a+/7b at the left is Bitter and Twisted, the difficulty is in the first few moves and then it eases up but with some nice moves. I enjoyed the 6bs at the right end, thought Stammheim was great fun when I did it in 2013.

The ones in the middle, Ready and Waiting and The Fury, are also quite good. R+W is 7a+ and The Fury 7b, but is the easier of the two IMO. Paiste 2002 is a bit soft at 7a but goodish I think.

The loose rock balanced at the top could come down if kicked by a goat, I think the ends are safer. R+W looks like there is a load of loose stuff stuck on at the overhang so I was always careful about where my belay was standing so if anything came out it wouldn’t hit them or the rope, but yeah one to make a judgement call over if you are there.

I have a topo for NQ if you want/haven’t been put off.

[Duma]

Probably a bit late now, but fammer and monkoffunk have already written pretty much what I would have said anyway. The recently bolted easy sport on sea walls proper is pretty rubbish, new quarry would be your best bet. If you need guide pics DM me yr number and I can send them over.

{Just searing away is good, but the crimps will be absolutely horrible at this time of year)

[nik at work]

Thanks for all the info!
Was just a flying visit to break up the journey home.
In the end we just went to new quarry and did Bitter and Twisted which was actually really nice (and no more polished than Rubicon…)

Felt tough for the grade, but it was flippin’ hot!!

[lukeyboy]

It was 7b back when I did it! Glad you had a good one, bet it was toasty.

[monkoffunk]

I’ve always maintained that route is 7b, probably because it was my first 7b.