It’s clear that a few people are now starting to return to the crags where they’re able to do so responsibly and safely.
Personally I’ve been using the opportunity to explore some quieter crags and been finding all sorts of lichen covered horrors.
I’ve also noticed that the quieter crags tend to be quiet for a reason, usually:
a) They’re not known about and we like to go to the same spots we’re familiar with;
b) They’re a pain to get to, but well worth the trip and great for social distancing;
c) They’re shit.
Flicking through guidebooks it can be hard to tell if you’re dealing with a, b or c - but I’m sure there’s plenty of people on here with far more knowledge.
I’m mainly around Yorkshire/Peaks/South Lakes & Lancashire, but if anyone knows of/is discovering some quieter crags please post below! Long walk ins welcome!
Whilst I’m bias - and it’s impractical for those in London - a lot of Yorkshire grit does seem exceptionally quiet with hundreds of routes to go at!
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A lot of crags are less-frequented because they are green and wet most of the year. Now is the time to try them! Laddow and Shining Clough for example (I think the former was cleaned up as well recently) have huge walk-ins and are often green but both have some super classic routes. I hear Gardoms has been busy recently too, and I am hoping that the famous Great Crack in Duke’s Quarry might stay dry until I can get on it!
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to be honest at this point at shit climb is still better than no climb
@dabarlow has been to all the crags so just ask him if you are dealing with a), b) or c).
Definitely recommend Shining Clough though. I actually did my first ever trad climbs there - the walk in really isn’t that bad and the lines are strong and exceptionally long for grit.
Went up to Pen-y-ghent, 35m of grit perched on top of limestone which is quite odd!
It’s been a good time to find all the crags perched high that are normally bloody freezing too!
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we were at Gardens Saturday and it was very quiet as opposed to Dovestone tor the weekend before which was heaving…
The Roaches was very quiet last weekend climbing-wise.
A tonne of walkers who all parked like wankers, but hardly any climbers.
Really? I found Dovestone Tor deserted the other weekend!
As a side note - worth bringing a shopping bag or two if you’ve got any kind of a walk in to the crag. There’s an unbelievable amount of rubbish around (at least in Yorkshire) at the moment.
I suspect they same people who are parked like wankers are dropping litter like wankers.
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