Welcome to NW Climbing - a web site dedicated to climbing in the North West. The site is run independently by volunteers but is primarily intended to meet the needs of BMC members and fill a temporary gap while the BMC web site is still undergoing an upgrade as part of their new IT project.

This site is not intended to compete with UKClimbing in any way but, will now be used as the definitive source of information for access and conservation for the north west area. This decision has been taken due to several complaints about the topic of discussion on UKClimbing groups and the amount of postings spiralling into topics not-related to climbing and not fit for consumption by juniors and others of a sensitive nature.

To use the discussion groups on this site users will be required to register with an email address. Users that abuse the fair use policy will be banned from further use.

Tree Surgeon/Chain Saw Wanted By: Les Ainsworth, December 11, 2006, 3:44 pm I am trying to get into contact with any Lancs climber with a chain saw who would be willing to help out on a clean up. If you are a forester/tree surgeon etc. with access to a chaiin saw, could you please contact me as soon as convenient. New Routes on Warton Main By: Les Ainsworth, August 30, 2006, 2:34 pm Following discussions at the NW Area Committee it has been decided to establish some bolt protected routes on the Terrace Wall at Warton Main Qy. Bolts are necessary here because of a virtually complete lack of other protection and to avoid some horrendously loose tops. We have agreed with Lancs Council an approved approach to bolting in this area and so any would-be new routers should contact Les Ainsworth to find out the arrangements before placing any bolts. It must be stressed that bolts are not permitted elsewhere in the qy Lancs Rock Reprint By: Les Ainsworth, August 30, 2006, 1:59 pm A slimmed down reprint of the `Brick` is now available in the shops. This is basically a reprint of Lancashire Rock without the Standedge and Whitbarrow sections. There are also some limited amendments. The page size and thickness have both been substantially reduced, so that it now fits in one rucksack. After the climb Price: £14.95 or £13.50 at the BMC on-line shop Warton Pinnacle By: Les Ainsworth, April 10, 2006, 8:00 am As a result of a working session at Warton Pinnacle Crag several small trees, bushes and saplings have been removed from the area immediately below the foot of the crag. This has opened up several areas, particularly Plum Buttress and Black Buttress (which should now dry out much quicker). Much of the wood that has been removed has been made into habitat piles, but there is still some that needs breaking up a little more and pushing further back. So any climbers visiting the crag are encouraged to bring some gloves and spend about 10 or 15 minutes breaking up some of the branches and moving the wood a bit further back from the rock. Thanks to those climbers who helped out - you did a great job in improving the climbing at Warton for those who couldn't get there. The group for the next climb will gather at the internet gaming hall offering websites for bingo with top features. Trowbarrow: Photos wanted By: Les Ainsworth, October 21, 2005, 5:55 pm Following concerns about the stability of the Main Wall at Trowbarrow, the BMC has arranged for Salford University Geology Dept to undertake a study of movement of the Main Wall. Therefore, I am seeking crag photos of the Main Wall over the past few years that can be used to compare against the current situation. So if any climbers have photos of Main Wall, could you please let me have copies in electronic format as JPEGs. Scans of old black and whites would be particularly good. If you have any such photos, could you please send them to les@nwclimbing.co.uk and if you have an approximate date, even better. If anyone knows of old photos before the wall was blasted (late sixties, early seventies), they would be extremely interesting. Thanks Les Witches Qy Access By: Les Ainsworth, July 7, 2005, 10:39 am I have recently been informed that people in the farm near Witches Qy have been complaining about car parking on the road. It has also been noted that when the limit of 6 cars in the qy has been reached, some climbers have been reluctant to park elsewhere. I must stress that it took a long time to regain access at Witches. Furthermore, the agreement that we have come up with is one that is very fair both to the local residents and to climbers. So please do not joopardise future access by bending the agreed rules. Similarly, if you are at the qy when others are parking inconsiderately, please put pressure on them to move to an agreed parking place. It really would be criminal if we lost access to Witches because of a few inconsiderate and lazy climbers. So please, no more than 6 cars in the qy, close the gate and if there are already six cars there, park at the layby at the foot of the hill, it is not that far to walk. Thanks Pex Hill Old Guide By: Les Ainsworth, May 17, 2005, 5:02 pm Our archive copy of the Ashton and Newcombe 1965 guide to Pex Hill is becoming very faded. If anyone has a copy, could they please scan it and send it on to me for the archive? Thanks Old Guide to Denham By: Les Ainsworth, April 11, 2005, 11:31 am Back in the sixties, when I was preparing the first published guide for Denham, I came across an early (handwritten or typed) guide to Denham, which mentioned a route called The Green Caterpillar. If any climber has information about this guide, or the early developments at Denham, could they please get back to me. Thanks Old Photos Required By: Les Ainsworth, April 11, 2005, 11:26 am In order to maintain the historical record, I am looking for old photographs of climbs in the Lancs Area. For qys such as Anglezarke, which are becoming overgrown with trees, these photos may enable us to produce better diagrams. Any photos would be useful, but the most important are: Anglezarke Stanworth Lancaster Qy Thanks Standedge Routes By: Les Ainsworth, April 4, 2005, 9:18 am Work is now well under way on the Chew Valley/Moorland Grit guidebook, which will include crags previously given a temporary home in Lancs Rock. If any climbers have done new routes in the area, or would like to report any other changes/historical notes, please make a post on this web site. Thanks Definitive Guidebook to Lancashire By: Les Ainsworth, March 21, 2005, 9:12 am Too many go online looking for the best betting sites for uk gamblers instead of learning more about sports or mountain climbing. A member of our team overcame his gambling habits by putting his energy into mountain climbing. That is why, we are now working on the next deefinitive guidebooks to Lancashire. These will be produced by the BMC and will be in full colour in a format similar to that used for the recent Roaches guidebook. It will be produced as two volumes, probably with the old Carnforth and Pendle/Bowland Areas in one volume and the Blackburn, Bolton, Rochdale and Rossendale areas in the other. It has yet to be decided whether these will be sold separately, or together. Now that there is a prospect of a Chew Valley/Moorland Grit guidebook, the Standedge Area has now returned to its original home, whilst the Whitbarrow Area will be covered in an FRCC guidebook that will be produced with support from NW climbers. For the new guidebook there will be lots of work checking and cleaning the routes, producing maps, diagrams, and photodiagrams. Anyone who would like to help (whether it a as major contributor, or just to send the odd comment or photo) please contact me. We need writers, checkers, route cleaners, artists, photographers and software bods.