peak district: climbing

The book cover states this is a guide to ‘over 850 classic routes and boulder problems’. It includes routes on both gritstone and limestone. The foreword is by Ron Fawcett, followed by an informative introduction. It has a ‘getting started’ section, which defines the differing styles of climbing in the Peak District, ranging from soloing (no rope or protection), lead climbing (leader places protection), top-roping (often used by groups, rope and belay from above, minimising danger for beginners), sport climbing (bolted routes, emphasis on technical skills), bouldering (short, often difficult ‘problems’ on boulders or low crags). It continues with an illustrated explanation of appropriate gear required and illustrated instructions to basic climbing techniques. There is also a detailed comparison of British and French climbing grades and information on the bouldering ‘Font and ‘V’ grading systems. There is an explanation of the differences between gritstone and limestone with accompanying photos. Following this are discussions on access, conservation, care of the rock etc. 

The final section in the preliminary pages gives an interesting, illustrated history to climbing in the Peak District. It summarises the developments made after WWII by climbing icons such as Don Whillans and Joe Brown. They pushed forward the boundaries, doing new routes, particularly on Stanage, using very basic, often improvised gear. Then the 70s and 80s were the decades when sport climbing, on bolted limestone crags, came to the fore with people such as Ron Fawcett and Pete Livesey doing routes requiring increased levels of fitness and athleticism. More recently bouldering has become popular, as people seek to solve ever more difficult ‘problems’. 

The introductory pages of this guide are excellent. A lot of guides assume the reader is already accomplished and often ignore the basics that help to draw in the beginner.

Route section - There is an overview locator map with the crags marked on, prior to the route section. The climbing areas are divided as follows: Eastern Crags: Birchen, Burbage, Froggatt, Lawrencefield, Rivelin, Stanage. Western Crags: Castle Naze, Hen Cloud, Kinder, The Roaches, Wimberry, Windgather. Limestone Crags: Cheedale, Harborough Rocks, Harpur Hill Quarry, Staden Quarry, Stoney Middleton, Wildcat. Interspersed within the route pages at appropriate points, are illustrated sections highlighting various climbing techniques, multi-pitch, friction, etc. At the start of each crag section there is a large scale map detailing parking and access routes, along with a summary of the area - any particular advantages, highlights etc. The routes themselves are numbered and clearly marked onto colour photos of the crag. In the accompanying text, the names and grades are clearly shown, with a route summary.  

Where relevant, bouldering information is included, illustrated with neat diagrams showing boulder locations. Some of the boulders have amusing descriptive names - ‘useless block’ ‘the armoured car’.. Selected boulders are photographed with all the problems numbered and clearly marked. Where the boulders aren’t photographed, the diagram clearly marks the problem location. The Font grading system is used for bouldering. Unlike climbs, a lot of the boulder 'problems' remain sadly nameless.

Then follows a list of Top Tens - 'cracks', 'first leads' and 'space walks'. A tick list of 50 climbs across grades and the crags follows. Finally there is a dictionary of climbing terms and a route index. The book is enhanced by some lovely landscape and action photography by John Coefield and others. An informative book, clearly and attractively produced to inspire the beginner and the experienced climber alike.