On Peak Rock

This fairly weighty tome covers the main climbing crags in the whole of the Peak District National Park. The climbing areas are as follows - Chew / Longdendale, Kinder Area, The Eastern Edges, The Roaches Area, Chee Dale, The Lower Wye, The Matlock Area, and finally Dovedale / Manifold.

Rather than being grouped under the climbing areas, the climbs are grouped according to crags which are good in certain weather conditions or times and day etc. Therefore they come under headings such as 'Winter warmth', 'Away from it all', 'Escape from the heat', 'Evening crags', 'Families and picnics,' 'Crags for posers,' Classic Gritstone', 'Classic limestone'. This means of course that under each heading there are climbs on crags which may be miles from each other. For instance under 'Away from it all' there are climbs on the Roaches in the west and Derwent Edge in the east. There is also an alphabetical list of cliffs to enable you to locate a particular area.

There is a clear overview map of the Peak area as well as detailed area maps of the climbing areas. Each climbing crag has clear and useful information under headings such as 'Grades, Aspect, Parking, Popularity, Ethics' etc. The crags are illustrated with clear line-drawn illustrations, the climbing route being overlaid in a magenta dashed line. The climbs are described concisely with appropriate route-finding directions. Since this book was last revised there have been some changes. I noted that Willesley Castle Rocks is listed, when it has been closed to climbers now for a few years. (Not too surprising if the owners ever read the comments in this book).

The book is interspersed with full page and double-page spread colour photos as well as some black and whites. At the end of the book is an interesting  and very informative history of Peak climbing, with some archive photos. Indexes are - 'Climbs by grade' and an 'index of climbs'.

If you want a book covering all the Peak District, then this may be for you.