At last the long awaited Yorkshire Grit Volume 2 guide (by publishers Total Climbing) is set to hit the book shelves of climbing stores across the land sometime later this week. With the launch set to coincide with one of the best times of the year to visit many of the ‘high crags’ listed in the guide, I thought I’d give you a run down on which crags are featured in the guide, and which you should particularly aim to visit and why.

Barden Fell: Simon's Seat, Lord's Seat & Hen Stones.
I for one am thrilled that this wonderful fragment of Yorkshire, and the bouldering therein, has at last been documented in detail – in my view it offers some of the best bouldering in the county. Make no mistake though, if you catch this remote hilltop setting on a raw windswept day in mid December, it could feel like purgatory... conversely, stomp in on a bright and breezy day in early spring or late autumn and you’ll feel like you’ve died and gone to gritstone heaven!

In terms of the climbing, there’s something for everyone; with the fortress-like bastions of Simon’s and Lord’s Seat offering fantastic features, angles and positions on a well weathered pebble ridden moorland grit. Classics at these venues are plentiful and often highball (or just plain wild!) in nature, with the likes of I’ll Bet She Does (6c), The Naked Edge (6c), Delta (7b), Big Kicks (7c) Kermit (7c) and MacNab (7b) reeling you in long before you’ve reached the base of the crag/s.

Right: Andy Hebson on possibly the best 7b on grit, Mcnab (7b), Lord's Seat. Photo: Greg Chapman.

In the lower grades or for the less adventurous, there’s still plenty to choose from, and I would heartily recommend almost any of the plethora of fine problems graded from Font5 to 7a at Lord’s Seat. You won’t be disappointed! Finally, if skin is wearing thin but there's still some gas in the tank, I urge you to pay a visit to the small but perfectly formed outcrop of Hen Stones, which sits equidistant between its two grander neighbors. By some quirk of geology, these blocks are forged of a much finer grained rock and despite their smaller stature have somehow conspired to offer two of my favorite climbs of the grade in Yorkshire: in both Bird Flu (7b) and Free Range (7b+) you are treated to the perfect mix of technical and dynamic climbing, the like of which sorts the wheat from the chaff - with a tick of both lines measuring your mettle as a true all-rounder.

Barden Moor: Crookrise, Deer Gallows, Fairies Chest & Hellifield.

Ok so Crookrise is a classic and well trodden Yorkshire bouldering venue, and was well covered in Cameron-Duff’s 2000 guide, Yorkshire Gristone Bouldeirng, by Rockfax. But this is a great crag and it was about time it had a contemporary overhaul. The Yorkshire Grit Volume 2 guide has done a solid job of documenting this classic area, and the use of photo-topos and some cracking action shots should really help to pull in new visitors whilst also reinvigorating some old hands to get back up there. Highly noteworthy, is the inclusion of Deer Gallows and Fairies Chest – the next two outcrops reached along the apex of the moor. Despite being small these crags really add to the Crookrise circuit, with the super classic problem Pixie Tits (7b+) being worth the walk in its own right.

Left: Tom Newberry on the superb tower that is, Razor (7c), Crookrise. Photo: Greg Chapman.

On the other side of the hill (and reached from a different parking spot) Hellifield is also included under the Barden Moor section and has been equally well overhauled, with the usual Total Climbing layout. This crag did actually feature in the aforementioned Rockfax guide, but had at the time only recently been developed and was listed inaccurately under its nickname of Crookstones. As anyone who has visited this crag will tell you, it offers a cracking circuit and purveys bags of problems in the Font4 to 6c+ range.  A word of warning though; due to its NW facing position in a small valley, it can stay damp after prolonged rainy spells. My personal favorite at the crag is the classic 6a+, The Stone Brush, which is a really technical little gem.

Goldsborough
This is one of two anomalous crags featured in the guide (the other being Thorn Crag) which are not technically in Yorkshire. But due to their proximity and the fact they don’t really fit into other relevant catchment areas they are included. For those who have yet to sample the delights of Goldsborough the guide itself summarises the crag perfectly: Situated in Teesdale, County Durham, it has to be one of the most picturesque locations described in this guide. Goldsborough has the feeling of solitude yet the crag lies just 10 minutes from the car. The crag offers superb quality [fine grained] gritstone with a good spread of grades and styles. What more could you ask for!?

Right: Tom Newman climbing the fantastic  Jumping Jack Flash, (6a+), Goldsborough. Photo: Ryan Plews.

Guisecliff
Set in a north facing position, with a somewhat scattered circuit, on a well vegetated hillside, Guisecliff is never going to be the most popular crag in Yorkshire. But in terms of sheer numbers and the quality of some of the lines on offer it’s certainly a welcome addition for the more serious/adventurous activist. Brooding over the small village of Pateley Bridge, this large somewhat complex crag has been the scene of sporadic attention over the years – Greg Rimmer, Dave Barton, Mark Radtke, Andy Cave, Andy Crome, Paul Clough, Francis Holland, Nigel Poustie and Tom Peckitt amongst others have all braved the jungle and staggered out clutching classic lines – most of which have now been condensed and structured into the new guide. If you need further persuasion, how about some simple statistics? This crag hosts over 100 problems, 23 of which are 7a or above!   

Rhylstone
This sprawling crag is technically covered under the Barden Moor section of the guide, but I thought it was worth singling out in its own right.

Above: Jon Fullwood on his own creation, Molly Moocher (7a+), Rhylstone.
Photo: John Coefield.

 
A perennial inclusion of the YMC’s Yorkshire Gritstone routes guide, Rhylstone has a vast wealth of rock to offer the intrepid explorer, and after years of being one of Yorkshire’s best kept bouldering secrets its plethora of well spread gems has finally been documented for your enjoyment. In my humble opinion the bouldering at Rhylstone, being very spread out, isn’t quite in the same league as that on offer at the similarly remote Barden Fell crags. Having said that, it does host some real classics… if you can handle a fair bit of trudging about. A few new age corkers which caught my eye are: Extradition (8a), Steve Dunning’s burley roof test piece has pride of place, sat beneath the classic High Flying Adored, and an almost magnetic draw as you approach the crag. Molly Moocher (7a+) is John Fullwood’s steep, technical arête and is another brilliant new(ish) addition to the crag, set in an equally eye-catching position. Finally, Ben Bransby’s futuristic highball, Lanny Bassham (8a+), at the far end of the escarpment, has to be seen to be believed and should be visited at least once by all lovers of the grit, if only for inspirational reasons! Historical classics have always been plentiful at Rhylstone, but it’s nice to see them written up on a coherent platform which will hopefully inspire more climbers to head to the extremities of the crag and discover wonders such as; Indulgent (6a), Iron Arête (7b),  Poetry in Motion (6a+), and of course the best problem at Rhylstone, Cocoa Team Special (7c/+).

Thorn Crag
Finally, sat in isolation on the northern border of Lancashire, Thorn Crag is the second anomalous crag to feature in the new Yorkshire guide. That’s right folks, the jewel in the crown of Red Rose county grit has been poached by those flat cap wearing, pigeon loving rogues east of the border, whatever next!?

Left: Dave Westlake sucks it in on, Bad Moon Rising 7b+, Thorn Crag. Photo Chris Chapman.

Joking a side, since its emergence as a popular bouldering venue around 10 years ago, Thorn Crag has sat in limbo continually struggling to find an appropriate/logical group of crags with which to be associated. And so it was, with the announcement of the production of the Yorkshire Grit Volume 2 guide, it seemed obvious to nestle this great crag under the umbrella of YGV2.    

Above: Tom Newberry on the delicate slab of Private Press (7b), Thorn Crag.
Photo: Emma Taylor.

 
In terms of the bouldering itself, this crag has a lot to offer climbers of all abilities, with stacks (around 100 in total) of problems from Font3 to 8a. The crag faces southwest and takes all the sun going, whilst its relatively high elevation means there is often a cool breeze to keep the friction in check. The rock is sublime, being much finer grained than that found further to the east, making it far less aggressive on the skin – it is rare to see much in the way of pebbles or larger crystals at Thorn. Must-do problems include: Jubilee Tower (5), Burnt Heather (6b), And for My Next Trick (7a), Mothership Reconnection (7a+), Bad Moon Rising (7b+) and Return of the Fly (7c+). Get to it.


Other Smaller Areas Included
Brandrith
Calf Crag
Flasby Fell
Hunters Stones
Snowden Crags
Sypeland

Connoisseur’s Crags
A list of 18 small or esoteric venues, with a summary of each crag, basic location details and any stand out lines at the crag.

In summary this guide is packed to the gunnels with previously undocumented areas and boulder problems, and in some ways is a more worthwhile edition than the first volume - I mean hey, there's always some local at Almscliff, Caley, Brimham etc. to give you the beta! So with all these ‘new’ crags, buttresses, boulders and problems to choose from there is no reason not to get off the beaten track this spring and attack some backwater grit!

 Purchase Yorkshire Grit Volume 2 here.