Over the last 20 years the Isle of Portland has been a consistently well known and well visited sport venue, offering over 900 'proper' bolted sport routes from 2 to 8b, as well as around 200 boulder problems. Located on the south coast of England, the Isle is connected to the mainland via the unusual feature of  Chesil Beach, an 18 mile natural 'barrier beach'.

I have more than once fought the corner for south west climbing. Along with Sharpnose, Ansteys Cove provides the core of my ammunition. What it lacks in quantity it sure makes up for in quality, as the guidebook puts it “if Carlsberg did climbing crags”...

Looking for some new bouldering venues? Tired of the same old grit or polished limestone? Why not try bouldering on some of the oldest sandstone in the UK; it's 800 million years old and a mere 6 hours drive north of the border.

The rugged and atmospheric coastline of North Cornwall provides many a trad classic to lure in those who seek adventure and adrenaline rushes, but until now has had very little in the way of pure power pulling. Bouldering in this part of the world is limited and searching for more has always been fuelled by optimism...

The term ‘climbing’ belies the stark differences between the many disciplines it is so often used to encompass. But as well as the major categories like ‘Traditional’, ‘Bouldering’ and ‘Alpine’, there are others that fill the gaps in between, making the link between some of the major disciplines more logical. One such subcategory is the subject of this...

I think it's fair to say that over the last 5 years St. Bees Head has become recognised as one of the 'must visit' destinations of UK climbing, and more specifically bouldering. In spite of its isolated location, on the far western coast of northern Lakeland, the magnetic draw of this fantastic sandstone....

So, why not go? Well, its a long way from anywhere, the ferry is expensive, the routes aren't that long, there might be midges, takes about an hour to walk in, you might get lonely. Yeah, best stop reading now.

In Mid September I had a week off, and the plan was to drive up the West Coast of Scotland, scouting out bouldering destinations. However my plans usually don’t work out as expected.

To quote the SMC Guide:-
“This is the best easy climb in Skye and a contender for the best easy climb in Britain”.

Once upon a time, in the early Ordovician period, the mountain range now known as Scafell was created through a lengthy volcanic cataclysm, forging a series of high peaks and canyons of finest dolerite, a highly compact and abrasive igneous rock, some 3000m thick.