Rock climbing and bouldering in Devon

Devon has hundreds of fantastic trad routes and bouldering of all grades and styles, on a variety of rock types in great locations. The choice ranges from the dark lava and culm of the north coast of Devon, to the granite of Lundy Island and Dartmoor, and the limestone of Torbay in southern Devon. Whatever grade you climb, Devon caters for all options from long adventurous climbs on remote sea cliffs, sea cliff climbs with a holiday ambience, bouldering on granite tors, and everything in between.

A visit to Lundy to sample its climbs is something a little bit special as Lundy has some of the UK’s greatest sea cliff climbing.  All the routes are trad, with both single and multi-pitch routes on excellent granite rock that follow steep crack lines or super sustained slabs and walls.  The descents require care (often by abseil), the routes can be affected by tides, and remoteness of the walls and zawns create a certain ambiance of adventure. There is a definitive rock climbing guidebook, simply called “Lundy” that is available to buy from our shop.

Getting to Lundy requires a considerable amount of forward planning as the number of visitors is severely limited.  There are various accommodation options including small cottages, large barns, houses, lighthouses, along with a basic campsite. All this accommodation is booked via The Landmark Trust, though due to demand it has to be booked between 1 to 2 years in advance.

The photograph shows the majestic Devils Slide slab at Lundy with various routes over 100m long.

Baggy Point is the essence of friendly high quality slab climbing.  The slabs are composed of excellent, compact sandstone rock, which is cut by numerous thin cracks and overlaps that conveniently provide many of the routes with good protection. Generally facing west, Baggy Point has a sunny aspect that dry very quickly after any rain, though all the cliffs are tidal – requiring careful planning.

The various crags along the Culm Coast provide a multitude of jagged culm-fins offering some adventurous trad sea cliff climbing – reliable rock and good protection are not a given.  Whilst the majority of the routes are not unduly run out, they do require a steady approach.  Some of the larger crags along the Culm Coast include Blackchurch, Lower Sharpnose, Vicarage Cliff and Compass Point that are an enchanting place to climb with the crags next to superb beaches and excellent pubs.

The Culm Coast and Baggy Point Rock Climbing Guidebook is the definitive guidebook for this area, including the best bouldering, and is available to buy from our shop.

Just north of Bude, Northcott Mouth is one of the most interesting and diverse bouldering areas on the Culm Coast, offering enjoyable bouldering across a wide range of grades.  The best time of the year to boulder at Northcott is throughout the spring and summer months and when the sea is calm. Most of the bouldering is tidal and is accessible for around 4 hours either side of low tide.  The best of the bouldering at Northcott is covered in the Culm Coast and Baggy Point Rock Climbing Guidebook. 

The moorland granite tors of Dartmoor offer a surprisingly range of trad routes and bouldering.  These range from hard, short routes to gentle multi-pitch routes in outstandingly beautiful locations as well as a full range of bouldering options. The various granite tors and valleys of Dartmoor has something for everyone, with the added advantage of easy access to the many climbing and bouldering areas.

Haytor and Hound Tor offer a high density of trad routes and bouldering that along with easy access justifies this as one of the most popular areas of Dartmoor.  The Dewerstone is the largest cliff in the Dartmoor area with multi-pitch routes up to 50m long.  Here there are over 100 quality routes, mainly in the lower to mid-range grades, in a delightful setting above the River Plym. The whole of Dartmoor has many routes of different types from quarried granite walls to exposed tors, as well as the best bouldering in the southwest England, including Bovey Tracey, Bonehill, the Hound, Combeshead and Down Tor where there are some excellent circuits.

The definitive guidebook called “Dartmoor” covers all the rock climbing and bouldering in Dartmoor.  The Rockfax Devon Bouldering guidebook details over 2,400 boulder problems across Devon, with the bulk of these problems covering the various areas of Dartmoor. Both of these guidebooks are available to buy from our shop.

At either end of Torbay there are clusters of fantastic limestone sea cliffs that offer varied styles of climbing.  The stacked overhangs of the Old Redoubt at Barry Head is one of the most intimidating section of sea cliffs in the southwest of England. However the rock is peppered with jugs and handrails that produce some ultra-classic multi-pitch routes such as Moonraker (HVS 5a) that is 76m long.

In contrast there are hard sport routes at Anstey’s Cove, slabby routes at nearby Long Quarry Point, and the sunny more friendly crags dotted along the seashore at Daddyhole.  Just north of Torbay is Chudleigh, a popular and picturesque limestone crag, offering generally well-protected, sustained and technical routes.

The definitive guidebook called “South Devon” covers all the rock climbing, deep water soling (DWS) and bouldering in South Devon including Chudleigh and Torbay, and is available to buy from our shop.

There are also a couple of selective guidebooks covering the best rock climbing in Devon.  These are:

1. West Country Climbs by Rockfax covers Baggy Point, the Culm Coast, Dartmoor, Chudleigh and Torbay.  As well as Devon this guidebook also covers Cornwall, Dorset, Avon and Somerset.
   
   
2. South West Climbs Volume 2 Guidebook covers Lundy, Baggy Point, the Culm Coast, Dartmoor, Chudleigh and Torbay.  As well as Devon this guidebook also covers Cornwall and the Channel Islands.