South Wales Sport Climbing

South of the Brecon Beacons lies a wealth of excellent sport climbing around Cardiff, Newport, Bridgend, Merthyr-Tydfil, Pontypridd and Abergavenny. This area is connected with good roads and motorways from the West Midlands and West London that make them easily accessible within a 2-hour drive.

The climbing is on a collection of natural and quarried crags with both limestone and sandstone rock to choose from, across a wide range of grades. In this compact area there are 32 crags, with some of the larger crags being Dinas Rock, Sirhowy, Tirpentwys, Navigation Quarry and Gilwern. These larger crags are described in more detail below.

(1) Witches Point is a steep sea cliff situated next to a beech that is mainly non-tidal.

(2) Temple Bay is a long line of low sea cliffs that offer steep and sharp lines on solid rock. Though tidal it is a great place for climbers in the F5 to F7a grade range.

(3) Dinas Rock is one of South Wales’s premier sport crags that has lots of hard routes on good quality limestone rock. It is set in a lovely quiet valley with some easier routes as well.

(4) Taff’s Well offers a good number of long face routes on good rock that are impressive and close to Cardiff.

(5) Gelli has lots of low grade routes at a crag that is in a quiet and pleasant setting.

(6) Mountain Ash is a collection of quarried walls with quick easy access and a wide range of grades.

(7) The Gap provides very fingery and technical climbing across a wide range of grades.

(8) Navigation Quarry is a lovely spot with good sport routes as well as some trad. It has a great sunny aspect and excellent quality rock.

(9) Llanbradlach is a massive quarry with good routes manly in the F6b to F7a grade range.

(10) Sirhowy is one of the best crags in the Valley’s. It’s a lovely spot with excellent routes mainly in the F5 to F7a grade range.

(11) Tirpentwys is a little quarry with lots of good routes on clean well-bolted sandstone rock.

(12) Gilwern Hill is a series of 5 sectors facing north, east and west situated high up on the edge of moorland with great views over the Usk valley and Black Mountains. The routes on here are up to 20m high, well bolted with good climbing in the F5 to F7a grade range. 

There is also a limited amount of trad climbing in this area that is mainly concentrated at Ogmore near Bridgend. Ogmore is sea cliff climbing that is wild, steep and exciting; you will either love it or hate it. It is pumpy and strenuous climbing on steep and overhanging limestone rock that is generally well supplied with good holds. Dinas Rock also has a small number of trad routes in the E grades, whilst Gilwern has over 100 trad routes mainly at Gilwern East.

Dinas rock and Gilwern are popular bouldering areas in South Wales on good quality limestone rock.  Also the sandstone areas between Swansea and Newport have been developed providing some good bouldering areas at places such as the Gap, Goitre Coed, Penallta and Abercregan.

There are a number of rock climbing guidebooks for South wales.  These are:

The Rockfax South Wales Sport Climbs is a selective guidebook that covers all the main sport climbing crags around Cardiff, Newport, Bridgend, Merthyr-Tydfil, Pontypridd and Abergavenny.  It details over 1,700 routes at 47 different crags across a wide range of grades.

The Gilwern Rock Climbing Guidebook is a definitive guidebook for Gilwern Hill, Llangattock and Blackrock, and it covers more routes at these areas than any other guidebook.  It details 219 sport routes, 125 Trad routes and many bouldering problems.

The South Wales Rock is a selective guidebook covering 1,500 routes at 43 crags in South Wales.  Published by the Climbers Club it details both sport and trad routes including the trad climbing at Ogmore.

The South Wales Bouldering Guidebook details 21 bouldering areas within Southeast Wales, from Merthyr Tydfil in the north, Bridgend in the west to Newport in the east.

Buy these rock climbing and bouldering guidebooks for South Wales from our shop.