The UK's 10 most remote climbing spots

Hanging on with your fingertips: WideWorld's guide to climbing in Britain

There comes a point when the bright lights and hard plastic of the UK’s climbing centres don’t quite cut it. If you’re one of them, pack your kit and some muscle rub and head to the craggy peaks of Scotland or the windswept cliffs of Wales and test out your skills on some real rock. “Remote climbing is ten times scarier than the indoor equivalent – which is clearly the fun of it,” says Tom Bailey, a 24-year-old climber from London. “There are moments when you’ve climbed so far that you have no choice but to keep going, and you can be clinging on with your fingertips for half an hour not knowing what to do. Once you’ve passed this though, the exhilaration is unbelievable.”

1. The Old Man of Hoy, Orkney Islands, North Scotland

The legendary 137m (449 ft) sea stack in the Orkney Islands was famously publicised in 1998 when French climber Catherine Destivelle completed a solo ascent while three months pregnant. Arguably the most remote climbing spot in the UK, the journey to the foot of the stack is challenging enough. From Orkney, the car ferry runs from Houton to Lyness in Hoy. If you’re on foot, a passenger ferry runs from Stromness to north Hoy but it is then a six-mile walk through the glen to Rackwick Bay, the nearest convenient place to stay. Meanwhile, the nearest grocery shop is ten miles away, back in Lyness. The climb itself is not difficult, but extreme weather conditions make progress slow, and you can only attempt it at low tide.

Grades: E1-E6

2. Gogarth, North-west Wales

The Gogarth crags near Anglesey, North Wales are well-known within the climbing community, but this doesn’t take away their breathtaking beauty. The whole region is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and most of the climbing areas at Gogarth and the surrounding crags of Carmel Head and Rhoscolyn are situated on ancient rocks well over 570 million years old. You are climbing on sea cliff, so conditions are less suitable for beginners and you have low protection on the rock face, meaning a high level of skill is required. Make sure you check out your route beforehand as many cliffs at Gogarth are subject to seasonal nesting and tidal restrictions. Read GroundUp publishing’s Gogarth North guidebook (?18.95) to find out more.

Grades: to E7

3. Huntsman’s Bay, Pembrokeshire

Climbing here is exciting and challenging, particularly on the south coast limestone cliffs and at Huntsman’s Leap – a 130ft-high chasm in the rock. There are 44 ‘trad’ routes here across the east and west walls and a nearby greasy spoon set up by climber Chris Bonington. You can also try ‘coasteering’ at Huntsman’s Bay – combining climbing with plunging into the sea – if you’re so inclined.

Grades: to E6

4. Malham Cove, Yorkshire Dales

With 280 routes, Malham Cove has, arguably, some of the best sport climbing in the Pennines. The scenery is spectacular – it is a 200m-high, 300m-wide quarry of steep, compact limestone. Although it has a great selection of bolt routes there is also a wide range of technically demanding trad ones. It is also relatively easy to get to, by driving about an hour north-west of Leeds into the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Climbers must take particular care as many of the starts are unprotected and the cove gets a lot of sun and dries out quickly.

Grades: to 9a+

5. Bosigran, Cornwall

The granite sea cliff of Bosigran is right at the tip of the Cornish peninsula, six miles from St Just, so most of the 120 routes are south or west-facing and warm. The non-tidal nature of many of the routes is a big advantage too, and the Main Cliff is well protected and suited to all climbing abilities. One thing to bear in mind is that many of the climbs can feel under-graded, so approach them all with caution, whatever standard you are!

Grades: to VS 5a

6. Coire an-t-Sneachda, Cairngorms, Scotland

Coire an-t-Sneada is deceptively easy to get to from Glasgow and may give the impression that the climbing is equally accessible. In fact, the routes are tough and a high level of skill is required. The corrie itself is a circle of cliffs that reach up to 299m and boast snow throughout much of the year (this is a fantastic spot for some serious winter ice-climbing). Extreme weather conditions are an obvious risk, but for the climber who wants a serious challenge, the steep overhangs, jagged surfaces and high altitude are hard to resist. Check the weather forecast and route reviews before you go.

Grades: mixed, to X11

7. Cuillin Ridge, Isle of Skye, north-west Scotland

The Cuillin are some of the most remote and challenging mountains in the UK and most of the opportunities are for experienced trad climbers as the rock can be wet and unstable. However, some guides are starting to open up easier routes which are part-scrambling, part-climbing, so it is worth watching this space…There are two main approaches, both requiring around seven or eight hours to traverse the ridge, and there are also some challenging ice routes during the winter.

Grades: mixed, part-scrambling

8. Llanberis Pass, Snowdonia, Wales

A feature about remote rock climbing would not be complete without a mention of Snowdonia, and this part of the national park offers some of the best selection of middle-grade routes in Wales. The rock is limestone and features some fantastic cracks and buttresses which can prove a real challenge. The finest mountain crag is Clogwyn Du'r Arddu, a 600-ft cliff with a wealth of routes reaching up towards Mt. Snowdon. Llanberies, the Great Wall and the Indian Face remain the hardest, where most of the climbing is on layaways and smears – in fact, Indian Face has only had three ascents in 14 years!

Grades: VS-E9

9. The Roaches and Stanage Edge, Derbyshire

The Roaches are a familiar landmark for anyone driving from Leek to Buxton in the Peak District. They form part of a gritstone escarpment, with two tiers of rock and a climbing hut built into the lower part. The Sloth, with its enormous overhang is one of the best routes here. Stanage is the largest of the gritstone edges and it can be snowbound in winter. It has some fantastic routes for more experienced climbers, but the drawback is that its popularity has caused heavy erosion of many of the rock faces.

Grades: to HVS 5a

10. Tremadog, North Wales

One climber described the location of Tremadog as “just up from Pothmadoc, on the road to Beddgelert” – a fairly cryptic set of directions that betray how remote the spot is. The climbing is on 250m-high dolerite sea cliffs. It’s a good place to go if the weather on the Llanberis Pass prevents you from climbing there, as the surface at Tremadog dries out much quicker. The names of the routes are enough to make you want to go: Christmas Curry, One Step in the Clouds, Strawberries and Void are just a few.

Grades: mixed, E1 to E7

WideWorld's thanks go to avid climber Bartholomew Digby, 26, from Stroud, who provided first-hand accounts of the climbing at the spots listed above, and who suggests reading Robert MacFarlane’s Mountains of the Mind (Granta Books) to find out more about Britain’s wilderness areas.