Scattered tors, towers and edges, often hidden in deep wooded dales, the limestone cliffs have both trad and sport climbing on cliffs that are taller than is the norm for gritstone. The fine grained rock tends to polish relatively easy so the most popular climbs have become harder over the years. High Tor is doubtless the areas premier crag though Wildcat, Stoney Middleton, the Manifold valley and Cheedale have plenty to delight the climber. Limestone has been quarried for centuries and the whole area is peppered with abandoned holes in the ground. In recent years many of these have been developed to provide sport climbs across the grade spectrum, Horseshoe and Harpur Hill are well established and recently other venues such as Intake and Hall Dale quarries in the Matlock area have been added to the list

ROUTES
1222 trad routes (M...E7)
1061 sport routes (3+...9a)
4 boulder problems (V7...V9)
50 of the Best Routes
Graded List of Routes
List of First Ascents

Crag (click for details)	No. of Routes	Grade Range	Route Type	Sunshine or shade	Approach walk	Other	Page
Stoney Middleton Stoney, as it is more popularly known, is a crag which most climbers will...	113				10 mins		42
Horseshoe Quarry Horseshoe Quarry is now the most extensive sport climbing area in the Peak with...	175				0 mins		54
Peter Dale It comes as something of a surprise to discover that the cliffs in Peter Dale...	25				10 mins		-
Harpur Hill Clearly visible from large areas of the central peak is the quarried plateau of...	162				6 mins		74
Deep Dale This selcuded and peaceful dale contains four small buttresses at various...	86				15 mins		-
Staden Staden is the Peak quarry that manages to break the well-known golden rule of...	47				0 mins		88
Beerhouse Buttress This is another of those peak venues which was probably dismissed by earlier...	18				10 mins		-
Smalldale Quarry The location of Smalldale Quarry leaves something to be desired, especially...	40				5 mins		69
Chee Dale Upper The area Chee Dale Upper covers all the Chee Dale crags that would usually be...	430				15 mins		94
Chee Dale Lower Chee Dale Lower refers to the crags in Chee Dale which are generally approach...	196				15 mins		124
Blackwell Dale A short steep crag also known as Beginner's Wall.	11				0 mins		-
Raven Tor The most famous Tor in the Peak, even the French have heard of this one. The...	53				0 mins		-
Water-cum-Jolly The River Wye continues from Chee Dale to cut another less-imposing dale...	239				10 mins		148
Ravensdale Looking west out over the attractive wooded valley of Cressbrook Dale,...	32				15 mins		164
Taddington Taddington, or Crag 'X' as it was generally known while being developed, is a...	15				5 mins		168
Rheinstor A lovely little cliff set in a peaceful sunny setting, by the River Bradford,...	11						171
Aldery Cliff A pleasant slabby crag, east facing and well sheltered. The base can be a bit...	46				0 mins		174
Wolfscote Dale Tucked away in Wolfscote Dale in the Southern Peak are a couple of rocky towers...	15				15 mins		177
Thor's Cave The fine imposing Thor's Cave overlooks the upper Manifold Valley and is a...	10				15 mins		179
Beeston Tor One of the jewels of Peak limestone, a fine imposing south-facing wall with a...	29				10 mins		181
Dove Dale The meandering and deeply-incised valley of the River Dove is one of the most...	101				40 mins		188
Brassington The climbing area of Brassington (also known as Rainster Rocks) is a diminutive...	45				10 mins		-
Harborough Rocks The most popular of a pair of dolomitic limestone outcrops tucked away in the...	46				10 mins		201
Intake Quarry Intake Quarry is a recent discovery not far from Matlock. It is very extensive...	24				5 mins		206
Slaley Brook This huge quarry is hidden just off the Cromford to Buxton road, in the depths...	39				5 mins		17
Halldale Quarry Halldale Quarry is a huge open hole in the ground which, until recently, was...	17				10 mins		210
Cawdor Quarry This long-abandoned quarry is clearly visible, rising above the trees behind...	65				4 mins		12
Lorry Park Quarry This neglected quarry to the south of Matlock features a fine vertical wall of...	16				3 mins		-
Pic Tor A small compact sheet of rock within the confines of Matlock. Only a few...	13				5 mins		212
High Tor High Tor can justifiably claim to be the finest limestone crag in the Peak....	85				15 mins		216
Wildcat This oft underrated crag contains a good concentration of VS and HVS limestone...	31				15 mins		227
Willersley On first acquaintance this north-facing crag on the banks of the river Derwent...	52				2 mins		232
			What do these symbols mean? Averages, based on the largest buttress at each crag

Original Route (High Tor)
"The tree stump is gone as of today." 16/Aug

Monumental Armblaster (Chee Dale Lower)
"I did (possibly) the 2nd ascent of this (on aid!). Jim Moran walked past just as..." 12/Aug

Rain Dance (Horseshoe Quarry)
"Borderline 6b+/6c - but surely at least a full grade easier than Legal Action. W..." 12/Aug

Padme (Stoney Middleton)
"Pitch 2 is not worth the effort" 11/Aug

Sunday Sport (Horseshoe Quarry)
"Very polished, but the extended finish makes it a better route, though probably ..." 11/Aug

Padme (Stoney Middleton)
"I'm not sure whether pitch 2 (which is probably 5a) can really still be recommen..." 11/Aug

Rapid City (Chee Dale Lower)
"Bolts recently renewed up to the roof. The band of rock on the lip of the roof a..." 03/Aug

Riding the Bullet (Smalldale Quarry)
"Same comments about bolting seem to apply to most of the routes here as made by ..." 03/Aug

The Claw (Dove Dale)
"Led it in one. A good honest tussle up to the optional stance but I didn't enjoy..." 02/Aug

Desmond Douglas (Water-cum-Jolly)
"Good little route, nice safe fall from crux if you fail first go !" 02/Aug

Boat Pushers Wall (Stoney Middleton)
"If someone explains where the 'hexes' go il buy em a pint! I have done it and si..." 01/Aug

Flake and Pillar (Stoney Middleton)
"Dave - I think I'll take your word for it. Any route to attract the comment &qu..." 29/Jul

Darius (High Tor)
"there's now some tat by the old bolt. Whoever thinks this is polished should ..." 26/Jul

Sirplum (Chee Dale Upper)
"Well one of the best climbs I ever done pumpy but keep going and you soon be at ..." 25/Jul

Nancy Whisky (Dove Dale)
"Worth 2 stars? I think so. E2? Probably not, but it's high in the grade. Certain..." 25/Jul

Badlands (Staden)
"Despite being close to adjacent routes, nice climbing; no more than 5c, but gear..." 20/Jul

Prognosis (Pic Tor)
"Led it again the other day. A much smoother and more controlled ascent than the ..." 19/Jul

Captain Reliable (Staden)
"Not reachy at all and that's from a 5'4''1/2 person. Maybe tall people just don'..." 12/Jul

Max-a-Million (Chee Dale Upper)
"I have a 5"10 span and can just reach the good crimp below the jug! You nee..." 11/Jul

Flake and Pillar (Stoney Middleton)
"This route is okay, the moves the gear etc. Thoughtful maybe but okay. Good war..." 09/Jul

Approaching (Chee Dale Lower)
"Felt bold enough seconding this. The gear placed on the traverse was poor and fe..." 06/Jul

Nancy Whisky (Dove Dale)
"Good route but hard for the grade: I've certainly done easier E2s" 05/Jul

Cistron (Pic Tor)
"Maybe worth 2 stars? Certainly at least one * better than Burning Spear, anyway...." 03/Jul

Search for comments or
get RSS feed for this area