Wharncliffe has long had a bit of a rogue reputation as a grim place to climb owing to its slightly urban location overlooking the upper Don Valley and the steel rolling mills of Stocksbridge. As you can see from the photo-topos, this is just rumour mongering by the locals who want to keep the place to themselves; well their cover has been blown! The main section of cliff has routes across the full grade spectrum and, although many only rise to 12m in height, they are usually action-packed and quite intense. The climbing tends to be steep and fingery, with many small sharp holds rather than the roundedness of true gritstone. The grades here have long been regarded as being on the tough side and we have made some effort to redress this. One rumour that is true is that the landings are awful; make a point of getting an early runner in, small Friends are especially useful in this respect! Wharncliffe was very significant at the birth of British outcrop climbing with J.W.Puttrell first scratching the rock here with his nailed boots back in 1885. By 1900, and due in large part to the nearby railway line, Wharncliffe was the most popular cliff in the country. An article published in 1910 described 110 separate routes here. The heady days have never returned and a century on Wharncliffe is a place to escape the crowds that have become so much of climbing elsewhere in the Peak; strange to think that the place is probably less popular now than it was 100 years ago, surely the only venue in Britain where this can be said.

Photo: Great Buttress © ROCKFAX

ROUTES

142 trad routes (M...E7) Graded List of Routes List of First Ascents

Buttress (click for routes)	No. of Routes	Route Type	Sunshine or shade	Approach walk	Other	Page
Prow Rock Wharncliffe starts with the pointed block of Prow Rock. This worthy mini-summit can be escaped by a...	9			15 mins		43
Pylon Buttress and Scarlett's A well-cracked buttress that was capped with a pylon for many years - only a short stump now...	14			15 mins		44
Tensile Test A smooth face of good quality rock with some enjoyable if short climbs. There are some...	10			15 mins		45
Photo Finish A series of buttresses with an interesting collection of climbs. On the left is the narrow tower of...	13			15 mins		46
Cheese Block An isolated blocky buttress split by a series of cracks and grooves. It is a great area for...	14			15 mins		47
Pete's Sake A fine narrow tower whose main challenge was unlocked by local legend Pete Crew before he moved on...	12			15 mins		48
Great Buttress One of the best buttresses on the cliff with a good set of worthwhile routes on the main piece of...	14			18 mins		50
Puttrells Progress A proud buttress that has lost bits over the years. Get the classic Puttrell’s Progress done before...	12			18 mins		51
Himmelswillen and Banana Wall An impressive tower and wall with a fine set of routes across the grades. Tower Face and...	9			20 mins		52
Hell Gate The finest set of hard climbs on the cliff are based around three jutting aretes. Half a dozen...	13			20 mins		52
Long John's Stride An isolated set of quiet buttresses with a good selection of climbs. It can be green here in...	23			30 mins		54
		What do these symbols mean?

The Crack of Doom
"I'm a little bulky through the shoulder and chest, I can get one shoulder in and..." 30/Mar

Sidewinder
"Not that reachy - my partner is fairly short but had no problem reaching the top..." 06/Aug

Cannae
"The other good, non-eliminate, non-wandering line on here, when finished up the ..." 05/May

Great Buttress
"The line as described in PGE (I was using the first edition) is clearly wrong. ..." 06/Apr

The Flue
"Only hard bit is getting into sentry box. Then a fun squirm. Hard Diff?" 02/Apr

Desolation Angel
"agree with all above. looks harder than it is. i would probably say E5, compared..." 13/Mar

Scarlett's Wall Arete
"Nice face climbing." 27/Oct

Rook Chimney
"A bit polished lower down and not a smooth climb i.e. bitty!" 26/Oct

Banana Wall
"agree with brown. E2 5c/6a depending on reach." 19/Oct

Great Buttress Arete
"It is possible with some care and attention to place adequate wire protection. ..." 14/Oct

Easy Groove
"More a chimney than a groove, though climbed by bridging rather than chimneying...." 07/Sep

Renrock
"Very straightforward 5a moves for a consolidated onsight E1 leader. Bouldering h..." 29/May

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