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FISHERMANS LEDGE

Fisherman’s Ledge is one of the most popular and important areas at Swanage. There is a wide variety of climbing to be found including deep water solos, big trad routes, scary headpoints and bolted roof climbs. For the deep water soloist, Fisherman’s Ledge (or Conner Cove as it is also known) is the place to be at the height of summer. Armed with only a beach towel and a supply of old boots and chalk bags, the climber can tackle some crazy solos or pull off an amazing 20m swallow dive. The main soloing areas are the Funky Wall and the Conger Cave. The trad climbing of the Squid and Limited Edition Areas offers another attraction. Hereabouts are some classic routes that follow impressive lines above a solid and accessible platform. Further on is the awesome Palace of the Brine, home to some of the best and most spectacular roof climbing around. On the middle walls of Conner Cove are a series of high standard and often very bold trad routes - thin moves with minimal gear and without any deep water below. The rock is heavily weathered and yields some amazing pockets and gritstone-style slopers in places. On the whole, the finishes tend to be more solid than nearby cliffs which is very welcome if you are soloing or headpointing.

ROUTES

62 trad routes (D...E6)
4 sport routes (7c+...8a+)
29 dws routes (HVS...6c)
Graded List of Routes
List of First Ascents
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Buttress (click for routes) No. of Routes Route Type Sunshine
or shade
Approach walk Other Page
Funky Wall
The Funky Wall is a committing arena with routes which are mostly deepwater solos. The wall is...
17 dws lots of sun! up+down
40 mins
abseilwindy246
Rufty Tufty Area
There are no deepwater solos on this section, it is back to trad lines on excellent quality rock....
14 trad lots of sun! up+down
40 mins
abseilwindy246
Armed Insurgence Area
The final section before the Conger Area is another wall covered with some fairly hard trad routes....
9 trad lots of sun! up+down
40 mins
abseilwindy250
The Conger Area
This is the show-piece of all the deep water soloing venues described in this book. All the routes...
21 dws lots of sun! up+down
40 mins
abseilwindy252
Squid Area
This area is often ignored in favour of its more illustrious neighbours but it contains a good set...
15 trad lots of sun! up+down
40 mins
abseilwindy254
Vigilante Area
The right-hand end of the Squid area has a couple of huge boulders on the platform. The wall above...
6 trad lots of sun! up+down
40 mins
abseilwindy256
Palace of the Brine
Back at sea level, is a great cave which is home to some of the biggest overhangs around. This area...
13 trad lots of sun! up+down
40 mins
abseiltidalwindy257
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Latest Comments
FISHERMANS LEDGE
Damage Case
"a nasty start, followed by a lovely top section; harder but not as good as Calci..." 22/Jul

Calcitron
"Possible new route up the wall to the right of Calcitron at about E3 5c. More in..." 25/Apr

Gorillas in the Mist
"Threads replaced (June 09) though would only really trust the one at the bottom ..." 29/Jun

Palace of the Brine
"rebolted with shiny new glue ins. there is also another bolt line in this cave t..." 13/Jun

Sue's Route
"Nice route. OK at the grade I thought." 19/Apr

Rufty Tufty
"The entire Rufty Tufty area has collapsed removing the big roof and all the rock..." 13/Apr

Gorillas in the Mist
"superb route, s stars for sure. The threads are a in a poor state at the moment..." 16/Mar

Limited Edition
"On a repeat ascent using the new start (well, up the crack between the original ..." 08/Mar

End of the Innocence
"Almost this entire page of the guide book has fallen off into the sea. Infact o..." 09/Jun

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