Following some incidents where climbers have been verbally accosted when climbing on the south bank of Water-cum-Jolly, the situation has now been clarified as below:
WCJ South Bank
The south bank of the river is designated as open access land under CRoW and climbers have a legal right of access to the crags on this bank. Climbers have been challenged by bailiffs in the past whilst climbing on this side of the river. Given that access for climbing is a legal right on this bank, please report any instances of confrontation regarding access on this side of the dale to the BMC.
The crags on this side of the dale have historically been reached by wading across the river at the weir just downstream of Litton Mill, but please avoid this now and use the following approaches instead:
- For Moat Buttress, Crunch/Mallorca Buttress and the Cornice park at Cressbrook, cross the bridge at Rubicon Wall and contour the hillside above the crag. Cross the fence at a bend in the path (at the west exit of a tunnel) and either drop down steeply to Moat Buttress etc, or continue briefly along the trail before dropping down before the next tunnel entrance to get to the Cornice.
- Central Buttress is best approached from Litton Mill by crossing the footbridge at LM, following the track and then contouring the hillside low before dropping down. Alternatively, follow a more defined path above the trail before dropping down a grassy slope to the crag.
More information on BMC RAD here.
The situation on the North Bank remains as described here and in this new separate RAD entry.
