directions to crags
Directions to get to most of the local, and not so local, crags are
below. There is a link to an OS map of the crag and the Landranger grid reference is given.
I have also included the nearest post-code and latitude and longitude
for GPS use
(the post-code may not be very accurate out in the middle of nowhere).
The distances and times quoted are obtained from Streetmap,
using 'Edinburgh' and the OS grid reference as the start and finish
points.
If you just want the text for an individual crag, click on the link
'This text only' for that crag.
If I have missed out any obvious crags, or anything is wrong, email me.
Aberdour (Hawkcraig)
OS map This text only
Map Reference: NT 200 849 (Landranger 66) Nearest Post Code KY3 0RQ Lat (WGS84) N56:03:01 (56.050310) Long (WGS84) W3:17:05 (-3.284601) Distance 19 miles; 35 mins
Cross the Forth bridge, leave at the second exit after the bridge and turn right under the motorway, then follow the signs for Aberdour, entering it along the A921. Follow this through Aberdour until you can turn right along the road heading for the Silver Sands beach - head for the blue P marked on the map. Don't go into the car park, follow the road to the left which drops down towards the beach (and a second car park), then curves round to Hawkcraig Point. Stop here (if you don't you will drive off the cliffs), then walk round to the right to the crags.
The usual post-climbing pub is the Cedar Inn in Aberdour.
Auchinstarry quarry
OS map This text only
Map Reference: NS 719 771 (Landranger 64) Nearest Post Code G65 0TD Lat N55:58:13 (55.970218) Long W4:03:12 (-4.053245) Distance 42 miles; 55 mins
From Edinburgh I usually follow the M9, heading for Stirling, to Junction 7, then take the M876 (take the second M876 exit, heading for Glasgow, at the end of the short 3-lane section of motorway, not the first M876 exit, which goes to Kincardine bridge). Then take the M80 and A803 to Kilsyth. Left here at a roundabout onto the B802 (signposted Cumbernauld). After about .75 mile, the quarry and loch are obvious on your left on a gradual rightwards bend in the road, just after a sharp leftwards bend. Park in the obvious car park on the rightwards bend, immediately in front of the crag. The crag is straight in front of you (in the car park!), and all round the loch.
It is easy to get lost on the return journey because, in their 'wisdom', the roads dept has decided not to signpost Edinburgh on the motorway signs. Thus, to retrace your steps, follow the A803 back to the M80, then follow the Stirling sign onto the M80. Then take the next exit, signposted Grangemouth (still no mention of Edinburgh). After a few miles you find yourself in the inside lane of the 3-lane section of motorway, where you move into the middle lane and hence onto the M9 - finally signposted for Edinburgh!
Benny Beg
OS map This text only
Map Reference: NN 862 188 (Landranger 58) Nearest Post Code PH7 4HN Lat N56:20:54 (56.348280) Long W3:50:32 (-3.842106) Distance 50 miles; 1 hour
Benny Beg is located 1 mile to the south of Crieff (west of Perth). Follow the M9 North from Stirling, onto the A9 and then turn left onto the A822, signposted Braco. Then follow signs for Crieff to the Ceramic Experience and eventually the Benny Beg Nursery, on the right. The crag is located 100m North on the right, past the Nursery entrance as you approach from Stirling. The local businesses and Drummond Estates have asked climbers to please park considerately in the space provided, just through the farm gate.
Topos: Scottishclimbs.com (photo-topo) UKC info (no photo)
Berryhill
OS map This text only
Map Reference: NT 938 403 (Landranger 75) Nearest Post Code TD12 4TP Lat N55:39:24 (55.656636) Long W2:05:57 (-2.099304) Distance 62 miles; 1 hour, 15 mins
The crag lies roughly mid way between Wooler and Berwick, close to the village of Etal. About 1 mile north of Etal on the B6354, a farm lane leads off to the east. Parking is available on the side of the lane before the main farmhouse is reached. The top of the crag lies beyond the farm and can be reached in 5 minutes. It is essential that all visiting climbers ask permission at the farm before proceeding to the crag. It is highly unlikely that there will be a refusal but the approach routes may differ from time to time depending on the operational requirements of the farm.
Bowden Doors
OS map This text only
Map Reference: NU 073 322 (Landranger 75) Nearest Post Code NE66 5RY Lat N55:35:01 (55.583528) Long W1:53:07 (-1.885361) Distance 74 miles; 1 hour, 25 mins
Head down the A1, and turn off the A1 into Belford and then head along the B6349 in the direction of Wooler. Continue for 3 miles, keeping left where the road forks at 2.5 miles. Continue for 400 yards after the fork until just over the brow of the hill. The S end of the crag is just visible 100 m N of the road.
Cambusbarron quarry
OS map This text only
Map Reference: NS 769 920 (Landranger 57) Nearest Post Code FK7 9NE Lat N56:06:20 (56.105688) Long W3:58:46 (-3.979325) Distance 40 miles; 50 mins
Follow the M9 to the Stirling turn-off, junction 9 (the massive junction containing the Stirling service station), then follow the A872 towards Stirling (past the Bannockburn heritage centre). On reaching the big St. Ninians roundabout (Shell petrol station on the left of the roundabout) turn left and then left again at the Lidl supermarket (signposted Cambusbarron). Follow this road past at least one mini-roundabout until you reach a mini-roundabout signposted Cambusbarron to the left. Follow this road across the motorway and then turn right. Drive through the centre of Cambusbarron village and then turn left into Quarry road, just before the end of the village (there is an obvious signpost for Quarry road on the right of the main road). Drive up Quarry road to the top of the hill, where the road turns left, and park on the right at the edge of some woods. From the parking place, walk along the main path, past a gate and some boulders. About 100 yards past a wooden sign saying lower quarry path, turn left along a narrow path into the quarry. The climbing is along the left wall - not on the massive piles of rubble opposite!
NB There are many very good E1's (and upwards) here, but apart from one quite good severe there does not seem to be anything worth doing here below E1.
Dunkeld (Craig a Barns, Polney Crag)
OS map This text only
Map Reference: NT 431 011 (Landranger 52, 53) Nearest Post Code PH8 0HX Lat (WGS84) N56:34:08 (56.568991) Long (WGS84) W3:36:40 (-3.611057) Distance 60 miles; 1 hour, 20 mins
Drive up the A9, past Perth and after about 58 miles turn right into Dunkeld. Go straight through Dunkeld and keep left after leaving it. After about a mile, just before the road starts curving to the right, there are two areas of roadside parking on the grass on the right, at about the spot marked by the arrow on the OS map (bump up over the kerb). There is a turning spot at a gate on the right, at the start of a track, about 200 yards after the parking spots, and round a curve in the road (the track is shown on the OS map). When parking and leaving, watch out for fast moving traffic coming round the bend. I usually turn before parking.
From the parking spots various paths go up steeply to the crag. From the left parking spot (facing in) you arrive near Kestrel Crack, while from the right you arrive near to Hairy Gulley, both in the Main Cliff area.
Heriot-Watt climbing wall
OS map This text only
Map Reference: NT 176 692 (Landranger 65) Nearest Post Code EH14 4AS Lat (WGS84) N55:54:32 (55.908997) Long (WGS84) W3:19:06 (-3.318366)
You enter the campus from the big roundabout on Riccarton Mains Road. The entrance to the visitor's car park is on the right, about 150 yards along The Avenue from the roundabout. Park in there, then get back out onto the Avenue and continue walking along it, straight past a mini roundabout. The sports centre is about 150 yards past the mini roundabout, set back a bit on the left - you will see the greenhouse style entrance foyer.
At the desk tell them you have come for the JMCS climbing session. They should charge you as an affiliated club member (sometimes the person on the desk is not sure what category we come under). The JMCS booking is 7.15-9.15.
The usual post-climbing pub is the Riccarton Arms in Currie.
Kirrie Hill
OS map This text only
Map Reference: NO 392 546 (Landranger 54) Nearest Post Code DD8 4DR Lat (WGS84) N56:40:47 (56.679636) Long (WGS84) W2:59:35 (-2.993133) Distance 80 miles; 1 hour, 30 mins
From Edinburgh head north on the M90 to Perth, then continue along the A90 to the Dundee ring road. Follow this round Dundee until you turn left heading for Forfar (following the A90 all the way). Follow the A90 to Forfar, but then turn left onto the A926 towards Kirriemuir. Follow the A926 for two and a half miles to turn off right at Checkiefield onto an unclassified road. Continue for one mile until reaching a T-junction. Turn right then almost imediately left (signed 'Northmuir') and continue for just over half a mile until reaching a sharp right bend. At the bend, take the left branch onto West Hill Road and after 200m turn left onto the driveway leading to the Camera Obscura. Go past the Camera Obscura to the second car park (at the base of the blue picnic table on the OS map).
The left bay of the crag is under the 189 spot height on OS map, and the right area is marked by the arrow. To get to the crag, walk eastwards along the track, with the cemetary on your right (towards the 193 spot height on the OS map), then follow the cemetary wall round to the right and down the hill. When the wall veers right, turn left along a good path which brings you to the left bay of the quarry.
See Arbroath Sport Climbs for photos and up-to-date information about Kirrie Hill, and other crags in the area.
Topo: sales of the topo pay for the bolts, so please don't photocopy someone else's copy. Check here for how to get it and send a donation (the last time I looked they asked for £3.50, but I sent a fiver - easier than writing a cheque for £3.50, and still cheaper than one trip to Alien Rock).
Local interest: If you run out of routes, or strength, you could have a look at the camera obscura - donated by J M Barrie, who lived in Kirriemuir, and is buried in the cemetery you walked past.
On a more contemporary note, Bon Scott also lived in Kirriemuir,
which presumably inspired the names of the routes to the right end of
the left bay
(if you haven't heard of Bon Scott, he was born in Kirriemuir, emigrated to Australia, became the singer with AC/DC and then proceeded to drink himself to death -
motto: 'I'm on the highway to hell, and I'm going all the way ...').
See here for more info on the camera obscura and Barrie (not Bon Scott - see here for him).
Limekilns
OS map This text only
Map Reference: NT 068 837 (Landranger 65) Nearest Post Code KY11 3EH Lat (WGS84) N56:02:14 (56.037133) Long (WGS84) W3:29:49 (-3.496994) Distance 19 miles; 30 mins
Drive to a large grassy "square" east of the hotel on the east side of the road (as on the OS map). Drive round the square and there is a single road heading east from the middle of the square (the top half of the rectangle of road shown on the OS map) ending at a wrought iron gate, 30 yards after the houses. Park on the left, between the houses and the gate (about where the arrow is on the OS map), or in the little car park on the right (park in a way that does not annoy any local residents).
To get to crag, walk through the wrought iron gate, then immediately veer left into the bushes, at about 45 degrees to the tarmac, and follow a track up a hill through the woods. When you reach a chain-link fence, turn right and follow the fence (get through it at the break). One of the blocks then appears in front of you after about 100 yards. The face you see first is the west face of the Gellet block, and is the most amenable one here and is where we usually gather first. The Sentinel is off through the bushes to the left as you approach the Gellet this way.
The usual post-climbing pub is the Ship in Limekilns, just below the PH on the OS map.
Loudon Hill
OS map This text only
Map Reference: NS 608 378 (Landranger 71) Nearest Post Code KA17 0LU Lat (WGS84) N55:36:51 (55.614232) Long (WGS84) W4:12:41 (-4.211253) Distance 58 miles; 1 hour, 15 mins
I usually leave Edinburgh along the M8. Then leave this at junction 6, heading south on the A73, then south and west along the A71. Follow this through Strathaven and Drumclog. About 2 miles after Drumclog, Loudon Hill appears on the right as an obvious landmark. Turn right just before it, along a minor road, and park in a good car park about a third of a mile along the road.
From the car park, walk down the tracks and across the stream and up the other side. The main crags are up on the side of the hill round to the left from the approach. If you keep an eye out you will spot the `obvious' knife edge arete of The Edge up above you.
North Berwick quarry
OS map This text only
Map Reference: NT 554 839 (Landranger 66) Nearest Post Code EH39 4DS Lat N56:02:47 (56.046377) Long W2:43:02 (-2.717216) Distance 26 miles; 35 mins
The quarry is on the outskirts of North Berwick. There are various ways to get here. The locals say using the back roads is better, but I usually stick to the main roads as follows. Leave Edinburgh on the A1, get off at the second Haddington junction onto the A199 (towards E Linton) and turn left onto the B1347 after about a mile. Follow this, heading for North Berwick. After quite a few zig-zags, just before entering North Berwick, this eventually leads you past the lane leading to the car park (the Law is clearly visible as you approach, but the lane is a bit hard to spot - it appears suddenly, to the right, on a fairly sharp left hand bend). Park in the car park marked with the blue P on the OS map, and then walk around the path to the quarry, marked on the map with the orange arrow. The bolted climbing is on the two obvious big walls at right angles to each other.
Ratho Adventure Centre
OS map This text only
Map Reference: NT 127 708 (Landranger 65) Nearest Post Code EH28 8AA Lat (WGS84) N55:55:23 (55.923128) Long (WGS84) W3:23:52 (-3.397646) Distance 12 miles; 25 mins
Getting here very much depends on where you start from. Either the M8 to Newbridge and along the B7030, or out the A71 to Wilkieston and then turn right along the B7030. Either way, you enter via the lane starting at the big blue 12 on the OS map.
The usual post-climbing pub is the Bridge Inn in Ratho, marked PH on the right border of the map.
Rosyth quarry
OS map This text only
Map Reference: NT 124 834 (Landranger 65) Nearest Post Code KY11 2QN Lat (WGS84) N56:02:08 (56.035595) Long (WGS84) W3:24:23 (-3.406251) Distance 14 miles; 25 mins
The quarry is marked on the OS map by the arrow. To get there people usually drive over the Forth bridge, leave by the second exit after the bridge, turn right at the roundabout under the motorway, start heading along the A921 and then park in the first turning on the left (just at the top corner of the base of the arrow on the OS map). Then walk back to the start of the roundabout and follow an obvious path up the hill to the quarry (curving slightly leftwards as you go).
Salisbury Crags, South Quarry
OS map This text only
Map Reference: NT 270 720 Nearest Post Code EH16 5BQ Lat (WGS84) N55:56:39 (55.944141) Long (WGS84) W3:10:11 (-3.169610)
I usually park on Holyrood Park Road, down the hill (about 300 yards NNE) from the Commonwealth pool, just below the entrance to Pollock Halls student residences. From there, walk down the road, through the gate posts, bear rightwards across the roundabout, then head across the grass to a path (just south of the H of the words Gutted Haddie on the OS map), then head leftwards on a path rising up below the obvious crags (Salisbury Crags). Follow this path a few hundred yards, then the South Quarry is the obvious, deeply indented part of the crags on the right.
At the beginning and end of the season we often have a meal, after an evening at the crags, in Pizza Express on Holyrood Road - see map.
Traprain Law
OS map This text only
Map Reference: NT 583 742 (Landranger 67) Nearest Post Code EH41 4LF Lat (WGS84) N55:57:32 (55.959003) Long (WGS84) W2:40:07 (-2.668509) Distance 24 miles; 30 mins
Leave Edinburgh along the A1. Leave the A1 at the second Haddington turn off (signposted East Linton), then follow the old A1 until just bypassing East Linton. There, turn off right and go through the hamlet of Traprain and do a few zig-zags on the road until you arrive at the crag. Park at the spot marked by the arrow on the OS map - the crag is under the 221 spot height on the map, just north of the arrow. Go through the gap in the wall at the bend in the road and walk NNW along the obvious path by the side of the field to the obvious crag.
You can also get there from the A1 by going through Haddington and along the back roads (this is a bit shorter, but the other way is simpler, and the old A1 has very little traffic on it).
The usual post-climbing pub is the Linton hotel in East Linton, on the road just below the marked PH on the OS map.