The high water access route has been re-established using good bolts and insitu rope (hand-lines) across the traverse, this gives access to all the seaward walls up to Detritus Wall for 3 - 4 hours either side of low tide, depending on the moon state (you get longest on a spring tide). Some routes on Detritus Wall are accessible on a spring low, this would be slightly 'adventurous'. Check the link for Llandudno tide times (remember to add on 1 hour for BST):
Tide Times.New Routes/Re-equipping: Marine grade stainless resin bolts are the standard for routes on the sea-level walls (stainless expansions are ok for the The Allotment, Meadow Walls, C-y-D Upper etc), these can be purchased from the NWBF via the contacts on the home page of this site.
Overview of the seaward walls
The seaward walls: The Diamond (
topo) (Bird restriction Mar - Aug 15th)
West Buttress of Detritus (
topo) (Bird restriction Mar - Aug 15th)
The Allotment (Bird restriction Mar - Aug 15th)
Meadow WallsDetritus Wall (Bird restriction Mar - Aug 15th)
Atlanta Wall (Bird restriction Mar - Aug 15th)
Great Zawn (Bird restriction Mar - Aug 15th)
The landward crags:
Manor CragCraig-y-Don Upper (
topo)
Bodafon Buttress Access: for Craig-y-Don Upper, Middle and Lower, The Diamond, West Buttress of Detritus and (on a spring low tide only), Detritus Wall:
Hop over the gate opposite the 'Craigside Manor' pub and follow a path leftwards through the trees paralleling the road until you reach a meadow. Carry on straight across the meadow towards a barbed wire fence, hop over this and cross the next field to the cliff edge. Follow a beaten down path on the right through the undergrowth towards Craig-y-Don Upper crag. Go down the grassy gully and then traverse rightwards along a faint path to a two bolt abseil station in the small cliff band. A 30 metre abseil from here deposits you at the insitu ropes.
10 minutes.
Make sure you tie off your ab rope to the bolts at the start of the insitu ropes (hand-lines), this is your means of getting out without resorting to breaststroke.
Two 'cowstails' are recommended for clipping into the handline, and a gri-gri or similar self-locking device for
every member of the party is required to safely negotiate the vertical section and the ab rope on the way in/out.One person at a time per every other section of handrail is recommended. Stay below the handrail to avoid shock loading it in the event of a slip. At certain points you must fully weight the line.
The downclimb at the end is easy but exposed and it does get extremely greasy after the slightest rain. A fall here could be terminal, parties are advised to abseil from the last bolt if unsure.
Any part of the handrail could fail without warning with disastrous consequences. All parties use it at their own risk. If you discover any damage to fixed ropes or bolts please let the locals know (drop an email to northwalesboltfund@google.com) and post it on this page.
Approach for Manor Crag, The Allotment, Meadow Walls, Detritus Wall and Atlanta Wall: Check the individual crag pages for approach descriptions (not added yet).