Dorlin

by Robbie E

Lovely schist boulders set in the forest at Dorlin. A superb winter venue in dry spells as the forest is extremely sheltered from most directions and avoids the midges of summer. The blocks are arranged left to right from the first block to be encountered from the main parking. Some blocs are missing coordinates: The Midden Bloc stands on its own in the large clearing a 50-100m or so back towards the car park from the Clearing Bloc The Clearance Arete and Ramp boulders can be found above the Greenship Boulder. The Mega Bloc is the front of the Footlocker block which sit ~200m further along through the woods up the glen close to the fence line. The overhanger wall can be found just a bit further along. These can be accessed from the second parking spot by cross the field and hopping the fence or from simply walking further along from the initial cluster. Many already established lines are waiting to be re-discovered from at least as far back as 2015 by folks such as Christ Houston and Rob Thomas and very likely others I am unaware of. I have included here a number of lines I suspect are new developed by myself as well as some I 'FA'd' and later discovered had been climbed before. I would love to document everything that has previously been done here as I think it is a truly excellent venue that is at risk of being lost to rhododendron if it doesn't see more traffic. I respect the ethos of previous developers in the area to keep it on the down low and not publish to keep at as a little hidden gem and I certainly got a lot out of 'discovering' the area myself. However I think without making it public and encouraging folks to visit and help with the rhododendron this excellent little spot will be lost to everyone in the end. The previous rhododendron clearance that allowed the development of this area in the first place has failed and the entire area is in the process of being covered in dense, impenetrable swathes of this invasive plant. There is also still a huge amount to be developed and discovered in the area as well as the established climbs.

Climbs

• 9. Gruffle — 5+
• 10. Lair Action — 6A
• 3. Undersung — 5+
• 4. Droll — 3+
• 2. Schnoodle — 3+
• 1. Little find — 4
• 6. Dorlin Arete — 6B
• 5. Scuzzle — 5+
• 7. Happy Slabbing — 4
• 8. Brown Eyes — 3
• 12. Angle Tioram — 5
• 13. Highland Clearances — 6B+
• 16. Footlocker Stand — 5+
• 11. Greenship — 5
• 17. Heelical — 5+
• 18. Dorlin Dash — 4
• 14. Rample — 4+
• 15. Juguar — 4
• 19. Leg Breaker Project
• 20. Roddy's Mantel — 5
• 21. C.H.M.H.C — 4
• 22. Brexit and the Fash — 6A
• 23. Hector Brocklebank Project

Approach & access

For the main boulders park at the public parking and then cross the little fence at the back and walk back through the woods. Boulders extend for a few km through the glen and could be accessed through considerate parking in the larger laybys as long as space is left for passing.

Please park considerately and be aware there are houses not too far from many of the boulders. Please help remove the rhododendron if you do visit. If possible pull the whole plant from the ground and stack it so the roots cannot re-establish. Rhododendron that is just snapped or cut back will easily regrow and will be even more difficult to remove in the future unless regularly and consistently pruned back for years. Even the smallest fragment of stem or layered branch with roots will re-establish eventually and become a future problem.