Roche Abbey

by remus

The little brother to Anston Stones, though not by much. Gypsy Buttress is a nice spot for a warm up or gentle session with a good range of lower grade problems on quality rock. Beef Buttress is the spot fir the 7th grade climber, some of the lines can get a bit tight but the climbing is good. Impossible Roof is home to an impressive array of hard testpieces. Like a lot of the eastern limestone Roche Abbey benefits from being in the rain shadow of the peak district, making it a good option

Climbs

• 1. Sidewall — 6B
• 2. Arete — 6B+
• 3. Tripitaka — 7A+
• 4. Dragon Fly — 6C
• 5. Idris — 7B+
• 6. Surrender to Strangeness — 8A+
• 7. Enity — 7B+
• 8. Serenity — 8B
• 9. Apache Static — 8B
• 10. Into the Black — 7C
• 11. Dark Therapy — 8A
• 12. Light Therapy — 7C+
• 13. Black Cherry — 7B+
• 14. Hard Drive — 7A+
• 15. Gilda — 4+
• 16. Rigoletto — 6B
• 17. October — 6A+
• 18. November — 6B
• 19. Strict Fore — 6B+
• 20. Scoop — 5+
• 21. Flautist — 6B+
• 22. Cracker — 4+
• 23. Sloper — 6A
• 24. Flake — 6A
• 25. Undercut — 5
• 26. Passion — 7A+
• 27. Borg — 6C+
• 28. Crystal — 6C+
• 29. Shark's Tooth — 6C+
• 30. Car Park Left — 5+
• 31. Car Park Bulge — 6A
• 32. Retro — 6C
• 33. Deep Pocket — 6B
• 34. Not Retro — 6B
• 35. Vintage Left — 6B+
• 36. Layaway — 5
• 37. Salvage — 5
• 38. Si's problem — 6A
• 39. Car Park Traverse — 7A
• 40. Mercy — 7A+
• 41. The Fool — 7B+
• 42. Jazzy Jester — 7A+
• 43. Justice — 7A
• 44. Dirty Habits Sit — 6A+
• 45. Worse Habits Sit — 6A+
• 46. Sundance — 6C+
• 47. Bad Habits Sit — 7A
• 48. Addiction — 7C+
• 49. Speedway — 7C+
• 50. Tight Hole — 7B
• 51. The Abbey Habit Start — 6A+
• 52. Faithless Left Hand — 7A+
• 53. Faith Left Hand — 7A+
• 54. Habitus Sit Start — 6B
• 55. Fallen Idol — 7B+
• 56. Fallen Idol Sit — 7C+

Approach & access

Wander along the footpath in the bottom of the valley, the crags are easy to spot from the path. Beef buttress and Gypsy buttress are both pretty weather proof so the crag can be a good choice when other venues are sodden.

Access is not formalised and climbers have occasionally been asked to leave, so behave yourself and be polite if questioned. Problems do not typically top out. There are a lot of links and eliminates here, see UKC or Rockfax for details.