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Pwll Du Bay
Contents
TIDAL STATUS
Non Tidal
BOLTING POLICY
This is a sport climbing crag. New sports routes allowed. Trad routes forbidden.
PREAMBLE
Pwll Du Cove is a frustrating place to climb. A beautiful setting overlooking the bay , An east facing aspect offering shelter from the wind and morning sun, good steep climbing and a wide range of route difficulties are all marred... by mud. Every winter it seeps over the top lip and spreads its evil fingers down the crag. When it dries, it leaves a coat of superfine talcum powder which will no doubt, one day be harvested for a very expensive beauty treatment. In the meantime it is advisable to pack a stiff brush and a toothbrush along with the quickdraws.
That said, you will find excellent climbing here. Between 2006 and 2009 Simon Rawlinson, Adam Shore and Roy Thomas have worked hard to make the crag more accessible and to add a number of routes in the more amenable grades. Pwll Du is now a lovely place to spend the day.
Please be aware the crag is in an SSSI. Avoid the crag top, litter and noise. Avoid trampling the limestone plants on the rubble slopes leading up to the crag. Hopefully there will be no access problems.
ACCESS
a) Drive to Bishopston, pass the Joiners Arms and pass over speed bumps. Park at Bishopston post office on the left hand bend and walk down Pwll Ddu Lane. Alternatively on weekdays park at south gower rugby club a little further down the lane. Follow the road for 15 mins to a gate which leads to Pwll Ddu Bay. The quarry is obvious on the opposite/west side of the bay.
b) It is quicker to walk eastwards from hunt's farm on the pennard cliff - but please note the National trust disapproves of this practice!
For Pwll Du buttress and Goonland, the buttresses over to the right of the quarry, scramble up through irritatingly dense brambles and assorted vegetation. There are no real paths.
DESCENTS
Sports routes in the Quarry have lower offs. The older tradtional routes generally require hanging ropes, which need to be placed by scrambling up from well to the left of the crag. Take great care traversing along the cliff top if doing so. The descent for Pwll Du buttress is down a gully to the left.
THE ROUTES
Pwll Du Quarry
- Project
More a row of drill holes. - Swept Away - Fr. 6b
The blunt rib.The most worthwhile on this section. - Clean Up - Fr. 6a
The grubby slanting corner.
Walk right passing the curry sauce wall with a rusty peg (abandoned project) to arrive at the wide open groove and some of the best/hardest routes on the crag. - Ashes to Ashes *- Fr. 6c+/7a
The open groove with a sting in the tail. It's a 7a tick if you touch the rings - Decades Apart **- Fr. 6c
Line of cracks up leaning wall. - Forty for Three - Fr. 7b
The original route in these parts, now has a large number of extensions. - Bellerophon - Fr. 7c+
More one-upmanship? Start up Forty for Three, then climb Chimera, then continue up steep rib to the top of the crag. (Currently a single bolt lower off but another bolt will be added soon). - Eighty For Six - Fr. 7c+
Start up Forty for Three, it is then possible to finish up the top part of Senser. - Senser (Part 1) - Fr. 7b+
Start at a faint arete left of the central twisting groove of the crag and under the central prow. Move up and left and keep rocking up to a big jump for a hold by twin BRs. - Senser ***- Fr. 7c+
Continue from Senser (Part 1), undercut painfully up passing a BR which is impossible to clip en-route. Make a hard jump right for a square block just after the clip! Finish up and slightly right. - Jezebel **- Fr. 7a+
The central twisting groove line of the crag. - Crock Block *- Fr. 6c
Start under the obvious rectangular block and bridge up onto this. Make hard moves up onto the slab to a BB. - Old Slapper - Fr. 7a
The short groove and rib right of Crock Block succumbs to either a large number of slap attempts, or a poncy egyptian. Pull onto the slab to finish. - Skedaddle - Fr. 7a
A poor route up the groove and wall round the right of Old Slapper. - Dust to Dust - E4, 5c
Just to the right of Skeddadle is a line of shallow grooves. Climb the first groove,(PR,missing) to a jug. Move up the slabby wall to the next groove and roof, swing left into a crack and the top.Dirty and overgrown with ivy. - Diamonds in the Dirt - Fr. 7b+ *
Climb the overhanging prow and slab above. Start in groove left of The Flight Of Icarus, climb to third staple and move right to blocky side pull on arete, pull right into flake below small roof and climb prow and slab above. - Flight of Icarus - Fr. 6c
The obvious crack and roof, battle up this!
The path starts to rise - St. Elmo's Fire - Fr.6a+
The low red wall to the ledge then launch out left to previous lower off. - Cat Nap - Fr. 6a+
The old school corner above the high ledge. Start as for previous route but grunt upwards manfully. - Power Nap - Fr. 7a
Grubby start steepens above the ledge,single bolt belay. - REM Sleep - Fr. 5+
Aim for the blue thread. - White Slider - Fr. 6a
The white streak,tricky to gain staple belay on right. - Project
staples to the right. - Snooze Control - Fr. 5+
The crack and corner above. Cut short when it arrives at the 'mud zone'. - Sleep Easy - Fr. 7a+
May be harder due to missing hold.
There is an obvious boulder step up in the path. - Miami Vice - Fr. 6b+
Step left from the boulder and up on spaced holds. A direct start is 6c for the few, 7a for the many - Coronal Discharge - Fr. 6a
The square cut niche above the boulder. - Wakey Wakey - Fr. 6a
The deceptive ledge system above the step up. - Sleep Over - Fr. 5
The grassy wall 1m right.A bit rubbly in places.
A path has now been cleaned to the large clean blocks above, some of the best rock is here for the future. - Cross the Rubicon - Fr. 7b+
Stapled but no L.O. so jump back down or belay on twigs.
FIRST ASCENTS
- Unknown
- R.Thomas Phill Davies 2009
- M.Jordan R.Thomas 2009
- R Thomas, J Bullock, L Moran 20.10.1986
- G.Gibson R.Thomas
- M.Crocker R.Thomas 1994
- Simon Rawlinson
- Martyn Richards
- M Crocker R.Thomas 24.07.1994
- M Crocker R.Thomas 9.07.1994
- M.Crocker R.Thomas 00.07.1994
- R Thomas 00.00.1994
- R.Thomas 24.07.1994
- M Crocker,R Thomas 1994
- M.Crocker R.Thomas 1986
- Diamonds in the Dirt - W.Calvert - 08.07.3017
- A.Berry J.Bullock 1990
- R.Thomas P.Davies 2009
- R.Thomas N'ONeill July 2009
- Simon Rawlinson Adam Shore
- R.Thomas
- R.Thomas
- Unknown
- R.Thomas
- Simon Rawlinson
- Adam Shore
- R.Thomas
- R.Thomas
- Adam Shore 2006
- M.Crocker
Pwll Du Buttress
Situated to the right of Pwll Du Quarry and originally called Lower Goonland Rocks, is a clean buttress with a slanting crack on its right and a wide chimney on its left.
- Fin 12m E6,6c Fr7c+ **
The prominent arete on the left end of the buttress provides a series of aesthetic powerful moves and escapes the seepage problems of other Gower sport routes. Might just be Fr8a. - DT's 15m E1,5b
Climb a thin crack to reach the wide chimney, which is followed to the top. - Star Trek 15m E1,5a
Start right of DT's and 4m down the slope. Climb the wall to a bulging crack, move right to a ledge below two cracks, climb the left crack and boldly layback over a bulge to the top. - Llareggub 21m E1,5b
From the lowest point of the buttress gain a rib and then a groove. From its top move right to the crack and layback to the top. Climbed on the 30th anniversary of Dylan Thomas' death. - Where Eagles Dare 18m HVS,5a
This takes the obvious hanging flake on the right side of the buttress. Start right of Llareggub and climb the steep crack to a ledge at half-height. Layback the flake before moving left at the top.
FIRST ASCENTS
- A.Berry 00.00.1994
- G.Evans, G.Richardson 00.00.1983
- J.Bullock, G.Evans 26.04.1984
- G.Evans, J.Bullock 00.00.1983
- J.Kerry, A.Marsh 00.00.1970
