This site is a digital copy of the 1997 BMC guidebook to rock climbing in Lancashire
Climbing guides found for: Blackburn
Situated in Billinge Woods, a country park on the north-west fringe of Blackburn, this quarry provides the closest climbing ground to the centre of the town. The rock is good quality gritstone, similar to Hoghton (in texture if not in stature), but is only between eight and nine metres high and about 30 metres long. The crag is north and east-facing and therefore, it is often wet and slimy and slow to dry out.
All the routes were climbed and named by Dave Cronshaw, John Ryden and Ian Vickers during guidework in 1986. However, most of them had been climbed previously, but no records were kept.
Cadshaw Castle Rocks or Fairy Buttery (Battery on OS maps) is a small natural outcrop of sound rock, situated on the sunny side of a pleasant valley, opposite Cadshaw Quarry. It is an ideal place for beginners.
In 1937, Allan Allsopp wrote a guide to Cadshaw Rocks which described about thirty routes. These included The Niche, Pagan`s Progress, The Mantelshelf, Central Buttress, Central Wall, Split Block Crack and the Girdle Traverse. It is likely that most of these routes were the work of Allsopp himself and he continued his developments through the war years, until by 1951 all but a few of the present routes had been climbed. Around that time a problem known as Altar Direct (now a part of Druid`s Direct) was climbed. The execution of the problem had to be very precise, and it is thought that Jim Nightingale was the originator; he actually conquered the problem wearing a pair of leather breeches which gave his knees extra purchase on the rock – bad style but effective!
The quarry and rocks at Cadshaw are owned by North West Water, whose managers are happy to permit climbing.
Cadshaw lies four kilometres south of Darwen just off the A666 Darwen–Bolton road. There are several quarries on the site, with heights ranging from three metres in the Small Quarry to 23 metres in the Main Quarry. The rock is of variable quality gritstone, but on the whole it is much better than appearances might suggest and many of the routes are very rewarding.
Most of the climbing in the quarry lies on a series of buttresses of up to 12 metres in height at the right-hand side, culminating in the much higher Main Wall. Although there is much loose rock, especially on the Main Wall, the climbing avoids these areas and most of the routes are both sound and enjoyable.
This rather esoteric quarry was visited in 1967 by Les Ainsworth and Paul Hamer, but after doing about a half-dozen climbs to the right of the Main Wall, they decided that there was too much loose rock and left without making any records. During the early `70s Robin Barley was doing research work in the quarry and during his drilling he noted some potential lines on the Main Wall. After work he returned with Jerry Peel and the pair excavated Vendetta and Co-Axial. Although these were on by far the highest buttress in the quarry, they were also on some of the worst rock and although they recorded their climbs, their experience of the quarry was not sufficient to tempt them to do any more exploration.
The quarry and rocks at Cadshaw are owned by North West Water, whose managers are happy to permit climbing.
Incidentally, carnivorous climbers may be interested to learn that sirloin of beef originates from Hoghton Tower after a previous visitor, King James I, was so taken by the food that was laid on, that he knighted a loin of beef. Tower Woods were also the setting for much of Harrison Ainsworth`s `Lancashire Witches`.
As far as is known, the quarry was first used for cliff assault practice by the armed forces during the Second World War. In the 1950s more conventional methods were used to scale the crag: quarries were popular as training grounds on which aid techniques could be practised in preparation for the bigger walls in the Alps. During 1955 John `Fritz` Sumner pegged Ten Minute Traverse, using custom-made 1-inch pegs specially manufactured for the ascent by Keith King. Sumner also went on and aided the imposing Rhododendron Buttress which gained some notoriety amongst the local climbers when Tony Crook (attempting the third ascent) fell from the lip of the overhang when a peg foothold came out. His belayer, John Britt, only just succeeded in preventing an impressive decking from 25 metres, all the more impressive as no belay plates were in existence at that time! The following year Alan Atkinson left the commonly used bivouac spot (the Waiting Room) by a different route and attacked the roof-crack above using wooden wedges. On the lip of the roof, Atkinson had the disconcerting experience of watching the wedges in the back of the roof slowly work loose and drop out as the crack widened slightly. He named the route Scimitar Crack for obvious reasons, though it is now known as The Dangler.
The land on which the quarry lies is part of the de Hoghton Estate and it is used as a breeding ground for game birds. It is their desire that these birds are not disturbed and after extensive B.M.C. negotiations an agreement was made for limited climbing access to the quarry between June 1st and July 31st each year. However, the exact dates should always be checked before visiting the quarry.
For the most part the quarry is composed of two tiers and all the climbing (as yet) is on the more stable upper tier. The rock on this tier is generally solid, though it would be advisable to clean any intended new route before leading. The shaly lower tier does deter some climbers from climbing at Round Barn, but as there are no climbs on it, this impression is unfounded and some of the climbs here are very worthwhile. There is an abundance of belay stakes available for most climbs, but some are rather feeble.
Numerous parties had undoubtedly visited and dismissed Round Barn Quarry, including John Spencer and the rest of the Wilton `crew` whose main explorations centred on a vast 100-metre route around the walls, roofs and doorways of one of the buildings in the quarry floor. They named this route the Big Wet, but, as happens to most routes in this part of the quarry, it was demolished/fell down.
Stanworth quarry lies about one kilometre north of Abbey Village, and to the east of the A675 Bolton – Preston road. Several years ago the original quarry was filled in, but although some routes were lost, the majority of the good climbing was left. The remaining rock provides varied climbing on generally good gritstone in small sheltered bays faced by steep grassy slopes.
It was not until the mid-Sixties that climbing began at Stanworth; Ray Evans and Ken Powell climbed around 20 routes here during 1965 but unfortunately made no records. A year later, in 1966, Les Ainsworth and Paul Hamer also found the quarry and climbed eight routes which were later to be lost under a pile of rubble. Both Les and Paul were so enamoured with the place that they immediately forgot all about it, and it was not climbed on for the next ten years.
The quarry at Stanworth is owned by Biffa Waste, whose managers have been very proactive in their approach to climbing at the quarry (see previous paragraph). Biffa owners are happy to permit climbing at Stanworth.
Since the previous guidebook, extensive cleaning has greatly improved most of the existing climbs and has also revealed several good new climbs. As a result of this, the Stronstrey Bank area should be much more pleasant for climbers, especially for summer evening visits. Nevertheless care must still be taken, as some of the tops still contain loose rock. Some of the climbs can become very green after wet weather, but others dry quickly, especially those on Black Brook Buttress.
The quarry was mainly developed by Colin Dickinson with John Cottingham, Frank Menzies and Bob Scoltock, between 1972 and 1974. In 1977 Karl Lunt added Screaming Abdabs then in 1980 he uncovered the outlying buttresses with Anthem and S-Bend on the Bank itself and Bastille Day and Bomber on Black Brook. During guide work, in 1981, Kev Glass added a half-dozen more climbs, the best of which were The Max Factor and Stacked Hand.
All the climbing areas at Stronstrey Bank are owned by North West Water. The managers are willing to permit climbing on these crags, but they stress that there have been concerns about the stability of some of the rock.
The quarry has been re-opened as a working quarry, with the loss of some poor routes. However, there is still some climbing on the walls at either edge of the quarry and these are generally sound and of good quality. Furthermore, the climbs that remain, lie well away from the active workings.
This huge quarry saw its first climbing activity in 1977 when two unknown climbers put up a now deceased route in the Subsidiary Workings. The first really major wave of development however, occurred in 1978 when Dave Cronshaw and Les Ainsworth discovered Brick Buttress and ascended five routes before encountering access difficulties caused by the local water bailiff.
As part of the quarry is still being worked, the best time to visit is on Sundays. However, most of the climbing lies well away from any quarrying activity and no difficulties have been encountered.