Ramp Zawn

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Ramp Zawn
The little beach between Ramp Zawn and the rocky island (Bendrick's Rock?).
The little beach between Ramp Zawn and the rocky island (Bendrick's Rock?).
Rock Type Natural Carboniferous Limestone
Climbing Style Trad
Approach Time 15 minutes
Area Gower
Sub Area Tor Bay and Great Tor
Local Area Great Tor East
Geodata
WGS-84 Location 51.570307, -4.117544
OS Grid Ref. SS 533 878
WGS-84 Parking Location 51.575583, -4.127859
GR Parking Location SS 526 884
Parking Postcode SA3 2HJ
Base Elevation 2 metres (Other)
General Info
Faces Direction South
Aspect Sunny
Wind Sheltered Seldomly
Climbing Type Family
Seepage
Tidal
Before/After Low Tide 2.5 hours (See Note)
Crags Within 600m

First Corner, Great Tor Proper, High Slab, Monty's Slab, Odin's Cave, Odin's Wall, Pobbles Bays, Ramp Zawn, Second Corner, Three Cliffs



Ramp Zawn
Trad Grades
<= HVS 5
E1 - E3 0
E4 - E5 0
>= E6 0

Tidal Status

2 hours either side of low tide.

Bolting Policy

No bolting.

Preamble

A small area which, at some states of the tide, has it's own beautiful and isolated beach. The climbing is not up to much though.

Access

From the parking at Penmaen, pass through the gate and follow the rough track. After 200 metres pass an old barn on your right. Here the track makes a sharp right and then a sharp left turn and becomes a narrow concrete path between high hedges. After 300 metres you come to a gate.

Pass through the gate and then follow the path for 200m from where the path's surface turns to sand. Follow the (now) wide path for 100 metres until you see a steep sandy path branching off on your left.

Follow this narrow path downwards for 120m to arrive at the back of Three Cliffs Bay.

From the beach follow the cliff line for 350m to where the cliff turns to the right. Ramp Zawn is the cliff opposite the rocky island. There are climbs on the rocky island too.

Descents

Use common sense here.

The Routes

Approximately 40m north of the east end of Bendrick Rock. There is a small sandy inlet at that point with a narrow cave at its end just below a small pinnacle.

  1. Gabriel's Oboelisk - D
    Climb up to the left of the small cave heading towards the pinnacle. Avoid the slab to the left and ascend the arête to the top of the pinnacle. 12m.

A narrow zawn whose left wall lies at about 40 degrees and whose right wall is composed of boulders. It is due north from the rock island, [1] and has a steep slab at its back.

rock climbing topo for Ramp Zawn, Three Cliffs Bay, Gower, South Wales
Ramp Zawn
  1. Holy Moly - VS,4c

  2. Cracked Slab 12m VD
    Follow the crack in the slab.

    On the tidal island itself.

    Bendrick Rock


  3. Lucy Slab 12m VD
    Climb the centre of the main face.

  4. Look-out Lucy 12m D
    Climb the crack to the right of Lucy Slab.

  5. Looking for the Lee 13m D
    On the landward face, follow the right-hand obvious sloping corner until it runs out, then amble up the slab to the top of the rock where an easy belay may be made using a long sling around the pinnacle. Climbers of shorter stature will find the start more challenging than their taller counterparts.

First Ascents

  1. Gabriel's Oboelisk - Neil Stuart & Gabriel Chubb, 22 June, 2021
  2. Holy Moly -
  3. Cracked Slab - S.Jacques 00.00.1998
  4. Lucy Slab - L.Cole 07.03.2002
  5. Look-out Lucy - L.Cole 07.03.2002
  6. Looking for the Lee - Peggy Hill & Mel Hill 25th April 2018

Additional Photos

Notes

  1. Known by some as Bendrick Rock, although I cannot find any proper source for this name. Isn't Bendricks Rock an area near Barry Island?