Four Gullies
| Four Gullies | |
 Catacomb Gully and (at beach level), the Four Gullies | |
| Rock Type | Natural Carboniferous Limestone |
|---|---|
| Climbing Style | Trad |
| Approach Time | 20 minutes |
| Area | Gower |
| Sub Area | Rhossili |
| Local Area | Fall Bay to Mewslade |
| Geodata | |
| WGS-84 Location | 51.560991, -4.281283 |
| OS Grid Ref. | SS 419 871 |
| WGS-84 Parking Location | 51.565848, -4.270856 |
| GR Parking Location | SS 427 876 |
| Parking Postcode | SA3 1PH |
| Base Elevation | 0 metres (Other) |
| General Info | |
| Faces Direction | South |
| Aspect | Sunny |
| Wind Sheltered | Seldomly |
| Climbing Type | Family |
| Seepage | Quick drying |
| Tidal | |
| Before/After Low Tide | 2.0 hours (See Note) |
| Crags Within 400m | |
|
Block Buttress, Catacomb Gully, Cathedral Wall, Conglomerate Cliff, Eyeball Wall, Four Gullies, Grey Wall, Hairy Dog Wall, Jacky's Tor, Little Block, Mewslade Short Wall, Molar Wall and White Edge, Richards Rock, Rolly Bottom Buttress, The Aisle, The Prows, The Pulpit, Thurba Head, Thurba West, Trident Gully and Ridge, Upper Jacky's Tor, Yellow Wall, Zero Gully | |
Contents
ACCESS
From Pitton Farm Car Park.
From the main Rhossili road, turn left in Pitton (south) to Great Pitton Farm (SS 427 876 or 51.556076, -4.267799) where there is a car park. The honesty box no longer exists and a system of seasonal tariffs is now in operation. Payment is made via a machine or paybyphone Ⓡ. See Pitton Parking for information on charges. Currently a maximum of £5.00 is charged for parking from 06.00 to 22.00.
Turn left at the entrance to the car park. Walk a short distance down a farm track then bear right past farm buildings to gain the path leading through a narrow valley to the eastern end of Mewslade Bay (12 mins walk).
From the bottom of the path, continue onto the beach and head westward across the beach for about 170 metres.
Fourth Gully is the first gully you come across. (20 mins from Pitton Farm)
TIDAL STATUS
2 Hours either side of low water.
BOLTING POLICY
No bolting.
DESCENTS
By scrambling down the obvious ridges.
The Routes
The gullies are numbered from east to west.
Fourth Gully
This is the gully below and right of Catacomb Gully, with an obvious hanging block above a cave at the back.
1. Narrow Cleft 12m M
Easy scrambling up the pillar left of Fourth Gully.
J.Talbot 00.00.1961
2. Left Pillar Edge 12m M
The front face of the left arm of the gully.
J.Talbot 1961
3. Ramp And Slab 11m D
Climb a narrow ledge on the left wall of the gully, rising steeply to a short crack. Finish up this. It can also be climbed more directly at VS.
J.Talbot, R.Corbett 00.00.1961
4. Black Fissure 11m M
At the back of the gully behind the overhang, climb the right crack leading up to Catacomb Gully.
J.Talbot 00.00.1961
5. Unnamed 7m HS,4a
Follow a rising corner on the right side of the gully, which merges with a crack below the right side of the overhang. Exit up this.
J.Talbot, D.Lewis 00.00.1962
Third Gully
This is situated right (east) of Fourth Gully. The centre of the gully is divided by a steep pillar rib and at half-height is cut by a wide, flat, square ledge. To the right of the rib is a narrow deep cleft.
1. West Side 12m M
The left wall of the left arm of the gully.
J.Talbot 00.00.1961
2. West Pillar 12m M
The front of the left arm of the gully.
J.Talbot 00.00.1961
3. KLAG (Rough!) 11m VS,5a
Short, painful, but good. Climb the obvious crack to the right of West Pillar moving right at a small roof.
K.Snook, L.Moran, A.Pedrick, G.Evans 00.00.1978
4. Herzog Kamin 18m S
This takes the deep chimney crack at the back of the left-hand side of the central pillar rib.
J.Talbot 00.00.1963
5. West Diedre 15m VD
A vague series of grooves in the right wall of the recess containing Herzog Kamin.
J.Talbot, R.Corbett 00.00.1961
6. Main Diedre 15m D
The slightly more pronounced grooves to the right.
J.Talbot, R.Corbett 00.00.1961
7. West Wall 15m HS
The black wall to the right, just left of the front face of the central dividing pillar.
J.Talbot 00.00.1964
8. Central Rib 15m M
The front of the central pillar of the gully.
J.Talbot, R.Corbett 00.00.1961
9. Eleven Year Old's Chimney (AKA Iceberg Chimney) 12m VS 5a
Start at the back left hand corner of the recess right of the pillar. Gain a hanging rib with an obvious ledge at 3m, then enter the chimney above which becomes very narrow indeed before an equally tight exit between boulders. Best strategy is to do this before your 12th birthday. First would-be ascentionist managed 8m of the 9m chimney section, spent half an hour unable to "break surface", then had to reverse.
Nick Taylor Solo 12.07.2018
10. Double Knee Chimney 12m E2 5b *
The right side of the recess opens above into a long chimney blow-hole. At the landward end climb onto a ledge then manoeuvre awkwardly into the steep chimney. Good protection all the way but sustained difficulty until high in the chimney. Graded for normal greasy conditions (which actually don't hinder as much as expected)
Nick Taylor 12.07.2018
11. Honeymoon Chimney 12m HVS 5a *
Start beneath the seaward end of the chimney. A steep crack leads past a huge thread to a ledge. Another move up the wall gains a wedged rest and then enables use of both sides of the chimney. Continue more easily past another thread. Interesting moves, high in grade.
Nick Taylor 12.07.2018
12. Buhl Riss 9m VS,4c *
This route is the thin flake on the right side of the recess entrance, located just before passing under the rock arch. Good rock and climbing.
J.Talbot 00.00.1969
13. South West Corner 6m M
The scoop on the right wall of the gully, right of the flake of Buhl Riss.
J.Talbot 00.00.1961
Second Gully
This is the narrow, deep-cut cleft right (east) of Third Gully.
1. Botzong 12m S
This climbs the steep smooth chimney crack behind a large distinct jammed block at the back.
J.Talbot 00.00.1961
First Gully
This is the shallow gully to the right (east).
1. Coat Angler - VD
Climb a crack up the wall to the left of Block Fissure to a ledge and then follow continuation crack.
Nick Taylor o/s solo 15/09/20
2. Block Fissure 6m D
The fissure to the left of the block in the back of the gully.
J.Talbot 00.00.1961
3. Block 6m S,4c
Climb the right-hand crack formed by the block on the right wall of the gully.
J.Talbot, D.Baines 00.00.1961
4. Black Corner 6m S,4c
The left-hand corner on the right wall of the gully.
R.Corbett, J.Talbot 00.00.1961
5. Small Corner 6m D
The right-hand corner on the right wall of the gully.
J.Talbot, R.Corbett 00.00.1961
Additional Photos
First Gully
Third Gully
Fourth Gully
