The Pulpit

The Pulpit
Rock Type	Natural Carboniferous Limestone
Climbing Style	Trad
Approach Time	25 minutes
Area	Gower
Sub Area	Thurba to Overton
Local Area	Fall Bay to Mewslade
Geodata
WGS-84 Location	51.561432, -4.284452
OS Grid Ref.	SS 417 872
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	Partially Sunny
Wind Sheltered	Mostly
Climbing Type	Normal
Seepage
Tidal
Before/After Low Tide	1.5 hours (See Note)
Crags Within 600m
Block Buttress, Catacomb Gully, Cathedral Wall, Conglomerate Cliff, Devil's Truck, Eyeball Wall, Four Gullies, Giant's Cave, Grey Wall, Hairy Dog Wall, Jacky's Tor, King Wall, Lewes Castle, 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

BOLTING POLICY

No bolting.

PREAMBLE

Right (east) of Cathedral Gully is a protruding buttress, split left of centre by an easy descent chimney. Some 10m to the right is a more prominent chimney (Pulpit Fissure). There are two very easy scrambles, Magog (J.Talbot 1963) and Chink (J.Talbot 1963) which take indistinct lines up the south face of the buttress, but the only independent route is Gog.

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 340 metres. (25 mins from Pitton Farm)

THE ROUTES

1. Gog 12m M
   The seaward face of the buttress.
   
   
2. Cleft 12m M
   The cleft and groove right of the south face of the buttress.
   
   
3. Indefinite 10m D
   The left side-wall of the prominent chimney of Pulpit Fissure.
   
   
4. Pulpit Fissure 10m D
   The obvious chimney.
   
   
5. Schusselkar 15m VS,4c
   Start up Pulpit Fissure, but move right as soon as possible to gain and finish up the wall to the right.
   
   To the right is another recessed inlet.
   
   
6. Yus Yus 15m E2,5b *
   The arête left of smooth.
   
   
7. Smoove 15m VS,4c
   This climbs the smooth overhanging groove in the seaward end of the left wall of the recess. Climb the groove and pull out right on good holds to a ledge below another groove capped by an overhang. Take this and exit left.
   
   
8. Gold Kappel 18m VS,4c
   As for Smoove, then move right over a smooth bulge to a ledge. Climb the right edge of the groove to the top.
   
   
9. Canalog 15m VS,4c
   Climb the steep wall left of the prominent black hole right of Smoove.
   
   
10. The Beak 18m VD
    Gain the black hole and traverse leftwards on tachyons to a ledge below the upper groove of Smoove, now climb the steep wall on the left.
    
    
11. Checkmate 13m VS,4b
    As for The Beak to the hole, then climb the corner above.
    
    
12. Font 13m VS,4b
    As for Checkmate to the upper corner, then move right and climb the narrow pillar.
    
    

There are two old routes Headstone (J.Talbot 1963) and Chalice (J.Talbot 1963) which cover similar ground to the routes described above.

FIRST ASCENTS

1. J.Talbot 00.00.1963
   
2. J.Talbot 00.00.1963
   
3. J.Talbot 00.00.1963
   
4. R.Corbett, J.Talbot 00.00.1962
   
5. J.Talbot, R.Corbett 00.00.1962
   
6. Nick Taylor 02.08.1997
   
7. R.Corbett, J.Talbot 00.00.1962
   
8. J.Talbot, R.Corbett 00.00.1962
   
9. R.Corbett, P.Perkins 00.00.1962
   
10. J.Talbot, D.Jones 00.00.1961
    
11. J.Talbot 00.00.1963
    
12. J.Talbot 00.00.1963