Pobbles Quarries

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Pobbles Quarries
( Coastguard Training Cliff )
Mark Winder on Pigeon
Mark Winder on Pigeon
Rock Type Quarried Carboniferous Limestone
Climbing Style Sport/Trad
Approach Time 20 minutes
Area Gower
Sub Area Three Cliffs and Pobbles
Geodata
WGS-84 Location 51.567037, -4.102638
OS Grid Ref. SS 543 874
WGS-84 Parking Location 51.566835, -4.087865
GR Parking Location SS 553 873
Parking Postcode SA3 2DH
Base Elevation 42 metres (SRTM Estimation)
General Info
Faces Direction South
Aspect Sunny
Wind Sheltered Mostly
Climbing Type Family
Seepage Quick drying
Crags Within 600m

Anemone Wall, Equal Opportunities Wall, Little Arched Slab, Pobbles Bays, Pobbles Quarries, Ravens Cliff Gully, Shire Combe Buttress, Utopia Slabs, Watch House East, Watch House Slab, West Promontory Corner, White Cove, White Edge


TIDAL STATUS

Non-tidal.

BOLTING POLICY

Retro bolting permissible, new sport routes allowed.

PREAMBLE

The top slab is an 18 metre slab in a disused quarry above Pobbles Beach. A sheltered evening sun trap. Needs cleaning up a bit and the remaining trad routes bolted to make a pleasant beginners' crag. The other two quarries are smaller and are of little interest. The two trad routes have very loose top-outs.

The climbs marked with a dagger ( Dagger.png ) are not recommended in their current state.

A pleasant diversion if you are waiting for the tide at Three Cliffs.

ACCESS

Approach is quickest from Southgate NT Car Park. Take the track from the car park towards Three Cliffs. After about 800 metres, keep within sight of the cliff edge until you see a prominent short metal pole near the edge. At this point, the cliff edge turns northwards. Follow the cliff edge for a short way, until you see, the south-facing slab of the main quarry. Easily seen from the cliff edge.

Descend fairly steeply down the east side of the quarry passing to the right of a pinnacle and then descend a little and then traverse (contour) around rightwards to the quarry.

DESCENTS

The normal access route is the easiest way back down.

THE ROUTES

Top Quarry

Pobbles Quarry - Upper Quarry
  1. Wind Her Up S 19m. †
    More of a Darwinian experiment than a route. A spiffing adventure unless you snap a hold, old school fixed gear (bootlace threads) for the nostalgic. Climb the hollow slab to gain the even looser top calcite sheet, tallyho!

  2. Winder Down H.V.Diff 18m †
    A very slight improvement on the previous climb. Climb the unprotected gray runnel (2m L of Pigeon) to join the previous route at the "floating calcite sheet". Go ahead and retrobolt me and the previous route..

  3. Pigeon 20m S
    Climb onto a hollow flake and then, after following the flake upwards and slightly leftwards, take a direct line to the top.

  4. Roy Rogered 17m HS
    Start just below a small v-shaped ledge at 2 metres. Head straight for the top.

  5. Lady-flavoured Slug Trail Fr. 4
    Slab

  6. Octo-Scolanoo Fr. 5
    Slab. Interesting start

Middle Quarry

Broken slab. Little of interest.

Bottom Quarry

Small slab.

Additional Photos

First Ascents

Top Quarry

  1. Wind Her Up - R.Thomas - Sept 2012
  2. Winder Down - R.Thomas - Sept 2012
  3. Pigeon - M. Winder, J.Hoskins, A. N. Other 16-05-12
  4. Roy Rogered - M. Winder, T.Boothby 22-08-12
  5. Lady-flavoured Slug Trail - D. Emanuel 08-08-12
  6. Octo-Scolanoo - D. Emanuel 08-08-12

Notes