UKH

Dovestones Edge

Hi just wondering if anybody had any more specific information about the bird ban at dovestones. From information I'm seeing online its only the Dovestones quarry which is affected by this bird ban until August. 

Cheers

Yes the quarry is sometimes home to nesting peregrines, but only the central section as per the BMC RAD..

'Please avoid climbing on the central area of Dovestones Quarry during the above dates (the lower left and lower right quarries are fine to access year round however).'

The natural edge is unaffected, the sightings of the peregrine from up there can be spectacular. I once saw one fighting/catching a kestrel! 

Hi Phil thank you for your quick reply and the info. So am I right to say the higher section, Dovestones edge is still accessible during the bird ban.

Indeed you are!

Hi,If it's in your grade check out "Gatepost Crack",an unsung grit classic.

Indeed it is and no giveaway either.

Again thanks for the info. Much appreciated 

Hiya Bob thanks for the heads up I'll be sure to check it out when I'm next there.

All three quarries contain classics; they just need a bit of traffic.

I always found it odd that in a country that almost worships lower grade trad climbing, with arguably an over emphasis on grit, the longest classic lower grade grit routes hardly get any traffic. The bird bans alone don't explain this.

It's possible that , prior to the introduction of bird bans, a couple of major rock falls put people off the Main Quarry. 

I don't recall any rockfalls in either Lower Left or Lower Right, though I could be mistaken.

In the sixties and early seventies it wasn't unusual to find four or five teams in the quarries on a weekend; I remember one Sunday when a party arrived having been to Tut Braithwaite's wedding the day before. Two of them got chatting with me and asked what the better routes were  and I suggested Jericho Wall, my personal favourite.

Within minutes they were halfway up it, not a rope in sight. I was a bit worried because I remembered a scary moment pulling onto the top's ball-bearing finish the year previously but I needn't have bothered.

The lower grade classics in the main quarry were not affected by the rockfall. We did our best to clean them up on our ascents. Must have been Aug 13 as Hardonicus and Alex T were there as well.

I was thinking partly about the rockfall on Titan's Groove which was one of the quarry's most popular routes . Tony Howard's photo in the '65 guide shows it in its original condition. I think the fall was around '68/'69. There was a much bigger fall in the seventies around the area of White Slab/ The Trollenberg Terror