Hi all,
Following several months of negotiations and working closely with the new owners of Wildcat (and Willersley Castle), I'm pleased to announce that we have a new access agreement in place for climbers. Access is different from before and a little more effort is required, involving the need to walk to the top of the crag and abseil in, but this is a significant improvement on what has been and could have continued to be a complete ban. A big thank you to the new owners Manor Adventures from me for listening to our proposals and agreeing to continue to allow climbing at this fantastic crag.
Full details of the agreement and why it is needed are below, but it's worth stressing how important it is that we as climbers demonstrate to the new owners that we can follow the agreement made, otherwise there is a very real risk that access will be banned. The new owners monitor this site regularly, so if anyone feels like thanking them for getting access back up and running that certainly wouldn't hurt the growing relationship between them and the climbing community.
Site signage is up to tell visiting climbers what to do and the RAD has been updated, but please do spread the word to anyone who climbs at Wildcat to make sure it's understood and followed as widely as possible.
Cheers,
Rob Dyer, BMC Access & Conservation Officer (England)
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Land from the broken wall southwards has recently changed ownership and the approach to Wildcat Main Crag has changed. All climbers must now approach by walking to the top of the crag (path to the left of the broken wall), abseil to the ground and not walk beyond the crag base. This is essential to maintain a good relationship with the new landowner and ensure continued access for climbers.
There is good reasoning behind the new approach. The crag falls within a parcel of land now being used for outdoor education of young people, so the new landowners need to prevent climbers and members of the public from coming into close contact with children on site for child safeguarding purposes. By limiting access only to climbers who will stay in close proximity to the crag, there is sufficient buffer zone between the crag and other areas of the site being used with children.
A new fence has been installed along the line of the old wall to prevent the public walking onto the site. This blocks off the previous approach path, but please do not climb over the fence and instead access the crag from above by abseil. It is imperative that climbers follow this new approach and self-police, as climbing over the fence is very visible to instructors using the river below and will jeopardise future access to the crag. If you see other people trying to climb over the fence, please inform them of the new approach – it is up to us as climbers to make sure we stick to the agreement and keep access open.
Currently four in situ abseil stations exist at the top of Jackdaw Grooves, Lynx, Tut’s Anomalous and Climacteric. It is hoped that additional dedicated abseil lines which don’t interfere with popular routes may be developed in future, but for now these existing abseil stations provide a solution. Once you abseil in, please stay in close proximity to the base of the crag where you will be well away from any children on site.
Due to their close proximity to areas being used by children, access is no longer possible to the four smaller crags south of Wildcat Main Crag (Upper Tor, Mill Tor, Woodbank Tor or Mole Trap Buttress). Other than Upper Tor, these crags have mostly returned to nature through lack of use.
Post edited at 14:37