UKH

Hi,

The Perch Quarry

Not sure if this has been noticed/discussed previously, but I was climbing at the upper tier of perch quarry today. The couple of nice routes around the low roof in between the easy left side and far right side look to have shifted since I last did them. A large block (coffin sized?) Has detached completely and is on the ground, and the rest of the buttress now looks decidedly dodgy to me. Possibly a bus sized amount of rock looked unstable.

I might be being overly cautious but if it went I wouldn't want to be anywhere near the place, upper or lower.

Just wondering if this has been assessed by anyone more experienced at these things than me?

Perch always has been unstable, and always will be.

Great care should be taken on all the routes there, its not a place for the fainthearted or inexperienced.

The lower tier is generally better, but full collapse of Junkyard Angel happen a few years ago.  The upper tier is ok in places (generally where the routes are) but all other rock should be given a wide bearth.

I'll drop in when next passing.

of course the problem is that with routes at enticing lower grades, the inexperienced, moving from indoors to outdoors, are exactly the sort of people who are going to stray into situations where they are unable to appreciate the risk. I'd say the same thing about recent Avon development at locations like The Construction Site.

Tintern Quarry had a similar issue before it was banned, and I believe the warning in the CC Wye Valley guidebook is a classic of its kind!!

You are correct with the easy grade temptation from less experienced climbers, two year ago on the top tier, we witnessed a bunch of students top roping the 6a routes and pulling off TV size boulders which came crashing down through their group, this was due to the guys climbing far off the bolted line and grabbing everything they could, it was quite a scary sight to see these rocks bounce through the crowd, nobody got hurt but they did get a good telling off and stern advice about what they were doing and why it was wrong and dangerous (not by me but another climber who actually bolted these new routes)
AS for Junkyard, I think the route has now improved since the collapse, so that was a lucky touch really ha !!