Shooter's Nab Parking

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 Droyd 15 May 2016
Shooter's Nab

Been up at Shooter's Nab this afternoon to tick off Ricochet Wall; we parked in a lay-by right next to the reservoir as per the Rockfax Northern England description - which acknowledges that this probably isn't very legal but suggests that it isn't a problem as local dog walkers etc. do so - but came back to find that the large gate 100 metres down had been locked, blocking us in.
We ended up calling Yorkshire Water who eventually sent someone out - the guy noted that we'd driven past several signs stating that there was no parking and that it was private property, but let us off without anything further. He seemed pretty keen on not coming out again, however, so anyone else who runs into trouble in the same way may get more of a bollocking.
To confuse things further, we rang the shooting club prior to Yorkshire Water as we're pretty sure that it was one of their members who locked us in (they were wrapping up their shooting for the day as we were walking in). While we were driving back someone called us back to ask if we'd gotten out and said that the gate wasn't actually locked, merely closed - although my girlfriend was pretty sure that it actually was locked as she was the one who checked the gate, and so I've been ribbing her pretty mercilessly about that. He didn't seem annoyed about what had gone on, which seemed weird considering the complicated access history at the crag (although we didn't mention that we were climbers), and suggested that it wouldn't be a problem in the future for people to just let ourselves in and out as they never lock the gate.
Anyway, possibly this isn't hugely important, especially as we're not very sure if we were actually locked in or if I just need to question my girlfriend's gate expertise more in the future, but anyone heading over there may want to consider parking further down the road and walking slightly longer so as to not lose a couple of hours as we did.
 Dax H 15 May 2016
In reply to Droyd:

It might have been Yorkshire Water that locked the gate.
They are currently having a big security and safety push, new fences on loads of sites, every induction mentioning lock all gates all the time and that sort of thing.
Jim C 15 May 2016
In reply to Dax H:

If it is a padlock, a small specially shaped piece of a drinks can sometimes open them. ( check out on You Tube)
1
 Phil West 16 May 2016
In reply to Droyd:

Hi Droyd,

The range house is inhabited. They have keys for any gates that lead down to Deer Hill End Rd. I've never seen them locked but that doesn't mean that Yorkshire Water aren't starting to lock them. You could always knock on and ask to be let out.

I used to be a member of the shooting club until I was about 16/17 (from 9) and my mum and dad lived there as wardens for a while.

Glad you got out!

Phil
OP Droyd 16 May 2016
In reply to Phil West:

Hi Phil, interesting. The first thing we did was drive over there but there was no sign of life and the gate over the stream was locked.

There was definitely a large padlock on the gate, and my girlfriend struggled to open it - again, though, that could be her mistake/unfamiliarity!

As regards who shut/locked the gate, I was in contact with several Yorkshire Water people yesterday and no-one mentioned anything about them being anywhere nearby or doing anything with the gate - they initially seemed quite worried about our potential inconvenience, and it took quite a while for them to actually figure out where we were. In the end I had to give them GPS coordinates and a postcode, and even then they had to ring back a couple of times to check things. That, combined with the fact that it was a Sunday and the gun club left just after we arrived would suggest that it was a gun club member who locked the gate or, more likely, simply pulled it shut.

Anyway, I thought I'd post in case anyone similarly stupid heads up there - between parking below the gate and, failing that, checking that the gate is actually locked, hopefully it won't happen again. It was definitely interesting that the guy who called us from the gun club was very helpful and concerned, considering we initially decided we'd been rather spitefully locked in and the complex access history of the crag - I guess we were very wrong in our assumptions!
 Phil West 16 May 2016
In reply to Droyd:

Yes, access has been tricky of late. I remember the opinions of the club members back in the day was always "stupid climbers. Climbing is dangerous and doing it where we are shooting to is foolhardy. They might get shot and even though we have red flags flying on our own private land it wouldn't end well for anyone." This was before I became a climber and obviously can see it from both sides of the (locked) fence now.

Sundays always were the main shooting day 10-4 weather/mood permitting. Perhaps the warden was on holiday that week and the club members locked themselves out on their way home.

Either way it's good that you got out. Shame it's not obvious what the problem/solution is.
In reply to Droyd: I'll pass this onto Mark Warwicker who is the current Northern Peak Access dude and I hope that will bring some progress. Shooters is an ace crag inthe summer and it would be a shame if access was a problem. Although that being said, access to the crag is not the problem as the rifle club are happy for us to climb there, but obviously parking is. Watch this space and thanks for the heads up.

OP Droyd 16 May 2016
In reply to Frank the Husky:

Hey Frank, thanks for that - it seems pretty likely that this was just a misunderstanding, but it'd be good to get it ironed out going ahead.
As far as a solution for the present goes, advising people to be sure to park below the gate would probably be a good plan (possibly by adding this to the BMC RAD entry); we decided to go up and park near the dam out of laziness/because the guidebook said it was the done thing, but there are plenty of lay-bys to pull into a kilometre or so back down the road. We were careful to follow the BMC advice about steering clear of the area left of the Rostrum as there was shooting going on while we were walking in, and in turn no one ran up and questioned our right to be there. The shooting club member who phoned seemed nothing but helpful and concerned, if a little amused by the fact that he was confident the gate had never been locked (he said that there were two locks, and the padlock that the Yorkshire Water guy unlocked wasn't actually keeping the gate closed), but then again we didn't mention that we had been climbing, which may have changed things.
 Mark Warwicker 17 May 2016
In reply to Frank the Husky:

Hello all.
The BMC have spoken to both Yorkshire Water and the shooting club about this and have agreed to leave it in the hands of the Peak Park. They were helpful in obtaining access a few years ago and are doing their best to address the locked gate situation. Unfortunately, as is often the case with access issues, nothing happens quickly, but please bear with us: I'm assured that it will be sorted. This is in fact the second new gate in a little over a year; exactly why seems to be a matter of some mystery, but from my discussions on this problem I have no trouble imagining the confusion regarding where the gate is, whether it was locked, who installed it, etc. I’ll forward this discussion to Peak Park as another reminder that it’s still outstanding and ask for RAD to be updated.
Thanks for your patience, Mark.

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