UKC

Hello, I'm hoping the collective knowledge of UKC can help me out with this. After many years of chronic illness I'm finally getting close to being able to do a tiny bit of climbing. I am staying in St Ives in a couple of months' time and would like to do a few gentle climbs if possible.

My main objective is to keep all of the logistics and faff (walk-in, ropework, anhors etc.) to an absolute minimum as I have extremely limited energy.

Main considerations:

• As short a walk from the car as possible, max 15-20mins.
• Able to walk to base of climb, no abbing in. 
• Route can be climbed as a single pitch.
• Low grade - the closer to scrambling the better.

Secondary consideration:

• Minimise driving time from St Ives (my long-suffering partner will be driving me!)

I've done a bit of research and it looks like the Alison Rib area of Bosigran, Wicca Pillar, and Carnelloe might be good options, but I'm really keen to hear from anyone who is familiar with the area. Thanks!

Roche Rock ticks all the boxes for a gentle reintroduction

Also, at Bosigran, no harder than Alison Rib (IIRC), Black Slab (D). Very good, very easy, superb position, monster jugs.

not been but believe  Halldrine Cove would suit your requirements. 

Also some routes at  Trewavas

Sennen has some great single pitch routes at friendly grades. You don't have to ab in (although a straightforward 20m abseil is the simplest approach to most of the climbs). 

Black Slab at Bosigran is excellent at Diff (it used to be Mod). But getting to the start of it can IIRC be a bit adventurous, especially if there's a sea running. 

Trewavas is good, but not much under Severe as I remember.

Martin

As others have said,  Trewavas, but about 30mins walk,  Bosigran,  Halldrine Cove, (30 mins), and  Sennen - I think this is your best bet a short walk followed by a short abseil, the abseil allows you to easily get back down for more routes, it's possible to scramble in but this takes more time and effort.

Sennen if the tide is out. Halldrine cove if not. 

Black slab is a faff to get to even for the able.

Strange, although I’ve done Black Slab several times, I don’t remember any ‘faff’ to get to it. The second time was with three complete non-climbers, who’d never been near a rock climb before. They were very plucky and had no technical problems with it. PS. I do vaguely remember a bit of an adventurous dash between waves to get to the foot of it - all adding to the fun.

The Alison Rib area of Bosigran is probably your best bet, especially if you finish the routes at the belay ledge about 30 metres up (Alison Rib continues but other routes finish there) and you can walk off to the right.

Black Slab either involves an abseil in from the grassy basin to the right of the finish, or tangling with the bad step, which isn't ideal given your circumstances.

Halldrine Cove has several, very accessible, short, easy climbs, all finishing at a big ledge with an easy descent back to the base of the climbs. The base is 'usually' non-tidal except in really rough weather. The biggest drawback is that it's a bit of a slog back up to the road. I agree that Sennen is a good bet, you can access the base with a relatively straight forward descent but, as stated, abbing in is very straight forward.

You either have to traverse beneath the whole of the main cliff including "the bad step" or descend the seaward gully (easiest by abseil) then descend the path which is partially collapsing to the base of the slab. Quite a faff...

If you know the crag well you can drop an ab rope from just the right place to get to the base but... 

It’s really weird, this, because it’s recorded in my very detailed logbooks of 1975 and 1978, and in neither case is there any mention at all of how we approached, which means it must have seemed very straightforward, even with virtual beginners in the first case and total beginners in the second. In the first case I did it after doing Ding and Simon (hard hard severes!), and in the second, total beginners, after taking them up Alison Rib. Just says "G (L), Charlie, Jim. A really beautiful evening. Hot sun, sparkling sea. Jim & Charlie 'knocked out’ by the experience. Do V. Diff finish (good), which they both manage alright. Everyone in high spirits.” I dimly remember traversing down a wide blocky terrace below the main cliff. I suppose it could have been awkward in one or two places, but I don’t remember it, and it’s not mentioned. Any abseil would have been recorded.

It's the whole length of Bosigran away from Alison Rib etc, so if you don't know about/use the gully it's hundreds of meters of boulder hopping. Not something that you'd note in a diary but not something the OP is after.

OK, thanks for reminding me. I’d forgotten it was so awkward to get to (it was half a century ago!). So Alison Rib is the ideal choice for the OP.

There's nothing of any quality of nearly scrambling difficulty at Trewavas.

The Alison Rib area of Bosigran is a pretty good shout, though there is an awkward step on the approach. Nothing harder than anything on the route itself, but not just a walk in the very strictest sense of the word, the same goes for Sennen, more so. Likewise Black slab to an even greater extent.

Roche Rock best suits you requirements for ease of approach, plus distance, plus good quality low grade climbs - it just isn't by the sea is all.

Good luck, enjoy! 

I have no helpful suggestions re crags but in a not dissimilar position myself, so just wanted to say I hope you have a great time returning to it. All about the Mods and friendly Diffs And from my recent experience, do not be ashamed to get your partner to carry your rack and rope! 

West Cornwall is where I learned to climb, and outside of the well-trod spots, it is mostly a lot of faff!  

As others have said, Alison Rib is probably the most accessible spot with a few easy routes.  Black Slab is also great, but it requires a pain in the arse boulder hop below the entire crag.  It's also not technically a single pitch.

I'll throw Upper Carn Barra out there.  Bit further from St Ives, but there are some good easy classics like Chicken Head Crack (VD), and Super Crack at VS is good if that counts as easy for you (ignore if it doesn't).  Shoot, I can't remember if they're all single pitches or not now, sorry!  But the walk in is 'mostly' flat and along a great part of the coast, and there are numerous VDs and Ss to go at.

The easy routes at Trewavas are short and pretty naff, imo.

Maybe https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/aire_point-665/#overview, which is accessed from walking north from Sennen car park. It might be a scramble down-climb from the top of routes, but it is just a non-tidal walk in.

https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/chair_ladder-218/lizzys_folly-1974

This is a very nice pitch in a great location. Not far to walk and an easy approach down a gully. Non tidal and good views of nearby Terriers Tooth and the sea as a backdrop.

A Seasonal bird restriction might still be in operation.

The Nov-Dec edition of climber magazine has a really good article about Halldrine Cove by James Mann. Looks perfect for your requirements.

That's a very good shout. 

Couple of variations to be had on that too. 

Thank you so much everyone for your responses, it's really helpful. It sounds like Alison Rib area may be the best bet to start with, but I'll have a good look at the logistics of the other areas too. 

Queen of the Traverse - thank you, I hope things go well for you too

Cheers  

The ban does not cover this route (see RAD)

Having reread your post more attentively, I would stick to Alison Rib.  Wicca is on a fairly isolated part of coast, and though you can park at Wicca Farm, it's not straightforward how to get to Wicca Cliff.  Then you've got to get down (and back up) a steep and broken hill to the Pillar itself.  Carnelloe I wouldn't bother with.

Bosigran is a nice and easy drive from St Ives for your long-suffering partner.  Short and easy walk-in and all the atmosphere of a sea cliff but without the access challenges. Porthgwarra, where you'd park for Chair Ladder and Carn Barra, can be a nightmare drive in the summer traffic.

Halladrine is a nice little crag with easy routes, but it's a further and steeper walk down to the shoreline, and getting to the base of the routes requires a bit of scrambling above the tide line so can be affected by the state of the sea.  

Hope you enjoy your trip and are able to get back to a bit of climbing.

Thanks for this, I was thinking similarly and it's nice to have another confirmation. Really appreciate all the responses to my question

I stand corrected. The link to the route brings up a restriction but when you click on that it excludes the route, hence my confusion.

I agree about Wicca Pillar, fair flog to get there and its tricky to even get to the start of the climbs and the descent from the top is not easy. I think it's a spooky spot and not the relaxed seaside outing that I first imagined when reading the guide.