UKH

Compiling a ticklist - these are a few contenders that I've actually climbed, sure there are others I haven't (like anything North of the border).

A Dream of White Horses (HVS 4c) (Wen Slab)

Scavenger (HVS 5a) (Gogarth)

Riders on the Storm (HVS 5a) (Pembroke)

American Beauty (HVS 5a) (Lundy)

Double Diamond (HVS 5b) (Lundy)

Assassin (HVS 5a) (Gower - maybe not really a sea cliff in the strictest sense)

Saxon (HVS 5a) (Kendijack)

Moonraker (HVS 5a) (Berry Head)

Jo (Swanage - can't remember much about the quality, just falling off it)

What do I need to add?

Plenty to go at in Pembroke.  One of the perhaps less-likely to be suggested, but still a very worthwhile route, is Space (HVS 5a).  Got to love a mostly free abseil to the foot of the buttress with the intended route being the easiest way out . . .

T.

That does sound rather good!

I didn't think Moonraker was that great. Sure it's in HR so saying that is sacrilege, but it's just a meh climb with an adventure approach.

Must be some more Pembroke that deserves to be on there... (I didn't really rate riders on the storm either) Choose from Pigs on the wing, Joyous gard, Sunny corner, Galactic coordinator, HoD and many more...

Edit: obviously I meant to say Spacewalk (HVS 5a)

Half of the top ten are probably at Eshaness on Shetland. 

And if you're in West Penwith for Saxon, it'd be worth adding The Variety Show (HVS 5a).  If you need any motivation, go and look at the jump across to the Great Zawn climbs first.  I was way too chicken to try it!

T.

That does look like an amazing venue

I only mentioned it because I thought at the time it was the best HVS'ish venue I'd ever bern too.

That massive traverse on that seacliff in Glamorgan, name escapes me, but saw some pics of a friend doing it and it looked outrageous for a HVS.

The Concrete Dream (HVS 5a)

The Girdle Traverse (HVS 5b)

Exposure Explosion
Exposure Explosion (HVS 5a)

At the same cliff, I would also add Pinocchio as a quality sea cliff HVS
https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/ogmore_main-1034/pinnochio-33373

Lunakhod (HVS 5a) should be on here. I'd also add FANTAN B (HVS 5a) as a memorable HVS adventure!

I really rate Heart of Darkness (HVS 4c) and Finale Groove (HVS 4c) so they could be contenders for a top 10.

(Just noticed that UKC spell it Pinnochio and not Pinocchio).

Britomartis!?

The Arch Deacon on MingulayThe Arch Deacon (HVS 5a)

Pigs on the Wing (HVS 5a) probably the best of that grade I've done at Pembroke.

Burn Up (E1 5a) although given E1 in the logbook probably just fits into the HVS bracket imho.

Fantan B is an amazing and scary route, but not top10. Concrete chimney is my top sea cliff HVS. Pigs on the wing is also up there. Though I haven’t climbed at Eshness I’ve been there and the routes look gobsmacking. 

Have never done Pigs on the Wing, Exposure Explosion or been to Shetland, so for me its;

Isis at Fall Bay

Heart of Darkness 

Riders on the Storm

Britomartis

Concrete Chimney

Double Diamond

American Beauty

Matchless (E0?)

Midnight Cowboy

And Rotwand at Carn Gowla ( the most intimidating sea cliff I have ever been to!)

Is awesome, steeper harder and nearer the sea than D of WH.

Op - not recommended on spring tides with big surf, or after heavy rain as there's a bit a seepage on the first bit, but otherwise amazing. 

First pitch of Kinky Boots into Midnight Cowboy is even better.

Great thread. Sea cliff HVSs are even better than grit highball HVSs 😉

Sarclet Pimpernel?

Good shout, have done that 

Without doubt.

Skeleton Ridge (HVS 4c) is unmissable, safer than it sounds and not hard for the grade. 

Exposure Explosion (HVS 5a) mentioned before but it's very good. Top 3 seacliff hvs for me. 

Lunakhod (HVS 5a) too 

Skeleton ridge - access banned apparently - shame, have fancied doing it for a while.

Yes unfortunately. Hoping it's sorted soon

Loads of great routes in this thread 

Personally my top 10 would likely include one of the many quality HVSs I've done on Jersey. Likely Perihelion (HVS 5a) or Richard's Field (HVS 5a)

Also not mentioned, I really enjoyed The Ramp of Pink Emulsion (HVS 4c) this year, perhaps not top 10 though.

I second, Perihelion HVS 5a in Jersey, not led it yet, but held by many to be the best route on Jersey. 

A Dream of White Horses (HVS 4c)

Saxon at Carn Kenidjack. Just brilliant. 

Is E1 lol. But nice try as it is great 

Homesick Angel on Jersey is better than anything I’ve done on this thread.

jcm

I forgot it had been upgraded, it was HVS when I did it!

Inner Space (HVS 4c)

Not done Jo but have done a few Swanage HVSs…my favourite one was Behemoth

https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/boulder_ruckle-246/behemoth-14387

If it were actually given HVS rather than E1 it would feel even more brilliant at the grade and undoubtedly be top ten!

There’s loads of good Swanage hard VSs, for starters; 

Lightning Wall (HVS 5a)

Behemoth (HVS 5a)

Jo (HVS 5a)

Aventura (HVS 4c)

Hell's Kitchen (HVS 5a) – incredible, exhilarating. 

Felt like hvs to me when I did it.The traverse is committing but has gear on it.

Certainly not a mountain route. Nor a sea-cliff. I would class it as coastal.

I once had a quite intense argument about whether some crags were sea cliffs, coastal crags or inland crags. It got most heated, believe it or not, over Tremadog!

Good to see some proper sea cliff tech grades on here - 4c HVS frighteners are the best of the genre

I would also suggest Lost Horizon at Baggy. Used to be HVS and it is certainly harder than DoWH!

How did I miss Matchless, but then again it's E1,5b if I'm not mistaken.

That doesn't make it a mountain.

So would you describe it as a coastal crag now?

“Coastal crag” is a meaningless and pointless description. Whereas “sea cliff” or “mountain crag” help to describe the nature and level of commitment, exposure to the elements and adventure. Your reference to your intense and heated argument over Tremadog indicates a pedantic belligerence I can’t be bothered to engage with further 

The Wye Valley is limestone, so I assume that too would have been a sea cliff at some stage...

go on…

for arguments sake let’s define a sea cliff as one where the sea reaches the bottom of the cliff at high tide - so I’ll take Assassin and Isis off the list.

This is another great example

https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/gogarth_south_stack-612/where_puff...

But doing both in their entirety is a must.

A mountain crag has to be on a mountain. Obviously. You could say a crag can get mountain-like conditions, but that doesn't make it a mountain crag. Again obviously. I agree that "coastal" is open to interpretation (hence the argument caused by my friend refusing to accept it was open to interpretation), but I think it is certainly a useful term for crags such as Fairhead or parts of Neist etc.

As an aside, it’s amusing to note that Cloggy is described by UKC as being 'in an alpine setting’. Has anyone got any idea what it means (as opposed to ‘mountain’, in sense of ‘British mountain’)?

No problem. I probably am too!

I don't think something has to be in the Alps to be described as alpine. In fact I described a meadow as alpine myself today. I'm not sure I would describe Cloggy as alpine though. 

Agree about things like flowers, but there’s nothing about Cloggy’s setting that is remotely reminscent of anything in the Alps. … Except.. aha! … the nearby rack-and-pinion railway! That is very ‘alpine’, yet I’m sure UKC didn’t mean that.

Thats good - planning to go there next May

Good stuff. Just be aware that as well as decent weather, you need a reasonable sea state to climb at Eshaness (there are plenty of other venues, but Eshaness is definitely the main draw). But the good news is that you can cancel the Northlink ferry with a simple phone call and a full refund right up to the day of the sailing if it looks like being a wasted trip. I did so twice this summer!

Surprisingly, I'm struggling to think of much in Scotland. For top 10 I'd be thinking multi-pitch and most of the best stuff on Pabbay/Mingulay starts at E1. Eshaness is great but Perfect Groove is a class above the rest there for me; one of the best VS pitches in the country for sure.

Yes, my first thought was that the whole top ten would be split between Shetland and the Outer Hebrides, but, apart from Arch Deacon, I couldn't think of anything in the Hebrides which really stands out.

Yes, ridiculously good.

Does that count-out Front Line at St Govans, Herculs at Stennis Head and half of Swanage?

This sort of thing has been bothering me too. My gut feeling is that such routes should count. Wave washed platform?

Well, it is kind of sea-cliff-light if you can just walk to the base in any tide but I guess I'd still include them.

If walking to the base is the criteria then doesn't that rule out half of main cliff at gogarth? 

I think I'd go for wave washed in a big sea as a provisional definition.

And Anvil Chorus, Ochre Slab and Paragon at Bosigran please?

And that no-tidal sport-climbing sea stack that they are fixing up on Hoy? Or is it E1...

Technically it's not even a sea stack.

I'd categorise it as a coastal choss-pile. And even if it did count and was HVS, it wouldn't come within a million miles of being top ten. There are probably even routes in Devon which are better. The most aesthetic thing about it are the piles of mouldering tat.

Astral Stroll at Gurnards Head was superb. I think it’s settled at E1 though. 

Spring squall om Pabbay

E1, maybe need a separate thread for top 10 sea cliff E1s?

Eh, why? No. Don't think so, but there's a very flat flood plain and meandering river nearby so I suppose it could occasionally flood with tidal assistance.

I’ve been wave washed climbing Quality Street HVS at Swanage https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/cormorant_ledge-1622/quality_stree...

I hadn’t actually got to the bottom, was still halfway down the abseil 15m from the boulder at sea level when I got hit, so I reckon this route counts. Good route too…

Finale Groove isn't a frightener.  It's an over-graded VS.  A nice one though

Think the joke was its original formation (at the bottom of the sea). 

Probably the best VS though...

Ha, my bad. I meant  Wiggly Wall!

Yeah but isn't Anvil Chorus still VS. Certainly was in old money!

Pis Fliuch - Ailladie (Burren, Co. Clare)

Pis Fliuch (HVS 5a)

I really enjoyed The Ramp of Pink Emulsion too although it felt easier than some HS's in the lakes 

A few suggestions -

Journey to Ixtlan  HVS 4c at Carn Gowla

Stormy Weather HVS 5a at Cornakey

And in Scotland - 

Couple of nice ones at Latheronwheel:  Positive Mental Attitude HVS 5a and Don't Think Twice HVS 5a 

Juglust HVS 5a at Shiegra; and

Spantastic at Flodigarry HVS 4c

Seriously?!

Certainly unique!

Journey to Ixtlan, at Carn Gowla. Maybe not because of the quality of the moves, but for that sense of still being alive at the end of it (if you're lucky).

Another vote for Eshaness from me. Brilliant.

Fantan B deserves a grade of some sort just for getting to the start! The steep grassy slope is very scary if it's damp and you are wearing your climbing shoes. Definitely a memorable adventure. If you survive the descent the climb is excellent.

Bubbles (HVS 5a)

Some interesting suggestions, but I think I need to take issue with a couple. Lunakhod (HVS 5a) and Stormy Weather (HVS 5a) are both fine routes, but I don't think they're quite top ten material.

I wouldn't put it in a top 10, but is Ordinary Route (HVS 5a) at Fastcastle the only HVS that will get you onto the top of a sea stack in the UK? I guess Stoer at VS is pretty close in grade, and much more of a classic.

I think we just abbed. The scariest bit was the first pitch. No belay at the start, no gear to speak of on the traverse. Trying to work out what was rock and what was piles of rotting nest under all the bird poo. Very character building!

I loved Journey to Ixtlan - a really good adventure! My main recollection of it is the rope getting jammed on the last pitch so I had to set off seconding with loops of rope attached to my harness, having to tie myself in on bights so that I wouldn't take an enormous fall if one of the distinctly snappy holds decided to part company with the crag while I was using it. We did it on the day of the royal wedding back in 2011 and I remember thinking that it was a much better way of spending the day

Seeing as this got do many dislikes I’ll throw the route Gogarth in, this was also graded HVS before being bumped up to E1.

Gradeflation has robbed the UK of some of it’s best sea cliff HVSs

We've got one stack here (Guernsey) which has 1 HVS on it, another with 4 (one with 3*, another 2*), and another with 6, and there will be some more but I can't be bothered to look them up.

The Souter is a fun day out but in climbing terms, nowhere near *** let alone a higher acolade. For a big HVS stack adventure, surely Am Buachaille is a worthier contender?

Definitely, but, by all accounts, the HVS is not *** climbing.

Maelstrom HVS 5a Mid Clyth. Not far from Sarclet. 

I'm not convinced that is true. I bought into that idea the first time I did Concrete Chimney but I think a lot of that was to do with the feeling that DoWH was raved about but CC comparatively under rated. Having done both again I've re-evaluated and they are both top end quality and the idea that one trumps the other is a non-starter.

Finale Grove HVS 4c actually has good gear, it’s on the pumpy side though, low in the grade and pleasant.

Most the swanage hvs 4c have pretty good gear.

I think that if you want a Caithness HVS then the excellent Silver Surfer at Sarclet easily trumps those mentioned at Mid Clyth and Latherinwheel. Not sure it is worthy of top ten though.

Thanks for info - we have a week there anyway so we'll see how it goes.