UKH

Hello. I was wondering if somebody could point me in the direction of a good place to practise abseiling in the Lothian area? I will be helping hillwalking friends off the Inn Pinn in June. They have never abseiled before so I would like to practise with them before we go. Thanks.

In reply to msp1987:

Ratho quarry.

In reply to msp1987:

Blackford quarry.

In reply to msp1987:

Rosyth quarry is easily accessible by train and has stakes at the top. Blackford quarry has bolts for anchors.

In reply to msp1987:


You could lower them, rather than have them abseil.

In reply to msp1987:

Another vote for Blackford Quarry and its bolted anchors (isn't there a chain with a ring on top of the Inn Pin these days?) Hardly anyone except scout groups ever climbs there so you're unlikely to get in anyone's way.

Or, as Rob says, lower them. But a lot of non-climbers regard the ab as being part of "the Inn Pin experience".

In reply to Martin W:

There is indeed a chain with a ring on the Inn Pinn. Rosyth Quarry also an option as has stakes in place (not sure of the vintage but plenty of people still use them for belays).

In reply to Fraser:
I quite like the ratho option as its steep and there is a descent length of crag to abseil, rosyth is pretty short in the main.

In reply to msp1987:

Thanks everybody for the advice. Seems like there is a couple of decent options.

In reply to CurlyStevo:

The downside of Rosyth is that it sees substantially more climbing traffic than Blackford. Though if you go midweek daytime it should be fairly quiet (so long as you avoid school holidays!)

I think the longest lines at Rosyth are in the Heathy/Cathy area, so about 15m according to the UKC routes database. That's VS territory so steep enough (well, it feels steep enough when I'm climbing there, anyway!) The Inn Pin ab is 20m according to the book. Not sure exactly how long the longest Ratho routes are but I'd guess longer than 15m.

Come to think, a pal and I ran an abseil session for a group of non-climber friends a few years ago, using Cambusbarron West Quarry. IIRC the line we chose was a bit to the left of the tumbledown buttress in the middle of the crag. I think we used a combination of a fence and a tree as anchors for the ab and safety ropes. According to the UKC climbs database the routes here are ~10m but it felt like more than that after paying out the safety rope and hauling it back up again a dozen or so times! Might be another option, although in the Stirling area than the Lothians. (Not that there's anything wrong with Stirling - apart from the confusing road network. But then I'm not a local; maybe it makes sense when you live there.)