Which Guidebook for the Peak?

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 natehd9 16 May 2017
Morning All,

Sorry if this is a 'noob' question!

Which guide gives most bang-for-buck on the Peak District? I've been invited to the LMC meet over the bank holiday weekend and want to get a guidebook so I don't have to keep borrowing other peoples, but I'm not keen on buying the limestone, western grit AND eastern grit (Amazon suggests £67 for all 3!)

We're looking to get at least 3 decent days of climbing in so I can imagine we'll be climbing at a few crags, but at the moment I just don't know which guide to buy!

Cheers,

Nathan
 Fiend 16 May 2017
In reply to natehd9:

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/bmc-on-peak-rock-guide-book-p164214

One guide, will probably have all the classics you need, and will support the BMC who have been doing amazing definitives to the whole area.
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 neilwiltshire 16 May 2017
In reply to natehd9:

Pick either Western or Eastern Grit depending on your location. Each one has more than enough to go at for many weekends. They're definitely the standards for the Peak.
In reply to Fiend:

Don't get me wrong, I love On Peak Rock and I love the BMC, but never would I actually recommend it as a serious guidebook to anyone wishing to climb routes in the Peak. It's a beautiful and mysterious thing, but sometimes - just sometimes - it's not the easiest of guides to use...

That said, I do have a particular soft spot for it. As such, points will be awarded to anyone who can name the chapters the following crags are included within (without looking of course): Stoney Middleton, Wimberry, Tissington Spires, Hen Cloud, Burbage North.

In reference to the original post: if you can find out from the LMC exactly where you'll be going/staying that might help narrow things down. I'd imagine that it'll be either/or Eastern or Western Grit, as you're likley to stick around one area or the other. Either way, I doubt you'll regret either purchase...
 GrahamD 16 May 2017
In reply to natehd9:

I'm guessing from your profile that you are relatively new. Peak Limestone quality climbing is limited in the lower grades and so you are likely to end up on Gritstone. Since the trip is based firmly in the Eastern Peak I'd plump for the Eastern Grit Rockfax.
 Owen W-G 16 May 2017
In reply to natehd9:

Buy Rockfax Eastern Grit and be done with it.
Visit all the standard noob crags - Stanage, Birchen, Froggatt
Then explore further afield.
Should keep you busy for at least a few seasons.

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 slab_happy 16 May 2017
In reply to natehd9:

I'm quite keen on Pete O'Donovan's "True Grit" as my guidebook to grab when I don't know which (grit) crag I'll be at:

http://www.outside.co.uk/shop/True+Grit%3A+Selected+Rock+Climbs+on+Peak+Gri...

No route descriptions, only topos (and smily face symbols for boldness or otherwise), but the topos are fantastic. And usually someone else will have a Rockfax or BMC guide, so it's useful to have something different to provide an extra reference point.
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 carl dawson 16 May 2017
In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

Aw... beautiful and mysterious thing... thanks Rob!
 Jon Stewart 16 May 2017
In reply to Fiend:

Haha. It's a good point, but not fair on the OP!
 Offwidth 16 May 2017
In reply to carl dawson:
It's better than that. Its one of the most inspirational and lovingly produced selective guidebook I've ever come across and I loved the content balance from the classics to the weird. Up with the Steve Ashton's 100 classics grit and Snowdonia series overall. It looks a bit dated now compared to lush colour photo-topo styles but for its time it was a lot more functional than most and its heart and soul are still firmly in the right place. The 'what crag when' section was immensely useful for planning the beginnings of my epic attempt on climbing most worthwhile Peak lower grade grit (a section that was sadly dropped from the reprint).
Post edited at 13:46
OP natehd9 16 May 2017
In reply to natehd9:

Thanks all, it looks like I should probably go for Eastern Grit, should be enough to keep me busy!
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 Michael Gordon 17 May 2017
In reply to natehd9:

Here's another vote for On Peak Rock
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In reply to natehd9:
You could try Paul Nunn's book - £3.00 on Amazon for the 1987 version in hard back - £0.19 for a soft cover version. Ok it won't have lots of the harder moderns in but pretty good coverage of the classics.
Post edited at 19:41
 Offwidth 17 May 2017
In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

Really hard to use and almost random grading at times. Can't really recommend it to anyone but a collector. There is one unusual positive: it does have tech grades for all the lower grade routes.
 Philip 17 May 2017
In reply to natehd9:

OnPeakRock. Or buy a definitive.
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