UKH

Looking for a day’s climbing on grit in the Derbyshire area with the option to camp for a night.

Never climbed in area before so if the crag is a nice introduction that would be appreciated - 3 of us from Severe to E2. 

Won’t have mats for bouldering, but if there are lots of easy solos that would be fun.

Thank you.

Wild camping is technically not allowed anywhere in the Peak, but if you don't lie down until late and get up and going early, you can do it just about anywhere. Bivvying is even lower visual impact than putting a tent up. I've bivvied or camped nights out on top of Stanage, Bamford, behind Curbar, on various spots around Bleaklow and Kinder etc. with no problems - just basically don't be a dick: leave no trace, be very careful with even stoves (its rather dry out there now), don't even think of portable barbecues or camp fires etc. and chances are no one will notice. Personally if the camping was important I'd go high up on Kinder - its more wild feeling up there. If you bivvy on top of Stanage you can expect in the evening an endless stream of walkers, photographers, climbers getting an evening route done etc. I've had fell runners come past me at about 6 am on snowy late winter morning, so its not just summer. Kinder is quieter particularly at night. Lots of climbing possibilities.

If the climbing is the main thing, go and camp on the North Lees campsite (its not very expensive), you've got toilets to use and bins for any rubbish, and you are 15 minutes walk or so from Stanage and more climbing than you can shake a stick at.

I slept out on the moors last thursday for the solstice, and found a tick on me the next day. Just worth remembering to check after - not got ticks in the Peak before, but there are obviously some around.

Go high if you want to slightly reduce the risk of being midge fodder !

Stoney Middleton  good for wild camping.Up by the quarry.

Thank you Toby. Really helpful advice. When phrased like that I realise the climbing is more important and would happily stump up for a campsite. Probably head to North Lees and have a day at Stanage.

Thank you Paul. For another time probably - keen to climb on gritstone.

The one time I tried it, looking for that 'wild' feeling, I found the atmosphere was slightly spoiled by the steady stream of planes coming in to land at Manchester Airport all night.

I agree with the rest of your post though, especially the bit about the risk of fire - with the forecast this week, it's going to be a very high risk by the coming weekend.  There have been a couple of nasty fires already this year.

If I were going to suggest a destination publically, I think it would be Derwent Edge for me - heading up from Cutthroat Bridge, work along the ridge, do some routes at Dovestone Tor, perhaps finishing off with easy solos and a bivvy out at Back Tor.

For a single night, before you commit to staying at the official campsite, you might like to make Robin Hood's Cave Gully (D) one of those easy solos early in the day and see what you can see along the way.  If others have been following the "don't be a dick" rule lately, an alternative might present itself..

Speaking of which - there is a very salubrious public toilet down by the Plantation car park, so no need to leave any nasty surprises for anyone anywhere near the crag.

As far as bouldering goes, not having a mat of your own may not be a problem at the Plantation - it gets busy but the vibe is friendly.  If you're a gregarious sort, you may find folk on the problems you are interested in who are willing to share. 

One thing you most definitely won't get at any point at Stanage though is a feeling that you're in the 'wild'!

Best of luck.

I know what you mean, sometimes you get the massive A340s on their approaches and it feels like they are going to land on your head when you are high on Kinder! But I don't think it is all night. I camped on Alport Castles just before Xmas and remember as I walked up in the dark around 9-10 pm constant traffic, but I think they all stop around midnight.

Because of Manchester there is a lot of low air traffic above the Peak. I was at Aldery on Sunday and noticed that seems to be under a flight path too! Then weekends you get the tourist chopper flights buzzing up and back to Owler Bar - I think they go up to the dams below Derwent Edge.

Dovestone Tor on the Derwent edges ticks all the boxes I'd say. Wild feeling, beautiful spot and quiet, bouldering and a good range of decent routes. About a 40 min walk in from cut throat bridge.

Apart from camping nicely, not leaving a trace, etc. Midges would be my key factor in deciding where to go. If there's no wind, Grit evenings can be very unpleasant. Limestone areas are less bad, just go with a few options and be prepared to let The Midge decide for you (as they often do).

Can't quite be bothered to check, but I'm sure you're right that the flights aren't all night.  It did feel like it though.   (This was years ago mind.)

I was working in Germany for a couple of days the week before last and flew back in to Manchester sitting in a window seat on the right hand side of the plane.  There was barely a cloud in the sky and we did seem to come in pretty close to the plateau, particularly stunning views of the downfall on the way past.

I once bivvied in the funny little tin birdwatching hut up above Alport Castles (it's gone now).  Not taking a tent was a terrible idea - what an uncomfortable night that was!  But the hut did at least provide a midge-free environment to make a brew in the morning, and tumbling back down the hill into the upper Derwent valley close to dawn was a treat.

More a place for locals or those looking for a change from the usual places I would say - but the Amber Valley tends to be less midgey than most of the grit, and Turningstone Edge has some bivvy possibilities.  East facing too, so holds out the possibility of watching the sun rise from the comfort of your sleeping bag.

Unfortunately there's a strong possibility of encountering a pile of beer cans and on a summer's evening maybe also the Chesterfield chavs who leave them behind.

Always take a stout bin bag when going Turning Stone!

I recommend avoiding camping in car parks. The outcome from the last night a group of us spent in the millstone car park was a black eye from a young raver who believed that one of us had 'called the feds'.

Bearing in mind Saddleworth Moor is still ablaze this is very pertinent advice.

I have met 'the feds' in the Millstone car park when a rave was getting underway, they were utterly useless, I can't imagine what the young raver thought they were going to do to him.

I went back one evening to look for a cam I'd dropped somewhere, and found a steady stream of taxis arriving at the car park, dropping people off to stagger away towards the quarry.  There was a Derbyshire patrol car sort of cruising up and down, and while I was sitting in my van they shone their light right in my face and had a good look at me.  So I hopped out, as you do, and wandered over to them to have a chat - it was bizarre, two apparently fully grown coppers really didn't want to talk to me and almost flinched when I went over.  They were very reluctant to roll the window down. (I'm a big lad, ish, but not remotely scary.)

So, during our stilted conversation we established that they were Derbyshire coppers, not S Yorkshire, and that Lawrencefield was in their jurisdiction but not Millstone.  I asked them if there were also things happening in Lawrencefield that night "We don't know".  "Oh right", says I, "You've not been down there to have a look then?"  "Ooh no, we can't go down there at night, health and safety you see."

I asked them, as Millstone is in South Yorkshire, if their colleagues in the neighbouring force were aware.  "Yes of course, we always keep our colleagues informed about this kind of thing."

After I got home, an hour or so later, it suddenly occurred to me to give the Sheffield control room a call (this was before '101') - just to check they knew there was a rave going on, not that there was much they could do about it.  "We had no idea Sir, thank you for letting us know."

Never did find that cam.