UKH

I'm new to rock climbing but what does the law dictate in regard to this sport? Like can climbers just go to any cliff anywhere in the country providing it isn't private land, or can you only climb rock that has been designated as a climbing wall? I've seen some awesome rocks in a local nature spot, but do I need to worry about someone coming along and telling me I am not permitted to climb it? Like how does the whole permission thing fit into climbing as it does with other outdoor activities like canoeing and hiking?

The same question applies for setting bolts into a wall. I don't imagine you can simply go to any rock and start drilling into it to form an anchor, so how does a person gain permission and which laws determine which rocks are ok to drill into and which are not?

We have a right to climb on CROW land, but there may be temporary agreements not to climb, eg "bird bans" to find out about access to a particular crag, find the crag in the database on this Website and click on the access notes. Crags not on CROW land often have local access agreements.

As for placing bolts, short answer, don't! Longer answer consult widely with local climbers the BMC local area etc, then, maybe...

Your first question is best answered by the BMC's regional Access database:

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/modules/RAD/

Access information from this is normally indicated on the corresponding crag page on UKC, on the find crag map page you can see if there are access difficulties based on the colour of pins on the map (green is generally good but may have some stipulation, orange is sensitive and/ or with stipulations and red is banned).

RE: bolting, check if there are routes already there, if there are Trad routes or bouldering problems you should generally leave the drill at home. If there are sport routes it may be acceptable with landowner permission. In England and Wales I would encourage attending a BMC area meeting and contacting the area chair beforehand to get the discussion included on the agenda.

Almost all land in the UK is "Private land".  Someone or some organisation owns every single bit of land.   However...................................