UKC

Climbs 54
Rocktype Grit (quarried)
Altitude 230m a.s.l
Faces N

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Terrible quality cameraphone pic of burley woodhead quarry (its all I have :-). Boulder matt added for scale. © petellis

Crag features

A series of quarries located on open moorland above Moor Road about 500m north west of Burley Woodhead on the south bank of Coldstone Beck. Far quieter than Ilkley the place has a peaceful feel with a beautiful outlook. The main (central) quarry offers some nice impressive lines while a series of smaller quaries to either side offer generally low grade bouldering and the odd short route.

The crag generally faces north and so is a poor option in winter but is good in hot weather. The rock is generally sound but there is evidence of two sizeable rockfalls on the lefthand wall of the main quarry (in the last 30 or so years) and so lookout for any recent instability and treat this area with caution especially around Chicken Finger. The rock can be friable in damp conditions, especially on the left wall of the main quarry where fracturing has led to the rock being more weathered and, in some places, weaker.

History: Like the main quarry on a damp December day the history of climbing here remains murky. The routes in the main quarry were documented in the 1970s by John Harewood and John Syrett and they probably did the first ascents of the harder lines although evidence of pegging on Fish Fingers indicates that this route may have been climbed previously using aid to pass the crux section. Routes such as Fish Fingers, Cod Piece, Soul Food and The Greaser represent notable additions to climbing in Yorkshire as they were climbed during the 70s free climbing revolution and are of similar difficulty to those being done elsewhere in Yorkshire and the Peak district at the same time. There is evidence of earlier development in the lefthand quarry and on both wings of the main quarry (Slanting Arête, the lower crack of The Greaser and Two Ten Job) with old chipped/improved holds evident which would indicate these lines were climbed in the 1950s/60s when manufacturing holds was far more common. As a couple of the chipped lines are boulder problems it seems likely that many of the other boulder problems on the edge would have been climbed at this time, as they are of similar grade, along with the easier routes in the main quarry (for routes my guess would be Fragility, Slanting Arête, Fish Fingers with aid, Chicken Finger, the lower crack of The Greaser and Two Ten Job). If you can provide anymore information please contact me via UKC.

Approach notes

Reasonable parking is available on the south side of Moor Road close to where Moor Road crosses Coldstone Beck near to two hairpin bends. The quarry is visible to the south (uphill) from the gate onto the moorland. Take the left hand path across Coldstone Beck and follow a path south eastwards close to a wall which leads to the quarry.

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