UKC

Climbs 118
Rocktype Limestone
Altitude 44m a.s.l
Faces W

View Stats

Flowstone Shuffle © jim jones

Crag features

Penmaen Head is a relatively recent addition to the climbing on North Wales limestone and has proved to be extremely popular. The crag is made up of a number of walls that have been developed to give single-pitch sport climbs, the majority being in the 6th grade. The rock is generally good and the routes well-equipped allowing plenty of mileage to be gained in a short period. Some of the faces are covered with flowstone and these in particular are well worth stopping off to sample either when travelling past on the A55 or as an escape from the poor weather in the mountains. The crag faces just north of west getting all the afternoon and evening sun that is available. It dries quickly and doesn't suffer from any long term seepage. The Penmaenrhos Wall may give some dry climbing in light rain, and is also sheltered making it a good bet if retreating from the wet and windy mountain crags.

You'd think it didn't have to be said but some climbers have been crapping very close to the parking. Please don't!

Approach notes

If coming from the east, leave the A55 at junction 23 (signed 'Llanddulas') and turn immediately right at the roundabout and then immediately left onto the A547 (signed 'Old Colwyn'). Continue uphill for 1.6 miles and park at a large lay-by on the right just over the brow of the hill.

If coming from the west, leave the A55 at junction 22 (signed 'Old Colwyn'). Drive into the town and turn left at the first roundabout onto the A547. Follow this for 1 mile through the town and uphill to a large lay-by on the left just before the brow of the hill.

From the lay-by go through a gap in the wall and down some steps to the crag.

No Access Issues

Although the owners are unknown, the land has recently been up for sale and the BMC is monitoring the situation. The crack is in a residential area and efforts should be made to keep noise to a minimum.

Litter and broken glass can be a problem - please remove any that you see. 

Although not subject to any restrictions - jackdaws nest on some routes, notably Flowstone Shuffle Wall (sometimes on the route Aphelion) and can be quite aggressive! Please avoid any routes where they appear to nest until the end of June/mid July. 

Avoid for the near future. Nesting birds and aggressive mother attacks along the entire sector
kishanvekaria - 21/May/23
Just a heads up to any one climbing "Flowstone Wall". There is a VERY aggressive jackdaw patrolling this section of the crag. It didn't seem too bothered by me climbing further right (Penmaenrhos Wall). But when warming up on Blitzy's Jug, I was dive bombed (a lot). I'm guessing it's nesting nearby - perhaps a section to avoid for a while, or stick to the lower routes (dive bombing started approx half way up).
sam.abaker - 27/May/21
Worth avoiding ambergis and the routes either side this spring, there's some great tits nesting in the crack at the beginning of the route, and it'd be uncool to disturb the nest.
Steven1993 - 30/Apr/17
Some good climbs here, well bolted,cool moves and mostly solid Rock, well worth a visit. It is a bit dirty and dusty in places but just needs more traffic.
Daz Devey - 27/Jun/15
Very good little spot.Rock is very good quality,no loose holds and nice moves on the five routes we did
andybirtwistle - 08/Jul/14
Is the 4 hour parking limit in the layby enforced?
Roge't - 07/May/12
had a near miss on express wall (upper section) with fly tippers lobbing rocks and metal chair etc off the top, we almost got hit by the chair at the bottom of the climb.should be a one off hopefully as the top is fenced off with high fences but top of crag can still be accessed by climbin over the wall at the top of the steps that lead down to the climbs from the car park. apart from that a great afternoon out.
pork pie girl - 05/Jun/11
Went down yesterday afternoon and found a person sleeping rough (also drunk) in a half erect tent in the undergrowth near the railway tunnel wall.. is this normal??
DaveJ 11 - 24/May/11
The initial post for this crag "a bit of a safety warning" about being able to twist the bolts on the first 3 routes on Flowstone wall gives an erroneous impression. The bolts in question can only be twisted by 1 - 2mm and are in no danger of coming out. However, the situation will continue to be monitored.
rockcat - 09/May/11
A bit of a safety warning! I was there today and all the protection bolts on/between 'Richard II 1399' to 'Go with the Flow'. It appears that the glue used hasn't mixed correctly or something, as although the eco bolts themselves are fine, they can be easily moved/twisted by hand. They should be fine for another year but this could be issue as time goes on... I was able to pick off the epoxy glue excess from around the bolts with my fingers.
ERU - 17/Oct/10
A new area facing the A55 has been climbed on recently. Details have been added under a separate crag name, Trench Wall(Conwy), to allow the recording of separate access info. There are currently 11 routes. 6 are are 6a+/6b, 3 are 6b+ and 2 are 6c or 6c+. All are pretty good.
harold walmsley - 05/Sep/10
Really good place to climb in the late afternoon with so much to keep you busy, just be warned some of the bolts are far apart and the first ones are quite high on some routes, but the climbing is spot on!
alexstudly - 07/Mar/10
I pass this place every weekend on my trip to Manchester and always wondered if there is any climbing there. Curiosity got the best of me so I had to divert on my way home and I was amazed! Me and my climbing partner traversed the 6 sections individually then done all 6 in a row. Traverse is as good as the climbs!
S-Crew - 28/May/09
Would adding a few Land marks or Junction details not be useful in the access notes for those who don’t know the area ?
mux - 18/May/09
A good low-mid-grade sport climbing resource, with some nice flowstone and conglomerate features.
Fiend - 08/May/09
Login as Existing User to add your comments

Climbs at this crag

Name Grade Stars Type Logs Partner Ascents
Please Login or Register to log routes or add them to your wishlist
These climbs you have climbed clean.
These climbs you have climbed by seconding or top-roping.
These climbs you have Dogged.
These climbs you Did not Finish.
Climbs are waiting to be checked by a crag moderator, and may not be accurate. Climbs can't be verified by a crag moderator, and they need more information to confirm it. Climbs are no longer climbable.

Moderators Updates to this page are checked by a UKC volunteer michael burrows

Loading Notifications...