13th October 2012

Chudleigh Rocks – South Face
Inkerman Groove – VS 4c – Lead

Of the four people Tony and I spoke to at Chudleigh all mentioned the ‘polish’. I think this probably gave a good indication of what we could expect from the venue. Having said that all said how good the climbing was so there must be a balance somewhere.

Chudleigh Rocks isnt hard to find, but its nicely tucked away in the woods and feels quite isolated despite its proximity to the village. The climbs are fairly straight forward to identify, especially as Oesophagus, a destinctive crack E1 is one of the first you come across. The other climbers recommeded a couple of routes but the one that looked in best condition on what was a damp day was Inkerman Groove.

It was a good choice. The start was hideous, covering the same ground as the inappropriately named ‘Wogs’ and very wet and slippery. This was almost the crux for me, but I’ve never liked climbing in the wet. Once I reached the traverse everything became much more enjoyable. Its quite technical and exposed but just brilliant climbing. The groove continues the adventure capping off a very memorable climb.

I checked the comments in UKC later when I got home, and many consider this to be the best limestone VS in the country. As its the only one I’ve led I cant comment except to say I’d recommend it to anyone.

In a bid to avoid getting washed out on another climb (we’d ridden our luck a lot on this day) we decamped and headed up to Hound Tor for a mooch. This is a startling place, very moody in the late evening sun and packed full of good climbing. In the pub on our return Tony and I agreed we needed to return with the full crew for a days bouldering and to do the great looking suspension flake.

Speaking of the pub. What a starnge place. No power (you can hear the generator), full of youngsters (I mean twenty somethings, not just peole who are younger than me) and completely isolated in the middle of the moor. I wish I could remember its name….