Northumbrian Climbing Guide

Crag Lough was probably first discovered in 1907 by Marcus Beresford Heywood who recorded a number of routes in the Climbers Club Journal published in 1912. The article referred to five routes which are shown in a rather featureless diagram but from the descriptions it seems possible to identify what are now Hadrian's Chimney, Great Chimney and Main Wall. In the 1920's there were further visits by the next generation of climbers and though no doubt much was climbed nothing was recorded at that time. In the 1940s activity increased with a keen band of climbers including Basil Butcher, Keith Gregory and other members of what was to become the Northumbrian Mountaineering Club climbing many routes; by that time Pinnacle Face, Main Wall, Hadrian\'s Wall, Grad's Groove and the High Level Girdle Traverse were receiving regular ascents. Impossible Buttress and Route 1 was led by Tony Moulam giving possibly the hardest move on the crag at that time. In the 1950s the Crag Lough Club was formed and many harder routes were ascended including Crescent Crack, Y Climb, Why Not and Impossible Buttress Route 3.Further exploration continued into the 1960's but towards the end of that decade interest in the crag began to wane as increasing mobility among climbers brought the more distant sandstone outcrops into reach. Less frequent ascents have resulted in many obscure and some worthwhile climbs returning to a heavily vegetated state. The last routes of significance were added in the 1970's. Bob Hutchinson and John Earl made a rare diversion from the sandstone to free climb Smooth Bastion and rename it Whinstone Churchill, Jeff Lamb freed the previously aided Impossible Wall to produce the hardest route on the crag and Bob and Tommy Smith added the bold Stephenson's Rocket. In recent years there have been few, if any, worthwhile additions.