Whickham Thorns Boulder Park

The first man made outdoor boulder park in Britain was made by Enterprise for Whickham Thorns Outdoor Activity Centre. Officially opened in October 1998 the boulder park has proved extremely popular with top climbers and novices alike. The boulder enjoys a sunny aspect and its use is free and unrestricted.

Parking and Approach

Situated off Market Lane, Dunston, Gateshead NE11 9NX. Turn off the A1 Western Bypass opposite Gateshead Metro Centre. Take the Dunston/Whickham exit then turn south to the traffic lights where you need to turn right. Park in the Whickham Thorns Activity Centre car park. The boulder park is easily reached in less the a minute from the car park.

Etiquette

Using a rag to keep your boots clean makes good sense, it can even make the problems feel easier. Nylon brushes often used to brush chalk and pebbles from the holds.

Guide

There's a PDF floating around which was created at the same time of the construction of the wall. Currently available (to view) at Steve Crowe's website: https://climbonline.co.uk/2020/11/02/climbing-guide-to-whickham-boulder/

Many variations and other combinations of problems have been created over the years. Feel free to add your own problems and pictures to this page!

Problems

Route	Grade	Description
The First Arete	f2+	Up the slabby arête
The First Leg	f3	Ascend the boulder leg, tricky moves over the small overlap.
Problem 03	f4+
The Eastern Cave	f5+	Climb out of the cave then follow the short hanging scoop to the top.
Problem 05	f6A
The Second Leg	f4
Inside Leg	f5+
Problem 08	f6C
Problem 09	f6A+
Problem 10	f3+
The Classic Crack	f3+
Problem 12	f2+
The Gap	f3
Problem 14	f2
Little Window	f2
Federation Flake	f2
Problem 17	f3
Problem 18	f3
NW Crack	f2+
Problem 20	f3+
Under the Arch	f5+	A rising traverse under the lip of the arch. Pinch with those knees! (Too easy? Try hands on outside only.)
Problem 22	f5+	-
Problem 23	f4+
South West Prow	f6A	SS. Follow the prominent feature up the steepest part of the prow.
Problem 25	f6A
The Snake	f6A+	Tackle the curving features and small edges. Hard for the short.
Font 1+	f2	Delicate climbing up the wall just left of the prominent scoop.
Southern Scoop	f2
Right Cheek	f2+
The Lug	f3+	Awkward moves to gain the large “flake” then layback up it to top.
Inside Out	f6A+
South East Prow	f6A+
South East Prow Direct	f6C
Problem 34	f6A	-
Problem 35	f5+
The Smile	f5+	Start in the centre of the curving feature and climb straight up.
Hollow Heart	f6A	Start above the small window. Ascend the wall using the hollow.
Problem 38	f5+
Problem 39	f5
Pocket Wall	f5
Grahams better than brad	f7A+	Starting from match in the shot pocket, following the line of crimps moving left until a big move for the sloping flake. Direct top from from the flake. No holds under the lip allowed.
Bubbles	f7A	Immediately left of the arch, sit start the obvious crimp. Move out right to the sloping rail, following the clear line of dimple pockets to the top.
The Inside Arch	f6B+	Trend left until half way along the arch then tackle the wall above direct passing the twin pockets.
Problem 42	f6A+	Start just right of the arch. Climb the wall above direct, without using the “Tufa”.
The Tufa	f3	Climb the “Tufa” without bridging onto the bulge to the right.
Problem 44	f4
Problem 45	f4+
The Bulge Eliminate	f6C+	Powerful moves on inset holds only.
The Bulge	f6B	SS. Tackle the bulge direct.
Problem 48	f3+
Through the Window	f6A	Start on the outside above the little window and climb through to the inside then continue up the back of the cave and across the roof. No bridging.
Descent Chimney	f2
Chimney Arete	f5+
Problem 52	f4
Spock	f7B+	Starting on the large shelf under the bulge. Move up the centre of the bulge, using only small crimps up to the twin concrete circles. Top out using the triangle features with a large reach for the top.
Problem 53	f3+
Pocketed Wall	f3	The pocketed wall direct
Problem 55	f3
Problem 56	f4+
Left-Hand Scoop	f4+
Problem 58	f4
The Central Scoop	f3+
Problem 60	f3
The Final Scoop	f2	Saunter up the scoop. Too easy? Try laybacking the crack with feet on smears only!
Problem 62	f2
Low Level North Leg	7a+	A complicated line traversing around the entire North leg half keeping low all the way.
Low Level South Leg	7c
Low Level Combined	7c+
High Level Outside	6b+	Traverse around the outside, stay near the top.
High Level Inside	7a
High Level Combined	7b
Tacos traverse SS	f8A	SS. Back left corner of the south facing cave using the undercling. Using the S hold follow the direct line of crimps through the roof onto the outside of the column using the flake, move right using a teardrop shaped pocket to the right pillar through the overhang. Reach through to the inside of the boulder for a door knob shaped hold. Use the concrete undercling to move onto the north east facing inside wall. Top out following the line of crimps.