Widehope

Approach

From the A697 Morpeth - Wooler road, turn right along the B6341 Rothbury - Alnwick road towards Alnwick. . Widehope forest is reached on the right after 3km. Park in the lay-by beside the wood and go into the forest through a gate about 100 metres back down the road. Bear left through the forest and take a left fork after about 500 metres, where the track goes over drainage pipe in the ditch. This track brings you out at a nailed-up bit of the fence from where the main part of the crag can be seen on the hillside.

Routes

The crag consists of an arc of buttresses on the hillside on the moor east of Widehope Forest. The rock is for the most part quite reasonable, but tends to be friable and small flaky holds should not be trusted. In damp weather the rock becomes seriously weak and the crag should be avoided during spells of wet weather, or many holds will simply snap off.
However, it is in the nature of things that the easier problems are not so much affected by rock quality and this crag is excellent for beginners to learn some basic sandstone techniques and for the committed bumbly to potter around on. The ominous offwidth is particularly appealing...
The Seam
An isolated wall at the left hand end of the crag, easily identified by an obvious vertical seam in the centre
1  4 4c    Follow the line of the seam.
Cave Area
The area just left of the path, consisting of two overhanging buttresses. The larger, right hand one has a cave in it.
The left hand buttress has several obvious poor problems
The right hand buttress is more worthwhile, and has the best problem on the crag.
In the far depths of the low cave 2 ways have been found to come out.
2   5c    From the very back with feet along the left side looking in then traverse the lip right to pull onto pedestal before traversing back left on lower break to finish up obvious crack.
3  3 5c    From the low cave, traight across the centre of the roof by means of bat like heel hooks then into the niche and up to finish by pulling out left.
4  5 5b    At the niche on right side of low cave, climb out through the niche pulling right to finish
5  5+ 5a    The obvious crackline.
6   5c    At the right end where the roof finishes, sitting start to pull up then slightly left along lip of roof to find a small pocket/widening of a seam in the wall above which is used to pull up to a direct finish on the slab above
7  5 5a    From the right, traverse left using the high break to finish up the leftwards sloping jamming crack.
Path Buttress
Right of the path there is a small low neb followed by a larger buttress with an overhang-capped corner. The neb can be seen at the very left of the photo at the top of this page. The holds under the neb are friable and snap off easily, so avoid these problems unless the rock is completely dry.
8  5+ 5c    Sitting start round the corner from the roof, short dyno to the top.
9   5b    SS via the flake under the left hand side of the neb.
10  Snapper 3+ 6a    Sitting start from the right hand side of the neb via the impermanent flakes. The rock must be dry or the flakes will just snap off.
The next problems lie on the higher buttress to the right
11  4 4b    Sitting start to the crack.
12  5 5a    Sitting start to the crack, step immediately right onto wall straight up to pull over roof by means of obvious pinch. Committing.
Moving right, there is a large low roof with a small prow set forward and to the left.
13  5 5b    Sitting start to the prow.
14  5 5b    Sitting start to the roof, which is pulled/mantled over by means of exceptionally large chicken heads.
The next problems lie on the high buttress to the right
Horned Buttress
Identified by the horn-like protruberances on the arete.
15  5+ 4c **   The wall to the left of the arete
16  4 6b **   The right hand side of the arete
17  3 5c **   From sitting, up via the small rounded flake half way up the wall at the right hand end of the buttress.
18  4 4b    To the right of the rounded flake, straight up via nice crimps.
Offwidth Buttress Area
This area comprises the buttress split by an obvious offwidth crack and a chimney and all the rocks to the right, ending at an arete with a pillar at the base.
19  3+ 6b ***   The arete left of the Offwidth from a sitting start
20   5c    The wall left of the offwidth. Obvious large chicken heads then gently pinch the small fragile ones to reach slopers below the top, then one final move off these to gain the top.
21  4 4b    Wedge yourself in and udge away.
22  4+ 5b    The wall between the Offwidth and the Chimney via two large protruberances.
23  4 1a    The chimney.
24  5 4c    The left hand side of the wall between the chimney and the gulley, past the pocket.
25  5+ 4c    The right hand side of the wall between the chimney and the gulley.
26  4 2b    The slanting crack right of the gulley
27  5+ 5a    The arete at very right of the bay has a pillar at its base. Sitting start at the pillar with feet on the pedestal.
Mushroom Area
The next bay along has a mushroom shaped rock in the middle
28  4 2b    A leftward slanting crack on the left end of the wall to the left of the mushroom
29  4 4b    The black-streaked wall left of the mushroom
30  4 2c **   The obvious crack to the right of the mushroom
Tree Gully area
Round the corner from the Mushroom area is a tree filled gully.
31  5 5a    Right to left low level traverse of the wall, starting in the gully and ending round the corner on large but dodgy holds.
32  5+ 5c    The centre of the wall via a poor pocketty thing.
33  Tree Gully Wall 4+ 4c    Up the front of the wall left of the gully.
34  Tree Gully Left Hand 3 6a *   The left wall of the tree filled gully up the line of the thin crack.
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