Callerhues
| Grid Ref: NY852863 Aspect: SW Routes: 66 Max Length: 12 Average Length: 7 |
| Altitude: 323 mtrs Walk in: 40 mins Route quality: ** Bouldering quality: *** |
Follow the B6320 into Bellingham turn right (east) following the West Woodburn sign for 1 kilometre up the hill to a sharp right hand bend. At this point take the road marked Blakelaw to the farm. From here follow the Pennine Way north to the small copse of trees on top of the hill. The crag can be seen in the east (on the right) and reached after a pleasant thirty-minute walk across the moor. Permission to climb on the crag should at all times be sought from the farm. Large groups and dogs disturb sheep so are not welcome.
General[edit]
A beautifully situated crag, overlooking Bellingham at the south end of Corsenside Common. The rock is Fell Sandstone and gives a variety of climbing techniques including the use of flakes, cracks, walls and small finger pockets. The majority of the routes are of a bouldering nature as the crag rarely reaches a height of over 10 metres. Care however should be taken as most of the tops are rounded; fortunately the landings are generally good, if you don’t mind jumping.
Rock[edit]
Fell Sandstone Carboniferous, Dinantian
The rock is of good quality, but due to the lack of traffic the routes get dirty.
Routes/Bouldering:
Routes[edit]
Callerhues is a place for the bold and confident, and the grading reflects this. Some cleaning will likely be necessary for the harder routes.
Problems[edit]
Many of the routes can be treated considered as highball problems, and for the timorous there is plenty of less stressful bouldering around.
History[edit]
Callerhues has a very short history. Although climbers had visited the crag there are no documented records of the routes ascended. In 1976 John Earl and Bob Hutchinson visited the crag and climbed the classic Callerhues Crack and the dark Callerhues Chimney. They also soloed a few, other lines. At this time the crag was in poor condition and nothing else was considered worthwhile. The crag was rediscovered later in 1978 by Tommy and Bob Smith accompanied by Pete Alderson who took it upon themselves to clean the crag up, and within three months it had yielded some fifty new routes. Other people to climb new routes were Steve Blake with Boulevard and Earl with Arkle. Although the crag was climbed regularly there were no further developments until 1979 when Bob Smith climbed Dulalai T.A.P., Sheer Temptation and the technical Crouching The Mahogany. In 1984 Alan Moist with Dave Carr popped up Toshiba Receiver. A visit to the crag in the summer of 1985 found the overhanging crack left of Callerhues Chimney cleaned but unclimbed. An on sight solo by Bob Smith gave Second Born in celebration of his daughter. 1988 saw only a couple of short routes, with Bob Smith as the author of Chouca and The Storyteller.