Climbing

Although most visitors come to this wondrous coast looking for fossil keepsakes or to marvel at nature’s beauty, there are some more ‘adrenaline filled’ opportunities that these cliffs also possess. Rock climbing is one of the most popular, and has become much more prominent in the public arena since its inclusion at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, not to mention climbing gyms popping up seemingly everywhere.

Climbing on the Jurassic Coast © Sam Parsons

Dorset’s section of the Jurassic Coast is home to many different venues and styles for beginners and experienced climbers alike. From quarrying, coastal erosion or natural exposures, the sedimentary make-up of the cliffs attracts climbers from all over, and in fact, for many London-based climbers it is often their ‘local crag’, (being the closest) albeit being 2+ hours away.

The first recorded routes (in their modern-day sense) were the south facing crags near Swanage, back in the late 1950s. Thus it is no surprise that these routes are predominantly traditional (or trad) climbing, where all safety and fall protection can be removed after the climbing party has finished for the day. This gear-intensive style is for the grizzly bearded folk who have the traditional ethics of climbing at heart and scoff at any lesser beings trying to visit their cliffs (in reality they’re actually very nice and the women aren’t always bearded).

Traditional Style climbing near Swanage © Sam Parsons

The easterly and westerly facing cliffs of Portland produce sheltered crags in most weather and it’s not uncommon to see roped-up parties climbing in t-shirts even in the months of December and January. The discipline here is predominantly ‘sport climbing’, where pre-drilled bolts are placed intermittently on the rock faces for would-be ascensionists to clip their rope to.

For a lot of gym-goers, Portland is often the first place they will do their first proper outdoor roped climbs, where shouts of joy (or more likely frustration) can be heard from the locals in the housing estates above.

There is also an abundance of bouldering on Portland, where a simple crash-pad (a semi-rigid foam mattress carried like a rucksack) is placed at the bottom of the boulder. The would-be ascensionist then attempts the hard ‘moves’ only a few metres off the ground.

These days, this is often people’s first taste of both indoor and outdoor climbing, as having a pair of overly-tight pointy shoes (think ballet slippers with thin tyre-like rubber on them) and a chalk bag can get you up and away for not much financial investment.

For a more obscure experience, there are even a few bouldering routes on Studland’s Agglestone Rock which provides a splendid view over Poole Harbour when grunting your way to the top.

Sport Climbing on Portland’s West Coast © Adam Perrett

Another venue is Lulworth, which is home to some superbly steep and overhanging routes used for Deep Water Soloing (DWS). As the name suggests, you solo (climb without a rope) with varying levels of difficulty and your safety is the deep water below, making for a spectacular, although often chilly drop into the English Channel. Not something for those without experience though.

Whatever people’s preference is, the area has become extremely popular in recent years, not only from the high-profile Olympic coverage, but after lockdown measures were lifted, those who’d only climbed indoors had to venture on to real rock as gyms were still closed.

Portland especially (with 1300+ sport routes and counting) is seeing many of the lower-grade crags swell with numbers on a sunny Bank Holiday weekend, with the easy routes being a fantastic stepping stone for relative novices.

A Classic Route on Portland. © Adam Perrett

If you are looking to get in to the sport, there are a number of indoor climbing centres dotted around the county: Rockburn and Jurassic Ridge in Bridport, The Project in Poole and The Hangout on Portland to name a few that are open to the public.

Here it is easy to learn the basics, and meet up with more experienced people, which can in turn lead to much grander and adventurous climbing on real rock.

Who knows where that could lead; mountaineering in the Alps, or Olympic Gold? Interestingly, you’d also be surprised by just how many fossils you can see, 40 or so feet off the ground.