Access, affordability, autonomy – the ‘three As’ – are just some of the reasons why rock climbers decide to stay the night in a caravan after climbing in the UK up the steepest approaches and scaling the highest peaks.
In the UK especially there’s a convenient synergy between caravan sites and excellent climbs. Often enough, you can park within several minutes’ walk from exigent builders and death-defying arêtes.
Many of these caravan-friendly faces are situated near a host of other attractions, from medieval castles to country pubs, to antique cities – this blog takes a good look at those too.
Almscliff
Resembling a squashed-together Stonehenge, Almscliff’s gritstone chimneys burst majestically out of windswept Yorkshire grassland. Climbers have been taking on the eclectic challenges of Almscliff since 1870.
Overhanging Groove has a deliciously tricky crux at the top and the Demon Wall will have you hanging upside down. The price of quick-drying walls is a harshly cold northerly wind.
The blend of low and high boulders must be negotiated with poise.
Offering 102 pitches, Rowntree Park Caravan Club is but 2 miles from the crag. A surfeit of glades and hedges guarantees privacy and quietude.
Stob Coire nan Lochaine
The dictionary definition of ‘stunning’, Stob Coire nan Lochaine in the Scottish Highlands is a secret domain of grooves, ridges and gullies that lurches almost arrogantly into the vivid clouds above.
Its 4300-foot ascent is characterised by the slanting Scabbard Chimney, Ordinary Route (IV)’s well-trodden bending ridge line and the most orthodox route of all: NC Gully (I/II), whose assortment of sheer climbs include an impossibly out-in-the-open arête.
Take care: the deep freeze can present hazards such as perched flakes and loose ledges. The Broad Gully side is susceptible to avalanches.
Just 4.51 miles away is Bunree Caravan Club, which offers pitches right on the edge of sparkling Loch Linnhe. Alternatively, the Scottish Highlands is so remote that there’s little to stop you simply parking up and nodding off amongst the peaks.
The Lake District is known the world over for its unique alpine pleasures, and Scafell is manifestly one of them. One for crag-addicts, this spiky cliff divides into 5 chunky buttresses that have been conquered by many multi-pitch expeditions over the years.
Scafell’s east buttress juts over the world like the battlements of a puissant castle.
Just a few minutes’ drive away is Wastwater, a lakeside caravan site that was voted ‘Britain’s favourite view’ in a 2007 poll.
Other Pleasures
Almscliff is blessed with The Hunters, a charming 18th century pub that serves such fine real ales as Black Sheep. It’s also close to the heritage delights of York, the best of which is the hi-tech, entertaining and educational Jorvik Viking Centre.
Stob Coire nan Lochaine’s Highland surroundings boast lovely lochs, meadows, crofts and walking trails.
Wastwater in the Lake District boasts the Screes, verdant hills that rise out of its lake and complement the view of Scafell beautifully.
