BUTTERMERE & ST BEES

Buttermere has been described as the Cinderella of the lakes, a tranquil valley with two lovely lakes. It also has several outstanding crags including High Crag, Eagle Crag, Grey Crag and Buckstone Howe. Buckstone Howe is close to the road near the summit of Honister pass while the others are in high mountain settings and take some effort to reach. The empahsis here is on low and mid-grade climbing particularly on Grey Crag where routes of different buttresses can be linked together to make an attractive way to the tops. There is also a good number of outsanding routes in the E1-3 range, most notably on High Crag. The nearby Newlands valley runs parallel to Borrowdale but separated from it by the Cat Bells Ridge, this is a very different place to climb, there is no road up the valley and while the approach walks are gentle the climbing has a real 'away from it all' feel despite being only a few miles from Keswick. Finally there are the amazing sandstone sea cliffs at St Bees Head just south of Whitehaven which offer a combination of outstanding sport climbing and top class bouldering. Details of the sport climbing can also be found in our Lakes Sport & Slate guide.

This guide is comprehensively illustrated throughout with stunning action shots and superb colour photodiagrams of all the crags described. There are also chapters on geology and conservation, together with sections on climbing walls, a list of useful contacts, the location and contact details of campsites and mountain rescue, along with a comprehensive first ascents list and crag chart to allow you to make the perfect selection for your day's activities.