The Avon Route Guide

Welcome to the Avon Route Guide. These pages contain reviews of around 100 routes in the Avon Gorge, and another 60 in the wider Bristol area. This site started life as part of the University of Bristol Mountaineering Club website, but soon outgrew the nest. Please submit a review of your favourite (or least favourite) route here.

News

The recent debate on fixed gear in the Avon Gorge agreed the following policy:

• Fixed runner placements, which are essential for protection of the route, may be replaced on a like-for-like basis where the need arises. If this is impossible, no replacement will be made and the grade of the route will of course rise.
• Where belays currently rely on pegs that are in need of replacement, but no suitable peg placement can be made, a bolt belay may be installed.
• No other fixed gear is to be placed on existing routes

If you wish to contribute to the Avon Gorge fixed gear fund, please make donations to Ron at the Bristol Climbing Centre. A decent sum has already been raised, so we can expect some shiny new pegs soon! Finally, the new edition of the Avon and Cheddar guide is apparently due out in the Autumn. Good news all round, really.

Indoors

If it's raining, the The Bristol Climbing Centre in St Werburgh's offers the best plastic for miles...

Access

A variety of seasonal nesting restrictions are operation in the area. Check the BMC access database for details.

South-West Route Info

www.wyeclimb.com has online guides to the Wye valley and Holcombe quarry, together with Gordon Jenkin's '94 update to Avon and Cheddar.
www.javu.co.uk is an excellent guide to bouldering (and hard routes) on Dartmoor.

The Reviewers

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this site. In particular, credit is due to Chris Sims, whose idea it was in the first place.

Chris Sims, Ruth Taylor, Andy Gill, Andy Robinson, Jim Brooke, Adrian Fletcher, Richard Smith, James Latham, Simon Spencer-Jones, Oli Watkins, Andrew Nicholl, Tim Lounds, Greg Elliott, Ally Smith, Steven van Zutphen, Piers Hemsley, Hugh Thomas, Mathias Willerup, Crispin Cooper, John Cox, Justin P Coon, Bruno Marks, Stephen Holmes

These pages are maintained by Jim Brooke. Last updated 2/5/02.
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