A55 Sport Climbs

North Wales Rock Climbing

A55-3rd-ed-Hi-Res
(1 customer review)
BY: Michael Doyle
ISBN: 9781906095697
EDITION: third
PUBLICATION DATE: 28 October 2019
FORMAT: 176pp colour, 140x200mm, paperback / section sewn
AVAILABILITY: in print

£19.99

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These eighteen sport climbing crags are, with the one exception of Tyddyn Hywel, between Junctions 16 and 31 on the A55 and a short hop from the expressway. They are only 1½ hours from Manchester and ¾ of an hour by car from Llanberis and Gogarth. Easy route finding, technical climbing, and bolted routes makes for a fun day out. It’s a great way to bag a few routes on the way back from Anglesey or Snowdonia or enjoy a full day of varied and fun climbing with short walk-ins.

Featuring:

• 437 routes from F2 to F8c (including a handful of trad).

• Accessible single pitch sport venues with varied aspects.

• Short walks from the car and accessible by rail and bike.

• 71 full colour photo topos.

New in the 3rd edition:

• 157 new routes.

• 6 new crags.

• 8 new sectors.


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Michael Doyle

Michael Doyle was born in 1950 and brought up in Newcastle upon Tyne. At the age of eighteen he joined the RAF and discovered climbing in 1969. He spent much of the next seven and a half years in the air force cragging and ticking off the great British classics such as Cenotaph Corner and Diagonal. During this period he took full advantage of the highly subsidised opportunity for expeditioning in the Alps and in such places as Kenya and South America.   Michael left the RAF in the late 1970s and got involved in the UK oil industry in the boom years. Marriage followed and soon after a move back to Wales in 1983 where climbing took a back seat for some years whilst children were being raised.   Around 1992 Michael rediscovered climbing, and particularly sport climbing, in a big way. Many trips to Portland, France, Spain, Kalymnos and Italy followed. The development of Penmaen Head between 2006 and 2008 instilled in him a taste for crag development, which Michael claims is possibly more addictive than climbing itself!

1 review for A55 Sport Climbs

  1. jonesjames113

    This third edition of A55 Sport Climbs by Michael Doyle greatly expands and improves upon the previous editions. A total of seventeen crags along the A55 corridor are covered; and only one isn’t actually on it, but near enough to be a natural inclusion. The maps and crag directions are excellent; the welcome addition of the Crag Selector should be very handy for those not used to the area. A nice touch for most crags is the inclusion of the number of bolts per route, handy for routes such as Map of the Problematique. Excellent photographs throughout give a feel for what to expect of the routes and the crags.
    From my perspective many of these crags have saved the day when either rained off in Snowdonia or even Gogarth on many occasions. The sheer number and variety of the crags now makes the area worth visiting for its own sake. The grade spread enables an easy day on well bolted amenable routes at the very well-known Castle Inn or Marian Bach to somewhat more steep and testing routes on Penmaenmawr Mountain for example.
    Throughout the guide Mike’s enthusiasm for the area is clear, from the initial development of Penmaen Head in 2006 and the ongoing seeking out of crags for development. Of course not all the newly developed crags are down to Mike, Harold Walmsley another local activist has greatly contributed to the area; and indeed he and partners continue to put guidebooks rapidly out of date. This demonstrates the further potential yet to be discovered.
    Overall this guide is very well written and produced and is a necessary addition for any local climbers bookshelf and also cheap enough for anyone visiting the area to expand their options during a trip.
    Jim Jones

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