New guide to Luxulyan by Tom Last

EDIT May 2017: Due to an access issue at one of the venues featured in this PDF guide, the file has been temporarily removed from the Cheesewring Climbing webpages. Please visit the New Routes and Updates section to find out more.

Is Luxulyan Cornwall’s answer to Bovey Woods? Or is it, as Andy Grieve says: “...like Fontainbleu, with a wellington boot walk in!”? Well if you live nearby you have no excuses not to find out, as local photographer and Luxulyan jungle-lover Tom Last has produced a fine PDF guide for you to follow.

Luxulyan Woods Bouldering and New Routes 2014 by Tom Last describes over 120 boulder problems and 16 routes that didn’t quite make it into the main body of the 2012 definitive guidebook. Illustrated with colour photo-topos throughout, it’s certainly an ideal supplement to Cheesewring & South East Cornwall: A Climbers’ Guide and Tom has generously allowed us to host his PDF on our Cheesewring Climbing site.

Due to its 56 pages the file is a hefty 13 MB, but I’m told it looks good on a smart phone. If printing it out ideally it would be best as A4 landscape in colour; however, I suspect that would be a very expensive option.

Luxulyan has seen a burst of development over the last few years but it has huge potential for those with the willingness to explore. Tom deserves full credit for his recent routes and problems, as well as for all the hard work put in to documenting this often overlooked area. Well done Tom and thanks for letting us upload it.

Tom Last makes first ascent of overhanging offwidth crack

Tom Last has continued his campaign of new routing in South East Cornwall with his most recent achievement being the impressive first ascent of an overhanging wide crack on Luxulyan’s rough granite. The Singularity weights in at around E4/5 6a and is located on a natural tor on the rim of Luxulyan Quarry proper – i.e. the massive semi-dormant quarry north of the village.

Tom said: “I first tried this ground up a couple of years ago and got completely shut down after the initial hands section. I came back a few weeks ago and decided to give it a top-rope, not really expecting to get anywhere, but after a couple of tries, I managed to link it. The difficulty of the climb though is in keeping it together for the duration, so I started trying to lead it – climbing it, I think, on my 6th or 7th lead attempt over three sessions.

“The crack goes from hands, through the grim off-width to a wild move that hopefully gets you into the final mad squeeze chimney. The route overhangs for about 25-30 degrees for its full length. It is absolutely brutally hard,” says Tom, “Honestly though, you couldn’t get a better line, or more ridiculous experience.”

The route is well protected with #6 cams and surely must be one of the most challenging wide cracks in Cornwall. The photo below shows Tom’s lower legs and feet struggling with the top-out during the first ascent while belayer Hernan Cardenas Ibanez tries to think of a few excuses not to follow. The picture above is not of the first ascent but gives a better impression of the route.

Full details of this route can be found here on the Cheesewring Climbing New Routes page.

Elsewhere in the Luxulyan area Tom has also contributed Aces High, essentially a highball direct finish to his route Sheela-Na-Gig at Carmears Rocks. There is a video of this route here on Facebook. While on the South Coast he has also discovered a new cliff with climbing potential just west of Dodman Point called Greeb Point. So far the only route here is a fine-looking Diff. From the Delta to the DMZ.

Full details for all Tom’s recent routes can be found on the New Routes page of the Cheesewring Climbing website. Many thanks to Tom for supplying the information and for the use of his photos.

If anyone has new route descriptions or any other news for the area please do send it in.

UKClimbing review

The recently published Cheesewring & South East Cornwall guide has received its first review. One of the area's active climbers, Tom Last, has kindly reviewed the new book for major outdoor sport website UKClimbing. You can comment on the article and read it here on UKClimbing's Gear Reviews section.