Roaches - Don Whillans Hut - June 2026
Meet report by Karen Cleverly
Poor Aga and Fritha had the worst kind of start to the weekend, with car trouble putting paid to their plans before they had even properly begun. We missed them, of course, but the rest of us still managed to have a brilliant couple of days based at the Don Whillans Hut, with plenty of gritstone climbing, lovely walking and good company.
The first highlight of the weekend for me was stepping out of the car into the cool embrace of the night air, having escaped the heatwave in the Southeast. A short, steep slog up through the bracken brought us to the cave-like kitchen of Rockhall Cottage (AKA the Don Whillans Hut) and then came the best bit: seeing everyone again. It had been far too long since my last CMC trip, so naturally we did the sensible thing and stayed up chatting over drinks for an hour or so before bed.
Mike and Huw definitely won the prize for keenest climbers of the weekend. Mike arrived armed with his almost-new copy of Ken Wilson’s Classic Rock and a list of routes he wanted to tick off, and Huw needed absolutely no persuading to join the mission. Between them they packed in an impressive haul.
On Saturday, Mike and Huw climbed Black and Tans S4a, Technical Slab HS 4A and Via Dolorosa VS 4c. Later, Huw, Ann and Mike added Prow Cracks VD and Prow Corner Twin Cracks HVD 4a to the list. After Sunday’s rain had cleared, they were off again, ticking Flake Chimney Diff, Straight Crack HS 4a and Valkyrie Corner HS 4b. Not bad at all! Huw did brilliantly with his leading and came away with a very respectable collection of trad grit routes under his belt.
Teresa and Richard were also impressively busy, climbing together and still being on the rock when many of us were already drifting downhill and thinking about heading home. Their weekend included Inverted Staircase Diff, Heather Slab Sev, Flake Chimney Diff and several bouldering problems on Saturday, followed by Yong HVD, Prow Corner Twin Cracks HVD, Prow Cracks VD and Rocking Stone Gully HVD on Sunday.
Jamie and Ray had a fine time too, climbing four routes together and collecting nine stars along the way. Ray continues to be an absolute inspiration, moving with the agility of someone half his age. They climbed Kelly’s Shelf Sev, Right Route VD, Black Velvet Sev 4a and Fern Crack Sev 4b. Both Jamie and Ray felt Fern Crack was a little on the stiff side for the grade, with the first few moves feeling particularly sustained until a reassuring runner could be placed. Ray reckoned it was more like VS, with the first move at around 4c, and he also noted a short wall higher up that called for some confident gritstone friction moves.
As for me, my ambitions were modest: get outside, do something, and maybe second an easy climb to see how the knee felt after injuring it skiing back in February. I was unusually relaxed about a late start, mainly because I had no idea whether my fitness would last the day.
On Saturday morning I climbed with Ann and Will. Ann led Right Route VD and Yong HVD, while Will and I seconded. It was warm, windy and almost impossible to hear one another once someone was at the top of the crag.
Feeling vaguely encouraged, I then decided to lead Raven Rock Gully, which is allegedly a Diff. I had temporarily forgotten that gritstone chimneys, off-widths and jamming cracks are a different beast entirely for southern softies like me who, these days, are more used to bolt-on holds at indoor climbing walls. The reminder came very quickly.
Blind optimism got me through the first few metres. I kept telling myself that proper holds would surely appear if I just went a little higher. Fortunately, I managed to wedge myself securely enough to place some decent gear, although being very out of practice, the thought of having to lower off — or worse, actually fall on it — was not a happy one.
About two thirds of the way up, I reached for a hold and felt lots of loose dried leaves and twigs. I eased my head up and came face to face with a ghostly apparition: a wood pigeon sitting on its nest in the gloom. There was no way I could go down so I eased past as gently as I could, spotting three eggs in the nest as I moved up.
The final chimney was a full-body extravaganza of heaving, panting, grunting and using absolutely every available body part to inch upwards. By the time I reached the final exit slot (a bit like Sapper at Bowles), I was so relieved that I lay there, semi-wedged, for about five minutes recovering before finding the energy to extricate myself and set up a belay for Ann.
Ann, rather embarrassingly for me, made short work of seconding the route. She appeared with a cheerful grin in just a few minutes, although she kindly made the right noises about how tricky it was.
After lunch, Will and I went off to play on the boulder problems with Teresa and Richard, while Ann joined Mike and Huw for more roped climbing.
By Sunday, my body had registered a formal complaint about the previous day’s chimney efforts, so a walk sounded much more appealing than more climbing. Ann and I followed the path along the top of The Roaches to Ludd’s Church, a deep, mysterious chasm formed by a landslip in the gritstone. With its steep walls, dripping with mosses and ferns, it feels wonderfully magical — the sort of place where trolls, woodland creatures and legends would feel completely at home.
Ludd’s Church comes with plenty of stories attached, including links to the Green Chapel from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, as well as tales of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Whether or not any of that is true, it is definitely worth a visit if you have not been.
Another major highlight of the walk — and possibly the most important discovery of the day — was an ice-cream van where the path crossed the road at Roach End. One enormous 99 cornet, complete with flake and chocolate sauce, provided exactly the energy boost needed for the final stretch.
After tidying up the hut, we were more or less out by 4pm and ready to head home. Everyone agreed that the hut was wonderful and that another CMC meet there next year would be very welcome. The only slight downside was the stream of random visitors wandering through the garden and asking if they could look around. Then again, it is such an unusual building that you can hardly blame them for being curious.
Huge thanks to everyone for such a lovely weekend. The climbing, walking and hut were all excellent, but the best part was the company. It was so good to be back with old friends again.
Roll Call
Karen (ML)
Ann
Will
Teresa
Richard
Huw
Mike
Ray
Jamie