Is it a reprint? Is it an update? Is it the best guide to the western crags that there has ever been? The answer to at least one of those questions is definitely, in big capital letters, YES!
The new 2009 Roaches guide has taken the groundwork built by Dave Garnett’s classic 2004 Roaches guide, the first and fondest of the new range of BMC gritstone guides, and turned up the Quality knob to 11. Cover your ears, because this one’s gonna knock your socks off.
The superb research of the most committed locals has been tweaked and improved to give greater accuracy across the board, from mystery-cloaked Diffs in the suburbs of Biddulph, to elf-guarded traverses in the Churney Valley; from hundred-year-old traverses on Castle Naze to searing finger-popping E8s on the Roaches. Everything has been look at afresh, the result being one of the most deeply-researched guides the BMC has ever produced.
But never mind the info. Just picking the book up you know that you have in your hand a thing of quality. The dazzling cover shot gives an amazingly fresh and beautiful look at one of the area’s most familiar classics – just like the guide itself. Inside, the standard of photography is peerless, in concept, creativity and reproduction, whatever that means. Combining form and function, the new topo pictures and area maps together give the biggest improvement in this edition. Classic topos now cover one or two pages, showcasing the great beauty of the rock sculpture to be found here. Everything has been put under the microscope to see how it can be improved. The result is an absolutely bumper edition, with 400 of the sweetest pages of guidebook you will ever own.
And there’s more! For anyone who has enjoyed the bouldering circuits that appeared in the latest Stanage guide, then good news. The new Roaches guide has got five carefully selected circuits that will reveal Staffordshire climbing in a new and magical light. Check this.
Whether you are a first-time visitor after the famous climbs, or a long-time local after something new, this guide will take you to the places you want to go, and show you so much along the way. A guidebook as bright and as lovely and as warm as the golden sunsets that light this, the most beautiful of gritstone counties.
The western crags have never looked so good.
See for yourself here.
The Numbers:
• 1600 routes from Moderate to E8
• 800 boulder problems from V0 to V12
• 140 action photos
• 5 Fontainbleau-style bouldering circuits
• Over 200 full-colour photo topos
The Crags:
• Roaches, Five Clouds, Hen Cloud, Ramshaw
• Baldstones, Newstones, Gib Torr, Back Forest
• The Churnet Valley
• Windgather, Castle Naze, Bosley Cloud
… and many more besides.
Buy your copy now from the BMC online shop or call the Membership Services Team on 0161 445 6111.
BMC Member price - £18.00
Non-member price - £19.99
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We want to say a big thanks to every BMC member who continues to support us through the Coronavirus crisis.
From weekly Facebook Lives and GB Climbing home training videos, to our access team working to re-open the crags and fight for your mountain access, we couldn’t do it without you.
Did you know that we've launched a U27 membership offer for just £1.50 / month? And with full membership from £2.50 / month, it's never been easier to join and support our work:
https://www.thebmc.co.uk/join-the-bmc-for-1-month-U27-membership
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