Wild camping creates problems at Tremadog

Posted by Elfyn Jones on 10/04/2012

Owned and managed by the BMC on behalf of all climbers, Craig Bwlch y Moch at Tremadog is an iconic traditional climbing venue. But poor behaviour and wild camping by a minority of climbers is threatening relations with neighbouring landowners at this popular site.

While the BMC owns and manages the cliff face and part of the old highway below the cliff at Craig Bwlch y Moch, the top of the cliff and the roadside part of the the old highway are privately owned.

In the last few weeks the BMC has received a number of complaints from neighbouring land owners about poor behaviour by climbers at this site. In particular some climbers have been camping at the base of the crag, leaving litter, cutting trees and vegetation for campfires and then cheekily using the nearby toilet and water facilities at Eric Jones's campsite nearby.

Eric Jones, himself a world famous climber and mountaineer offers a very affordable and cheap campsite for climbers only a couple of hundred yards away from the crag and is understandably very disappointed and annoyed by these individuals who are abusing his generosity and creating problems for other climbers.

Parking and highway safety issues at the small lay-by at the base of Vector buttress have also led to the Highways Authority to consider parking enforcement along the highway. This rough parking area is not wholly owned by the BMC and the landowner is now considering blocking up this area to prevent a repeat of the poor behaviour here.

The farmer who owns the land below and above the crag has also experienced a number of issues where climbers have descended from the cliff by crossing the cliff top fence, ending up in his farm yard. He has also had issues in recent weeks with climbers using the fields below the crag to play football.

Thousands of climbers enjoy the cliff in an environmentally aware and considerate manner each year but it is particularly disappointing that these problems arise at a crag owned by the BMC on behalf of all climbers and do nothing to help our efforts to secure access to climbing sites elsewhere.

Please help to maintain good relations at this important site by only parking at the cafe car park (which is available free when the cafe is shut), not camping wild below or at the crag itself, and please do not enter the fields below the crag and do not descend by crossing the fence at the top of the crag.

TremFest 2012
If you enjoy climbing at Tremadog and want to put something back into the climbing there, get along to TremFest 2012 over the weekend of 21-22 April.

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Anonymous User

17/04/2012

Absurd behaviour from thoughtless individuals. Perhaps other climbers, who are members of the BMC, might remember that they co-own this crag and that they could help move these people along to somewhere else. If we lose the convenient pull-in, then we will only have ourselves to blame. Personally I would be in favour of the notice board being replaced where it used to be, pointing out who owns the crag and that camping and crossing the fence at the top of the crag are not permitted. I never understood why it was removed in the first place.
Andy Newton

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Anonymous User

18/04/2012

I agree with a lot of this article although I disgree up one point - I don't think that climbers should have to pay to park at a climbing venue. I've always thought that Eric was a bit tight charging climbers to park when he is a climber himself!

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Anonymous User

18/04/2012

"I don't think climbers should have to pay to park at a climbing venue" .....? What world are you living in? Who do you think climbers are which makes them so special? Eric has a business to run ..... get real. You can always park in Tremadog village and walk ...... or doesn't that happen at your local climbing wall?

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Anonymous User

19/04/2012

<sarcasm>How dare these people play football in a field!, what is the civilised world coming to. Only the minority who own all of the land should be allowed to enjoy the countryside</sarcasm>

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Anonymous User

19/04/2012

I can't see anything wrong with parking in the area below Vector Butress. People have parked there for decades. I always use it if there's a space. If there isn't , I park at Erics and pay up. The land owner has never previously frowned upon this. Neither has Eric, as we all go over to spend money in his caff irrispective of where we park.
Camping and leaving a mess is another issue. If this continues, take a picture of the mess and their vehicle registration and report them to the local authorities for fly tipping.
You might find the following link usefull:http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/WhereYouLive/Streetcleaninglitterandillegaldumping/DG_10029700

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Anonymous User

19/04/2012

<sarcasm>How dare these people play football in a field!, what is the civilised world coming to. Only the minority who own all of the land should be allowed to enjoy the countryside</sarcasm>

So, all round to your house this weekend to play ball games, camp and have an open fire in your garden then eh? So what if you're using it to grow pretty plants or vegetables, or we terrify your kids' pets.

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Anonymous User

24/04/2012

Clear notices would help at both top and bottom. Please can BMC broker this?
The farmer has a reasonable position and farms marginal land. He is there all the time. We are not. This and the beauty of the place should be respected.
Civilised commentary gains more respect than some of the remarks below.
Regards to all users
Martin Clowes

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Anonymous User

22/05/2012

Just a thought...Are we sure these are climbers that are cutting down trees, lighting fires and leaving rubbish? I can't believe climbers would do this to such a venue, and to Eric and his caff. I think we should all keep our eyes peeled for these chavs!

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Anonymous User

20/10/2019

It seems that this is a problem that continues.. There was a small article in recent times about this problem but to no effect. I wonder how many of these people are actually members of the BMC.? Vans still continue to park at the base of the cliff overnight. Eric Jones has had to closed his big bunk barn that he used to leave unlocked for climbers to stay in, because people who park at the cliff just go into his barn and use his toilets. It seems that the minority of disrespectful climbers ruin it for all climbers. Cars and vans parked at the base of the cliffs churn up the verge and make it difficult for people to safely walk to the cliff. So 7 years ago it was a problem and it remains a problem. We don’t want to see the access to the cliff taken away from climbers because of those who choose to abuse this area.

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