If you’re looking for something a little more adventurous than indoor climbing, Edinburgh has several outdoor rock climbing spots to choose from.
Blackford Quarry is famous for two things: illegal raves and excellent climbing within the city limits. Blackford Quarry’s main slab has multiple routes with varying difficulties for trad climbers and sport climbers.
If Bouldering is more your thing, grab your crash pad and head a few metres round the corner to Agassiz Rock.
Located within Holyrood park in the centre of Edinburgh, Salisbury Crags is nestled beneath Arthurs Seat. Unfortunately, Historic Environment Scotland - who maintain Holyrood Park - have blocked off access to the South Quarry bouldering spots of Salisbury Crags due to rock falling and safety concerns.
When Salisbury Crags opens again, climbers should note that bouldering is the only type of climbing allowed. There’s no top roping or lead climbing as fixtures and ropes are prohibited. A permit is also required. When the South Quarry opens again, you can obtain a permit by emailing this address: [email protected]
At Ratho Quarry, old meets new. Edinburgh’s largest indoor climbing centre the EICA was actually built into the quarry. While some of the routes were inevitably destroyed by the massive centre, Ratho Quarry still has a good selection of free outdoor routes available for sport climbers and trad climbers.
If you’ve mostly climbed at indoor gyms or if you’ve never climbed at all, there’s some safety considerations you need to keep in mind before you hit the real rock. While climbing in the great outdoors is incredibly liberating, it does come with some risk.
You can mitigate risk in outdoor climbing by: