History
Apart from classic aid routes bolts were unheard of in the area until the late 1980’s. Bolt It and Believe It! at Dovedale Church was a mixed trad/bolt line but Andy Pollit’s superb Arch Enemies and Simon Nadin’s 666 were true sport climbs as were Mark Pretty’s No Pain No Gain and Manifold Exhaust at Ladyside Crag. It was Pollit however, who stole the plum line with his audacious Thormen’s Moth at Thor’s Cave - a superb achievement.
Little happened subsequently until Kristian Clemmow and Mark Pretty gave Beeston a revamp with several excellent pitches out of the Ivy Gash and the steep pocketed Honorary Buoux. Jon Clarke retroed old routes at Renyard’s Arch plus adding a couple of good routes of his own whilst downstream at Tissington Spires Pretty added There Will Be Blood up the the thin wall between Brutus and Caesar. Jon Fulwood put in a few big shifts at Thor’s Cave to produce some unusual but excellent routes there whilst Dan Varian chipped in with the hardest route at the crag Móoguo. Gary Gibson took a good look at Raven’s Tor and produced a collection of mid-grade routes at the right hand end, then did a similar job at Ladyside Crag.
Recent developments have seen Dove Holes turned into an excellent sport climbing venue with Rob Mirfin’s The Oval the hardest route so far whilst Pretty added Resurrected to Tissington Spires. Mirfin also climbed the bouldery and desperate Singin in the Rain at Ladyside Crag.