Approach & Layout

Approach

When travelling from Matlock take the A6 to Cromford (at Willersley Castle Crags) and turn right at the traffic lights. Take the first right (A5012), before going up the steep hill to Black Rocks, and follow this road past a right turn and a small lay-by, complete with cafe. 200m after two houses and a builders yard will be seen a good parking area, not a layby, on the left with the quarry entrance on the right-hand side of the road. It is best in the current climate to park back down the road by cafe to be more inconspicuous.

Quarry Layout

On entering the quarry the first identifying feature is its hugely rotten central wall, which incidentally has been fenced off. High and to the right is the excellent Marble Wall complete with a number of fingery face climbs. To the left of the rotten face and past a shed and muddy pool, the cliff gains full height. The first section of this wall, up to 50m in height, has been named the Monster Walls. To the left of these as the wall begin to lose height, the blackened wall, in winter accompanied by dampness, is named the Streaming Walls. This wall is bounded by an impressive wide crack and then a series of orange walls nicknamed The Tango Walls.