This is one of the main events at Gogarth, and consists of a sweep of rock that goes uninterupted for over one mile from the Upper Tier right to North Stack Wall. It is home to some of the most magical climbs in the area. Where big and commiting lines sort the men from the boyz.
Climbing here should be a rite of passage for anyone who considers themselves a ‘Trad’ climber in the UK.
Approach to Upper Tier and Main Cliff
The first routes on the southern part of the Main Cliff and the Upper Tier are accessed either from South Stack or from Holyhead Breakwater Quarry car park. From South Stack, take the track towards Holyhead Mountain. Just after you pass the radar station and just before you get to Holyhead Mountain a track leads down leftwards towards sea and a nice racking up spot, above a gully. The Gully is very undercut so not a good place to stand and admire the view or rack up.
Approach to Easter Island
Easter Island Gully is midway between Wen Zawn and The Upper Tier, and is more correctly the extreme end of the Main Cliff where it meets Wen Slab. It can be approached from either direction via the cliff top path. It is the gully immediately before the descent to Wen Slab in the direction of the Main Cliff. An obvious marker is a pinnacle halfway down on the right in the shape of an Easter Island statue. Decend the gully down steep grass steps to a rock platform, from which a 30 metre abseil from the south side down Supercrack reaches the zawn bottom. Some parties fix a rope in the top part of the gully. Beware of rock fall from the gully if there are parties below. Access to routes inside the Zawn are possible at all states of the tide, but not in rough seas. Routes on either side of the zawn can be reached from mid to low tide by easy sea level traverses, and are inaccessible at high water and in rough seas. Easter Island Gully can also be reached from the main cliff by following the Main Cliff sea level traverse and making a short swim beyond Hustler (dry bag for equipment advised).
Approach to Wen Zawn
1) Park in the tatty Holyhead Quarry Country Park, and take the steep track to North Stack to a fork. The righthand path descends to North Stack. Take the lefthand path to the broad gully above Wen Zawn.
2) From South Stack, follow the track to the Main Cliff, and instead of descending after the radar station, follow the track over the west flank of Holyhead Mountain until it descends to a track heading west to a broad gully descending steeply towards Wen Zawn promontory.
2) From South Stack, follow the track to the Main Cliff, and instead of descending after the radar station, follow the track over the west flank of Holyhead Mountain until it descends to a track heading west to a broad gully descending steeply towards Wen Zawn promontory.
Approach to Flytrap and North Stack
Details to follow!
The section of crag consists of:
The Upper Tier
Main Cliff
Easter Island Gully
Wen Zawn
Flytrap Area
North Stack Wall