Pembroke

Pembroke has big scary sea cliffs and outstanding beaches, fortunately there's also some very good mid-grade climbing there as well.  This is a guide to climbing at Flimston Bay (Bow Shaped and Crystal Slabs), Saddle Head, Giltar Slabs, Rusty Point, Jackdaw Point, Mowing Word and Porth Clais.  Lots of pictures (click for larger view).  Guide book wise there's the big thick two volume climber's club book and the Rockfax book.  Except for the smaller crags you've got sod all chance of finding routes from the Climber's Club guide, but the Rockfax book is somewhat limited in the areas it covers.  Unfortunately, you therefore need both.

Pembroke Page 1

Flimston Bay (Bow Shaped Slab, Crystal Slabs)

Porth-y-Ffynnon (picture only)

Carreg-y-Barcud (pictures only)

Barafundel

Mowing Word

Flimstone Bay (Crystal Slabs and Bow Shaped Wall)

There's three areas to climb at Flimston Bay: Flimston Slabs (v diffs), Bow Shaped Slab (HS) and Crystal Slabs (VS 4c), and in the bay itself, the pinacle.  You must get the Rockfax guide book as you have no chance whatsoever of finding the routes without the excellent sketch map in it.

Flimston Slab and Bow Shaped slab are tidal, Crystal Slabs aren't.

I haven't climbed on these slabs but there's 1 HS and 2 v-diffs.  Ab in.

Bow shaped slab isn't visible from the west side of Flimston Bay as its side on.  You can see the tell tale yellow patch of gravel at the top if you know where to look.  Its easily visible from Crocksydam Point.  It's heaven for HS climbers.  We were there on the first Sunday in August on a beautiful day and had the slabs to ourselves.

Stunning route.  Fully worthy of three stars.  Gear is good, rock is sound and unpolished.  It starts as a cake walk but soon gets harder.  At low tide you'll run out an entire 50 m rope.

Straight up the middle of the slab.

I haven't done this but Richard assures me its just as good as Bow Shaped Slab.  Climb the right hand corner.

Absolute heaven if you're into VS 4c as just about every single route is a VS 4c.  Easy scramble down to a non-tidal base and impecable climbing.  Routes are long (50 m ropes needed) so take loads of gear and quick draws, especially medium sized nuts.  Located just the other side of Crocksydam Point.

Cracking route.  Starts easy, then you get to the crux which is well protected and steep.  Above the crux you traverse left along a crack.  I balanced across it on my feet with nothing for hands, Rob hand traversed it with smears for feet.  The Off width crack then seems to go on forever.  It looks like it might be loose but isn't.

Not such a good route, the top is steep and loose.  Avoid.  (Its not that bad, but the rest of the slab is perfect if you get my drift).

I haven't done it, but Rob was raving about it.

Saddle Head

This is the place to go if you like crowds and inept numpties kicking rocks down on you.  I've done most of the routes there and  they're all OK.

Great.  The initial traverse is a little exposed and forms the crux.  From then on its plain sailing.  I have issues with the grade though.  No way is it a HS, v-diff more like and once you're on the arete it's only a scramble.

Giltar Slabs

Easy peasy beginners routes.  Climb at will on the slabs at diff / v diff level.  The overlap looks fierce but is in reality only a v diff.  Good belay on right hand side of slab but belay at top on left hand side requires an awful lot of work.  Smaller subsidiary slab 20 m away.  10 minutes walk from car.  There was a bloody great bull in the field when we were there, I thought you weren't supposed to put bulls in fields with paths through them?

Porth Clais

Climb up the middle of the Red Slab.  Well protected and steep.  A jug-fest but enough interest to keep you on your toes.  Outstanding route.  Worthy of many stars.

The arete on the left hand side of Red Wall.  The first move is the hardest, from then on its plain sailing.  Soft touch for a severe.  Not as good as Red Wall so do it first!

Porth-y-Ffynnon

Carreg-y-Barcud

Barrafundel

The beach is magnificent but the climbs are in a very narrow zawn at the edge.  Either ab in or at low tide scramble over the boulders to get there i.e. you can't belay off the beach.  The only reason I can see for climbing here is if the other half insists you take the kids to the beach.  If you want to go climbing then there's far better places.

Mowing Word

Didn't actually climb here in the end, but that's another story.  The plan was to do Deidre Sud, which is supposed to be the best HS in the country.  Not feasible to climb here at highish tide if there's a strong westerly wind as the waves break a long way up the cliff.  These pictures were taken 1 hour before high tide with an easterly wind blowing.  Note the fresh rock fall, this was where All at Sea and Crises went. Very hard to spot routes from above but the abseil point above Deidre Sud is easy to find.

Easiest route and the abseil descent for most (if not all) of the other routes.  Abseil post is the one where there are two stakes close together.  The abseil itself is blind so make sure you've got prussics in case you've gone wrong.