Stone Country

'Undiscovered Country', Murray Boulder, Glencoe ...some pics from high stones being developed despite the summer heatwave. There was a surprising find in Glencoe, also a new area in Arrochar and a picture of a boulder that looks like a Scottie dog, sent to me by the intrepid Lee Robinson on his annual pilgrimage to Applecross and Torridon. Lee reports some cracking new boulders in Applecross, slightly further afield than the Kishorn boulders, but not too far away by all accounts... also some good bouldering along the coast south of Applecross. North of Applecross there is the huge cave at the MOD station, beside a fine beach, this is a super bouldering area if it rains, you can traverse back and forth at will until you're blasted. Colin Lambton on 'Crush', Blaeberry World, Arrochar New bouldering areas in Scotland are increasingly nudging up the contours, especially in a hot summer such as this. I noticed on Si O'Conor's blog that he has been busy at Cli

There's a great Dylan Moran gag about 'potential' - leave it alone, don't mess with it, that's what it is - Potential! You start screwing with it, you're likely to ruin it all... which is how I feel about my bouldering sometimes - lots of energy and plans and optimism - the reality is a little trickier. Take the Shelterstone, for example, a tremendous mountain crag, ( The Needle, Steeple...) you go here for these classic routes and the beauty of howffing in the Loch Avon basin, but who considers the bouldering? Most people who have climbed here have bouldered on the litter of giants beneath the crag - Julian Lines has done a pile of problems, Gary Latter etc. - a lot of climbers have quietly bouldered here a little when visiting to climb the bigger routes. I'm sure Robin Smith even warmed up on a few aretes. But in terms of pure bouldering? Very few bother, what with the walk-in - a three hour trek, especially with boulder mat - and you most definitely don

Right now, several square miles of wild boulderfields are lying amongst scree slopes and moorland on the Isle of Skye... Not a bad intro! This is a labour of love and serious attention to detail, a quality addition to the bouldering topography of Scotland. James Sutton and Lee Robinson have produced an excellent map-guide to the bouldering on Skye, bringing clarity to the jumble of boulders in the great gabbro corries. The first thing that struck me was the simplicity of the layout, an A3 fold-out that packs neatly into a waterproof sleeve. Bird's-eye-view maps at 1:2500 scale locate you easily, numbered boulders refer to hand-drawn boulders, clearly marked lines and full descriptions, with V and Font grades... 39 diagrams, 150 problems... packs a punch all right. If that's not enough, there are GPS locators for the boulders. The main areas described include: Culnamean, Ghrunnda Boulders, Coire Lagan and An Sguman. Other areas mentioned are: Carn Liath, Skinidin, Elgol and An C

Having been partly developed by Tim Rankin but unreported, over the summer Tom Kirkpatrick has further developed this schist bouldering venue. It has larger boulders than Portlethen, meaning some highball finishes and problematic landings, as well as some deep-water soloing possibilities, but the best problems are safe and on good rock and there are some satisfying traverses. Tom will put a topo on the wiki at www.scottishclimbs.com Tom's description: Cammachmore Bay Bouldering Chilled out bouldering venue, just south of Craigmaroinn. The Bay gets all the sun going and nesting puffins can be seen on the cliffs above and seals and porpoises in the water below. The climbing is on a variety of large and small blocs and walls on beautiful water washed schist. A good spread of grades is available. The only draw back is that mats and good spotters are definitely required. The boulders can be approached in two ways. At very low tide by heading straight down the path towards the sea from t