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Foreward by Mick Ward
The first Dorset Rockfax, back in 1994, came as a revelation.
Portland, ‘a cheesy, unfashionable Gogarth that no-one
ever went to’, had seemingly been transformed into a sport
climbing playground. Surely it was too good to be true? The
stunning front cover shot of Pete Oxley on
Mark of the Beast
must have been shot with filters, mustn’t it? The sea and sky
couldn’t possibly be those sublime hues of azure... could
they?
After spending most of the intervening 18 years climbing in
Dorset, I now realise that it was all perfectly true. Amazing
colours of sky and sea. Superb coastline. More good routes
than you’ll manage in a lifetime. The ‘Swanage experience’ of
committing trad perfectly complements Portland’s
bolt clipping. You’ve got lots of bouldering and
Deep Water Soloing. There’s something for
everyone – from Diff to 8c. Although no single
aspect of Dorset climbing is perhaps world-class,
when viewed as a totality, the place is near enough
a world-class venue. Given that much of the UK
climbing population lives in the crag-starved areas
of London and the Southeast, Dorset is of obvious
strategic importance. Nowadays, of course, it also
attracts increasing numbers of visitors from abroad,
drawn by its neo-Mediterranean climate and the huge variety of climbing on offer.
While many people have contributed to development, one person has attained legendary
status. Pete Oxley’s lonely orgy of labour has made Dorset the climbing paradise that it is
today. Although he now lives far away, the cliffs will always be imbued with his restless spirit.
The best way that we can celebrate Pete’s vision is to go out and enjoy ourselves. It doesn’t
matter whether it’s chasing that elusive Portland redpoint or scaring ourselves witless in
the Ruckle. It might be an exhilarating DWS. It might be our first, tentative forays onto rock
outdoors. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we climb safely, we climb at least half as well
as we’d like and we enjoy the craic with our mates. Dorset gives us the chance to do all this
and more.
Mick Ward, January 2012
Swanage
Lulworth
Portland
4
Dorset
Introduction
Manchester
Glasgow
Dublin
Dorchester
Swanage
Lulworth
Poole
Weymouth
London
p.262
p.246
p.50
Portland
Bournemouth
Wool Wareham