Huncote Quarry Introduction |
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Grace Dieu Viaduct and
Craglets Huncoate Quarry |
OS ref. SP513969
(Sheet 140) SITUATION
and CHARACTER Without
doubt the best climbing area in the Midlands, 50m faces of granite - but with
a severe access problem. Huncote
Quarry is an old granite quarry (actually quartz‑diorite) about 5 miles
south of Leicester and close to the M1‑M69 junction. The rock looks disappointing at first
sight with large broken sections and bramble cornices, but actual contact
with the many technical problems is usually a pleasant surprise. An autumn visit could give the bonus of
blackberry jam. Unique to
the Midlands, the quarry also has some long `mountaineering' routes. The rock requires care in places, although
much of it is sound. The finishes of
some of the routes are appalling, although with care they can be
negotiated. Pegs could be useful on
some of the routes, as natural belays may not be very good. On the routes on the Rack Wall a selection
of micro‑wires or R.P.s is necessary. The
quarry faces south and gets a lot of sun.
Records show that it was a deep pit in 1878 as was Croft Quarry to the
south (opened 1868). It is not known
when Huncote Quarry was abandoned but Croft Quarry never has been and has
grown to a vast size. Now the active
face of Croft Quarry is beginning to eat into the old Huncote Quarry so that,
instead of being a pit, it now opens into the wilderness landscape of Croft
Quarry. Just how far Croft Quarry
will go is not clear but a huge bank of over‑burden (an exciting ride
on a mountain bike) has been built to screen Huncote village from the quarry
workings. Part of Huncote Quarry is
so close to the road that it is difficult to see how the face could be pushed
back further. So when some sort of
access agreement can be negotiated Huncote Quarry will be the major crag of
the Midlands. The
quarry shows a conspicuous set of master‑joints (which were locally
known as "slithers") together with another, more closely spaced set
oblique to these. The jointing gives
a kind of bedded appearance to the rock and gives corners and overhangs. These unusual joints, for igneous rock
that is, give the quarry the atmosphere of a natural crag. APPROACH
and ACCESS Huncote
Quarry can be reached from the M1/M69 junction (No.21), or from Leicester,
approaching the same junction and picking up the old A46 South (now the B4114)
through Narborough towards Coventry.
About 1 mile south of the motorway bridge turn right to Huncote. About a quarter of a mile on the other
side of the village a tiny car‑park can be discovered on the left at
the entrance to a track. However, it
is probably better to continue along the road and park at the end of
Thurlaston Lane (the first turning on the right). Take the footpath back towards Huncote and various ways in will
be discovered. Alternatively go back
to the layby and take a path running round the bottom of a huge bank of
earth. This leads over a saddle and
on to the quarry road from which Huncote Quarry can be seen on the
right. A slippery descent into the
quarry can be made by following the remains of an old timber tramway down a sort
of ridge. Alternatively walk further
down the track and descend a giant boulder field which has recently (May
1992) been pushed into the Quarry.
Bear in mind that as the active quarry face advances into Huncote
Quarry these approach details will change. The Quarry belongs to ECC Quarries and is almost certainly covered by the Mines and Quarries Act. In the past (1970's) they have obtained court orders to prevent individuals getting access. There was even a lease to a local gun club to use the quarry for practice at weekends and in the evenings (a cunning move). But this was before the active face had broken through. Now the access position is more relaxed but it would obviously be very stupid to try to climb whilst the quarry was working. Summer evenings, Saturday afternoons, Sundays and Bank Holidays would seem to be the best times. By the time this guidebook is published the situation may well have changed (the active face is moving with remarkable speed). The routes are described here for the record and with hope that they will survive for posterity.
Dear Sir I have writing with regard to the above web site and in particular Bardon Hill and Huncote Quarries. Both of these properties are owned by Aggregate Industries and both are active quarries. Unauthorised entry into these sites is not permitted as they are serious Health and Safety issues in using quarry faces for climbing. Not only is there a risk to the climbers but also to our employees who work at the two sites. This is over and above the fact that anyone who enters our sites is doing so without our express permission. Please can you withdraw immediately any references to the properties. Yours faithfully Jeremy Murfitt HISTORY Ken
Vickers revived a childhood memory and `found' the quarry in 1965. Combined with Roger Withers they kicked
off with Alleluia Road (VS). This,
together with two other routes made it into the Leicester MC `red' guide of
1966. Competition between the LMC and
the Bowline upstarts ensured that by 1972 there were some 40 free and mixed
routes to go at, Vickers, D. Cooper and M. Warburton all contributing. The LMC
`yellow' guide was published at this point
and sparked off another minor
explosion, The Rack (E1), Stretcher (HVS), Little Nightmare (E1), The
Ramp (E2), Sixteen Tons (HVS), amongst others were freed by locals - Mick
Brady, Phil Davies and visiting raiders Wilmott, Strapcans, Harwood and the
Hamper brothers, to name but a few.
One activist in the 1973 boom, a certain Peak climbing columnist
called Browell, had the first of his recurring broken legs whilst soloing The
Ramp. Had he broken his wrist
instead, Peak climbing history and literature might be a little different! Interest
died until John Moulding freed two superb climbs -Rack Direct (E2) and The
Crimp (E3) - in 1979. In 1982 Steve
Allen and John Codling attacked the previously virgin Shield Wall, producing
Firing Squad (E4), Eton Rifles (E4) and Mexican Standoff (E2), the names
being inspired by the pock‑marks made by rifle bullets to be found all
over the wall. Rack Wall yielded two
mind‑ and body‑stretching eliminates, Intensive Scare and Steel
Eye Span, both E4. Trevor Johnson got
in on the act and forced Surveyor's Waltz (E2) and Craig Dring put up Sundive
(E2) on the far left‑hand wall to bring the quarry to maturity. |