St Ives bouldering round-up

Three quite well known bouldering areas dot the headlands around St Ives, and it was easy to reach them on several occasions during our week in Towednack, usually during short breaks to restore circulation when bodyboarding with the family at Porthmeor. With no mat and no spotter, I concentrated on the most obvious and visible lines from St Ives, all simple - more like short VS climbs, not really boulder problems. These included Double Overhang and longer lines at Carrick Du (Man's Head), the nice arete routes on the obvious Camel's Head (Summit Boulders above Clodgy Point), and Exposure Slab (and other routes) on the orange rocks below the Coastguard station on the Island. All of these lines, although short, were visible from various parts of the town. This morning, I left at 6am for a run over the top of Trevalgan hill to the coast path and then along to the main (best quality) sea-level section of Clodgy Point as the sun began to light the rocks: a stunning morning of perfect clarity. Sadly, the lower part of the Great Wall and other sections were wet, but I did a lot of the easier routes on the Undercut Wall, excellent rock and enjoyable climbing. I also did lines on the Star Boulder and Great Wall upper tier.