The climb
- Grade
- V Difficult
- Length
- 40m
- Pitches
- 1
- Quality
- 3 star
- Approach
- 5 – 10 min flat walk
- Ascent time
- Less than 1 hour
- Start point
- Shepherd’s Crag Café, Borrowdale
- Descent
- Scramble off the back to the left
Brown Slabs at Shepherd’s Crag is the best place in the Lakes for an introduction to rock climbing. This is no great secret, hence the rock is polished and it can get busy at times. However, the great views over Derwentwater and easy yet interesting climbing make it a worthy starting point.
Like countless others, I began my vertical journey on this modest slab and it has led me onto some remarkable climbs on the grandest walls in the most amazing places.
There are several routes of Diff or V Diff on the low angle slab, the best being Brown Slabs Arête on the left, though it is possible to climb almost anywhere. Top roping is popular and the best option for novices, but leading the climbs is much more exciting and rewarding. The protection is a little tricky to arrange in places but the gentle angle and abundance of good holds help to calm beginners’ nerves.
The route
Shepherd’s Crag, with the approach and descent marked. The slab carries Brown Slabs (V.Diff.), Brown Slabs Direct (V.Diff.), Brown Slabs Face (V.Diff.), Brown Slabs Arête (Diff.).
Keswick Tourism Association’s original route sheet. The figures above were transcribed from it.
Three more routes picked by Leo Houlding are on the climbing page. Before you head for a crag, read safety on the fells — the approach walk is on the same ground as everything else here, in the same weather.
The grade, length and times above were transcribed from Keswick Tourism Association’s original route sheet, which published them as an image. If anything here differs from a current guidebook, trust the guidebook.