This intriguingly named bay is located towards the centre of Range East and takes the form of one of the few sandy beaches in the Castlemartin Range. Its crags offer a break from the otherwise serious cliffs that surround it, with most of the climbing hovering around the low to mid grades. Although the crags are short, the routes are pleasant, secluded and take place amongst some of the best scenery this stretch of coast has to offer. It should be noted however, that many of the climbs have long, grassy and unprotected run outs, which in places can be quite dangerous. Extra care should therefore be taken whenever topping out, and in some cases, retreat may be a sensible option.

Bullslaughter Bay (Photo by Nanuls)

Rock Climbing

The climbing at Bullslaugter Bay begins on a prominent and obvious square flying buttress with a straight crack (which gives The Zip - Hard Very Severe 5a) in the centre of its seaward face. All climbs begin at sea level and are all in some way affected by the tide, the degree of which can depend of the time of year and weather. Access can be gained by scrambling down a grassy gully and easy rocks on the west side of the bay, walking down a larger gully on the east side, or by abseil.

Crags and climbs are listed from left to right, and are graded and rated with the aid of the Climbers Club Guide to Pembroke Supplement, so for full descriptions, please refer to those books. Technical grades are generally only given to climbs graded adjectivally as Hard Severe (HS) or above.

Routes are rated using the British Adjectival Grading System. With the exception of one Tenby South Beach Quarry, bolting is strictly prohibited everywhere in Pembrokeshire, so don’t even think about it here. A conversion table of international climbing grades by SP member Corax is available HERE!

Bullslaughter Bay (Photo by Nanuls)

Route Symbols:

	A so-so route, neither good nor bad. Not unpleasant unless otherwise stated.
	A good route which is definitely worth a climb.
	A very good route, one of the best on the crag and well worthy of attention.
	An excellent route, one of the best in the area, and probably in Britain too.

	No Restrictions Used to indicate that there are currently no restrictions, either seasonal, temporary or permanent, affecting a route.
	Restrictions Used to indicate that there are restrictions, either seasonal, temporary or permanent, affecting a route. See the Red Tape and Access Section for more details.

The following routes run from the flying buttress to a large cave in the centre of the bay:

No.	Name	Length	Pitches	Adjectival Grade	Technical Grade
1.	Rydw I'n Byw yn Stockport	18m	1	HVS	4c
2.	Surf Victim	37m	1	E3	5b
3.	Culmination	23m	1	E2	5b
4.	The Zip	18m	1	HVS	5a
5.	Thriller	20m	1	HVS	5a
6.	Zawn off Shotgun	20m	1	HVS	5a
7.	E Six, Six B	23m	1	VS	4c
8.	Cheeseboard	24m	1	HVS	4c
9.	Zap	21m	1	VS	4b
10.	Whacko Jacko	24m	1	HVS	4c
11.	Beat it	21m	1	VS	4c
12.	Griller	24m	1	HVS	4c
13.	Beat Up	21m	1	HS	4b

The following routes start on the right hand side of the large cave on a slab with a shallow corner up its centre. Topping out is dangerous!

No.	Name	Length	Pitches	Adjectival Grade	Technical Grade	Quality	Restrictions
14.	Secondary Route	24m	1	S	4a
15.	Ordinary Route	24m	1	VD

The flying buttress in the western side of the bay (Photo by Nanuls)

Abseiling over the edge of the cave (Photo by Nanuls)

The 'mouse-trap' style slab (Photo by Nanuls)

The pinnacle in the centre of the bay (Photo by Nanuls)

On the east side of the little bay containing the slab is a 'Mousetrap-type' wall with a steep slab on its left. The following routes start on a rib just below the slab:

No.	Name	Length	Pitches	Adjectival Grade	Technical Grade
16.	Patent Pending	30m	1	S	4a
17.	Copyright	30m	1	VS	4c
18.	Squeeze It	27m	1	VS	4c
19.	Little Mousetrap	37m	1	HVS	5b
20.	Brave Face	30m	1	E3	5b

In the centre on the bay is a lone pinnacle, this route ascends its south face:

No.	Name	Length	Pitches	Adjectival Grade	Technical Grade	Quality	Restrictions
21.	The Canine Tooth	15m	1	D

Mewsford Point (Photo by Nanuls)

The following routes are on the east face of a long, grass-topped promontory on the east side of the bay. Approach via a through cave on the promontory at mid to low tide. A long tunnel runs under the promontory out towards the sea; the routes begin on the seaward mouth of the tunnel.

No.	Name	Length	Pitches	Adjectival Grade	Technical Grade
22.	The Extortionist	46m	1	HVS	5a
23.	Pavement	40m	1	E1	5a
24.	Jaywalk	30m	1	E2	5b
25.	Colonol Portman and His Amazing Briefs	15m	1	VS	4c

Weather Conditions and Tides

Weather Forecast

This section displays the weather forecast for Bosherston, which is located just to the east of Bullslaughter Bay. This gives a pretty good indication of what the weather will be like on the crag, as both Bosherston and Bullslaughter Bay sit at around sea level.

Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar | Hurricane Center

Tide Times

Tide times can have a significant impact on where and when one climbs. It is therefore extremely important to check the timetables before embarking on trip to the area. UK tides information for all standard and secondary ports is provided by the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO), and displayed on the BBC's website. The link below provides a link to the nearest port to Bullslaughter Bay:

Stackpole Quay (SR 992 957)

When to Climb and Essential Gear

The most reliable conditions are in the summer, but the low altitude of the crag may make it a viable option in winter. The gear needed depends entirely on the routes you plan to do. Easier routes will only require a moderate rack, while harder routes will require a something more comprehensive; a good compliment of friends or other camming devices will certainly help. A singe 50 metre rope should serve well on most easy routes, however, twin or double ropes would be a wise choice for the harder stuff. In addition to your usual gear, an abseil rope is essential if you plan to climb the crags less accessible areas.

The flying buttress (Photo by Nanuls)

Mewsford Point (Photo by Nanuls)

Bullslaughter Bay (Photo by Nanuls)

Getting There

When approaching from Carmarthen (SN 405 196) take the A40 Truck Road signposted for Saint Clears (SN 274 160). At the Saint Clears roundabout, take the A477 Trunk Road towards Pembroke Dock (SM 969 036). Before reaching Pembroke Dock, turn left onto the A4075 (SN 019 027) to Pembroke (SM 989 012). In Pembroke, drive straight over the first small roundabout you reach and drive along the A4139 a few hundred metres and turn left and take the B4319 south towards Castlemartin ( SR 915 983). Around 500m after the Merrion Camp (SR 939 968), take a left hand turn at a crossroads (SR 931 970) and drive down an unclassified road to the Stack Rocks Car Park (SR 925 946).

Park at the Stack Rocks Car Park and walk west along the coastal path, past Elegug Stacks, The Cauldron, and Flimstone Bay to your final destination, Bullslaughter Bay (SR 940 942).

Red Tape and Access

A warning sign (Photo by Nanuls)

Bullslaughter Bay is located in the Range East portion of the Castlemartin Range. This area is an Army firing range, although they do not use exploding ammunition. Access is permitted whenever firing is not taking place, which is normally on Weekends, Bank Holidays, and in the evenings (after 4.30). The night firing normally occurs on alternate Mon/Wed and Tues/Thurs nights. The Range is sometimes open during the week, but it is best to check before travelling. Phone the 24 hour help line on (01646) 662367.

It should be noted that Pembroke nesting restrictions are complex and vary annually. Please check the notice boards in Stack Rocks or St Govan’s car parks for more information. The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority also produce an excellent annual information leaflet illustrating the restricted areas on a clear map - download it from this LINK.

It is also available from the BMC, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority and Mrs Weston’s Café in Bosherston.

Camping and Accommodation

There’s an almost unlimited supply of accommodation within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park so it would be inappropriate to list it all here. For budget accommodation it’s worth checking out some of the following sites:

Youth Hostel Association in Wales
Independent Hostel Guide
Campsites in Pembrokeshire

For everything else and more see Visit Pembrokeshire’s website.

Maps

Open Space Web-Map builder Code

Navigation Maps

OS 1:25k Explorer Series OL 36 South Pembrokeshire/De Sir Benfro

OS 1:50k Landranger Series 158 Tenby & Pembroke / Dinbych-y-pysgod & Penfro

Road Maps

OS Road Map 6 Wales/Cymru & West Midlands

Guidebooks

	Pembrokeshire Coast: The Official National Park Guide by Alf Alderson, John Cleare and Ian Mercer. A handy book full of useful information and interesting facts about the National Park.
	Climbers Guides to Wales: Pembroke Volume 3 Range East - Stack Rocks to Hollow Caves Bay by Gary Gibson A beautiful, colourful and superbly presented ‘next-generation’ guidebook to this particular part of Range East.
	Climbers Club Guides to Wales: Pembroke by John Harwood, Dave Viggers et al. An extremely comprehensive two volume guidebook to the area which describes most of the routes on the crag.
	Climbers Club Pembroke Supplement by Dave Viggers A little book containing updates to the Climbers Club Guide and costs around a fiver.
	Rock Fax Guide: Pembroke by Alan James and Mike Robertson Not quite as comprehensive as the Climbers Club guides, but lavishly illustrated with tons of large photo diagrams and topos.