Lake District Bouldering - The LakesBloc guidebook

The directions and maps are very thin to say the least, making the bouldering areas sometimes difficult to find. Be prepared to wander around frustrated at the lack of detail on the maps wherever the problems are more than a couple of minutes from the road. Co-ordinates to the problems would be useful. Huge inconsistencies in the gradings of routes.

Excellent guidebook.Each area is divided into crags with detailed approach and conditions notes. There are geographically accurate area maps. Every boulder is well photographed with clear white lines showing the bloc. I think, from flicking through, that every climb is shown in a photo. Sit starts are noted and there are lots of nice photos of people climbing some problems. The only minor thing lacking that some other guidebooks do is colour coded symbols for the numbers on topos indicating easy, medium and hard climbs.There are some really nice extra touches. There are little OS maps showing the approach to the various crags at the back and a really nice summary table showing the number of climbs, grade range, the best grade range and even seasons, aspect, and grid references for parking.Overall brilliant guidebook and good value too. I don't know how it compares to the older rockfax one but this one is surely more up to date.Edit: On closer inspection I think a tiny minority of climbs are not shown in photos. But this is not a surprise given the sheer number and where photos are not included, you still have the little maps which do always show where the climb is. As I mentioned earlier, the maps are geographically accurate, unlike some other books I could mention...

An excellent guide, well planned and easy to use.

The book is divided into sections for different areas and has clear maps and approach/conditions/access details which are easy to understand.The bouldering topos themselves are really easy to read and use and in general just make life pretty easy.The only issue with the book is that it makes me realise there is so much to do and so little time :-)Highly recommended for any bouldering heads, or even beginners as there are plenty of lower grades included!

I used this book for a week long trip to the Lakes to try out a few bouldering areas. Accurate approach notes, good problem descriptions and very inspiring photos - it’s a great guidebook.The only negative for me is the absence of a summary page describing all areas (so the reader is able to more easily choose a suitable crag).

Awesome book wish I ordered it before the trip to the Lakes it would have been very helpful

Although I’m not hugely into bouldering this guide is a great edition to my guide book collection. With lakes weather being so unpredictable this guide has plenty of options to fit into small weather windows or if you’re really into bouldering it is the bible to the lakes bouldering!It has been put together extremely well with a lot of thought and attention to detail. It’s been broken down into the different areas with very clear detailed maps and descriptions of how to reach each Boulder. It even has small sections of real OS maps at the rear of the book to detail a selection of boulders.There is great photo topo’s of each boulder, at the start of each section there is a page with a clear map of how to get there, the aspect, approach time, altitude, grid ref of the boulder and the parking and which OS map to use. Some blurb about the crag/boulder, access and approach and even the conditions of the crag.There is a graded list at the rear with a selection of the best problems at each grade.In short it’s a fantastic guide and deserves to be on anyone’s books shelf or permanently in their car! If all guides were as well put together as this I’d be a happy man!Great job Greg Chapman and as always VP!

Masterly summary of some of the smaller climbs in the Lakes. Clearly a labour of love. Brilliant to revisit the venues of my youth around Carnforth (which seems to have succesfully rebranded itself South Lakes) from the 80s with a modern eye. Already had a couple of outings at spots I might not otherwise have visited. And for that it's worth the price of admission.