Ailladie - Revision history

Barry watts: /* Dancing Ledges */

2026-01-13T15:56:03Z

Dancing Ledges

Barry watts: /* Dancing Ledges */

2026-01-13T15:53:06Z

Dancing Ledges

Barry watts: /* DWS Routes */

2026-01-13T15:47:33Z

DWS Routes

Barry watts: /* Stone Wall */

2026-01-09T05:19:47Z

Stone Wall

Barry watts: /* Boulder Wall */

2026-01-09T05:17:08Z

Boulder Wall

Barry watts: /* Mirror Wall */

2026-01-09T05:07:57Z

Mirror Wall

Show changes

Barry watts: /* Dancing Ledges */

2025-12-31T17:03:00Z

Dancing Ledges

Barry watts: /* Dancing Ledges */

2025-12-31T16:56:43Z

Dancing Ledges

Barry watts: /* Ailladie (Aill an Daill - The Blind Man's Cliff) is an 800m long limestone sea cliff with routes varying in height from 8m to 30m. It lies out of sight below the Lisdoonvarna to Ballyvaughan road (R477) 11km north of Lisdoonvarna and about 1.5k */

2025-12-31T16:50:44Z

Ailladie (Aill an Daill - The Blind Man's Cliff) is an 800m long limestone sea cliff with routes varying in height from 8m to 30m. It lies out of sight below the Lisdoonvarna to Ballyvaughan road (R477) 11km north of Lisdoonvarna and about 1.5k

Barry watts: /* Introduction */

2025-12-31T16:47:36Z

Introduction

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 ''The rock between Gambit and Cripple has been climbed at several points at up to 5b.''
-[[File:Lazy Day.jpg|center|thumb|716x716px]]
+[[File:Lazy Day.jpg|center|thumb|581x581px|alt=]]
 '''Lazy day''' 10m VD
-Starts in the left of '''CRIPPLE'''. Perfect route for beginners who want to improve their abilities in leading and placing gear Gear used&nbsp;: micro nuts jammed into thin cracks
+Starts to the left of '''CRIPPLE'''. Perfect route for beginners who want to improve their abilities in leading and placing gear Gear used&nbsp;: micro nuts jammed into thin cracks.
 '''CRIPPLE''' 10m VS 4c <br>''T. Ryan (solo), 27/11/77'' <br>The smooth area of rock left of Pink Cleft ends at a broken crack. Just right of this there is a short diagonal leftward-trending flake crack near the ground. Climb directly up the wall just right of this.

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 ''The rock between Gambit and Cripple has been climbed at several points at up to 5b.''
+[[File:Lazy Day.jpg|center|thumb|716x716px]]
 '''Lazy day''' 10m VD

@@ Line 542: / Line 542: @@
 '''SLIM PICKENS''' 9m VS 4b ''<br />I. Rea, C. Torrans, September 1984. <br />''On the flat area south of Black Popcorn there are many numbers painted on the rock. About 10m south of No. 21 is a fine, if short, right-angled corner. Abseil in at low tide and climb the crack on perfect jams.
 ==DWS Routes==
 The DWS routes have been moved to their own page at [[Ailladie DWS Routes|<big>'''Ailladie DWS Routes'''</big>]], so that a pin on the map can have a different colour to the trad routes.

@@ Line 362: / Line 362: @@
 [[File:Sardine.jpg|none|thumb|850x850px|
 Peanut Butter Special<br />113 Obscene Sardine<br />114 Temptation<br />115 Peanut Sheller<br />116 Peppermint Kiss<br />117 Fatal Attraction<br />118 Black Baron<br />119 Joker Man<br />120 Damn the Torpedoes<br />121 Sharkbait<br />122 Pis Fliuch]]
 '''OBSCENE SARDINE''' 30m VS 4c,4c <br />''S. Young, B. Richardson, 28/10/72. <br />''A short awkward start leads to a pleasant chimney pitch. Start on boulders below a groove just around the arête right of Peanut Butter Special. (1) Climb the groove passing a chockstone to a ledge. Move left and up the open groove (crux) to a ledge and hence to the belay ledge of Peanut Butter Special. (2) Pitch 2 of Peanut Butter Special.
@@ Line 389: / Line 388: @@
 [[File:KeyLargo.jpg|none|thumb|850x850px|
-Key Largo<br />
+Key Largo<br />124 Hopeless acts of desperation <br />125 Garbh<br />126 Forty Coats<br />127 Western Pride<br />128 Fish Rising<br />129 The Horizontal Dance<br />130 Jug City]]
 '''HOPELESS ACTS OF DESPERATION''' ** 30m E3 6a <br />''C. Torrans, E. Cooper, 1987. <br />''A very good route taking the wall right of the arête of Key Largo. Start as for Key Largo below the first ramp of this route. Easily up ledges to the bottom of the ramp and move right onto the wall and vicious crack (this section is often wet and can be bypassed by using the ramp of Key Largo), whichever way you go finish up on a large ledge. From the right end of the ledge climb the bulging wall via a short groove. Continue up and then left on good cracks and edges. add comment

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 ''The rock between Gambit and Cripple has been climbed at several points at up to 5b.''
 '''CRIPPLE''' 10m VS 4c <br>''T. Ryan (solo), 27/11/77'' <br>The smooth area of rock left of Pink Cleft ends at a broken crack. Just right of this there is a short diagonal leftward-trending flake crack near the ground. Climb directly up the wall just right of this.
@@ Line 44: / Line 48: @@
 '''PINK CLEFT''' 10m D
 ''J. O Connor, C. Whyte, 7/8/72<br />''This is the corner and wide crack 40m right of the descent.
 '''CRATER''' 10m S 4b<br />''T. Ryan (solo), 27/11/77.<br />''Take the short wall 3m right of Pink Cleft. Climb the wall to two horizontal cracks. Move right and climb to the top.
@@ Line 389: / Line 393: @@
 Garbh<br />
 Forty Coats<br />
-Western Pride<br />
+Western Pride<br />128 Fish Rising<br />
 The Horizontal Dance<br />
 Jug City]]
@@ Line 412: / Line 415: @@
 '''WESTERN PRIDE''' ** 17m E2 5c<br />''C. Parkin, P. Blackburn, 19/4/79.<br />''A good route which justifies the effort to reach it. Abseil down a crack 3m south of the fence to a ledge. Climb the crack, crux at 5m.
-'''FISH RISING''' 24m E4 6a<br />F. Richards, J. Thompson, August 1995.<br />There is a black groove with a thin crack line about 3m left of Jug City. Climb the crack/groove to the second break, traverse left and then finish up the obvious thin ledges (crux).
+'''FISH RISING''' 24m E4 6a<br />''F. Richards, J. Thompson, August 1995.''<br />There is a black groove with a thin crack line about 3m left of Jug City. Climb the crack/groove to the second break, traverse left and then finish up the obvious thin ledges (crux).
 '''The Horizontal Dance''' 25m E2 (4c, 5b) <br />''Frank Cox, John Harrison, August 2006 <br />''The Stone Wall girdle traverse although stopping short by ﬁnishing at Garbh. The full traverse has yet to be climbed. 1 Climb Jug City to the break line and follow this to Western Pride and get a hanging belay. 2 Move out along the break with sustained moves to reach a rest by a “noisy” block. Follow the break to Garbh and ﬁnish up easily.
@@ Line 421: / Line 424: @@
 [[File:Conger.jpg|none|thumb|850x850px|
-Conger<br />
+Conger<br />133 The Water Margin<br />134 The Weed<br />135 The Emigrant<br />136 The Rack<br />137 Ship of Fools<br />138 Siren<br />139 Song to the Siren<br />141 Venusian Spray<br />142 The Happiness that Hurts]]
 '''CONGER''' 10m HVS 5a<br />''T. Ryan, K. Murphy, M. Prendergast, 1/8/81.<br />''A serious and intimidating route which takes a steep crack (not visible from above) about 7m south of Jug City. Abseil down the cliff about 5m south of Jug City and swing right to a spike near the bottom of the crack about 5m above high tide mark. Belay on the spike and abseil rope. A bag is needed to keep the rope out of the water. The leader should abseil down on a separate rope. Climb the crack directly to a niche below a short overhanging section. Climb this (crux) to a large ledge and up to another ledge on the left. Finish up a short steep wall.
@@ Line 459: / Line 453: @@
 [[File:SpaceMonkeys.jpg|none|thumb|950x950px|
-The Happiness that Hurts<br />
+The Happiness that Hurts<br />143 Space Monkeys 2 - The Sequel<br />144 Black Widow<br />145 Forever Young<br />146 Ailleadóir<br />147 Sea Bird<br />148 Gallipoli]]
 '''The Happiness that Hurts'''** 50m E7 5c,6c ''<br />Ricky Bell, Diarmuid Duggan, June 2006 <br />''This mother of all traverses gives us the ﬁnest of Burren experiences. The ﬁrst pitch is a brilliant E1 in its own right and could be continued to ﬁnish as for Space Monkeys. Abseil onto the big ledge as for Venusian Spray. 1 20m Walk along the ledge until it is possible to climb slightly up Venusian Spray to gain the tramline break. Traverse right on jugs and belay in the corner. 2 30m Step down and traverse the break to a hard move before a peg. From here, the foot holds run out and the pump begins. Gain arête and ﬁnish as for Black Widow;
@@ Line 511: / Line 499: @@
 [[File:Splash.jpg|none|thumb|850x850px|
-Splash Down<br />
+Splash Down<br />153 Barracuda<br />154 Doolin Rouge<br />155 Calanus<br />156 Crepuscular Ray<br />157 Great Balls of Fire<br />158 White Witch<br />159 Black Magic<br />160 Salt Rope<br />161 Glanced a Snatch<br />162 String of Balls]]
 '''SPLASH DOWN''' ** 15m E1 5b ''<br />T. Ryan, M. Manson, M. Prendergast, 19/4/81. <br />''Serious climbing in a fine situation. This route takes the first arête left of the white slab on Boulder Wall. Abseil down from near the boulder. Take a hanging belay (small nuts) on sloping footholds half way down a black slab left of the arête. A rucksack is needed to keep the rope out of the water. Step up from the belay and move to the left side of the slab. Trend right to a small ledge on the arête. Climb the arête (minute spike runner) and over an overlap to a steep crack. Up this to the top.''<br />'''''Direct Start''' ''<br />E. Cooper, S. McCrory, Spring 1987. <br />''The arête can be climbed in its entirety by starting from an obvious foothold on the right side of the arête just below the level of the belay.
@@ Line 550: / Line 528: @@
 [[File:Footloose.jpg|none|thumb|850x850px|
-Foot Loose<br />
+Foot Loose<br />164 Aria<br />165 Hiphop<br />166 Stevo<br />167 Two Hand Reel<br />168 The Littlest Hobo]]
 '''FOOT LOOSE''' * 15m E4 6b ''<br />E. Cooper, 20/5/88. A<br />''Short but technically demanding climb which takes the smooth black corner immediately left of Aria. This is followed with difficulty to good holds where it is possible to rest and place a runner on the right arête. A committing series of moves up the corner leads to easier ground which is followed to the top.
@@ Line 576: / Line 549: @@
 '''SLIM PICKENS''' 9m VS 4b ''<br />I. Rea, C. Torrans, September 1984. <br />''On the flat area south of Black Popcorn there are many numbers painted on the rock. About 10m south of No. 21 is a fine, if short, right-angled corner. Abseil in at low tide and climb the crack on perfect jams.

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 ''From the layby where cars are usually parked (OSi Discovery Series map 51 grid ref M 090 028) a short walk northward along the edge of the cliff brings one to a grassy ramp (OSi Discovery Series map 51 grid ref M 090 032) which leads down to a 3m step. This descent is used by local fishermen and is usually equipped with some rope and two metal spikes. Below this are the Dancing Ledges - an extensive non-tidal platform from which the first 90+ routes can be reached. Another 20+ routes are in the Mirror Wall area and access depends on the tide. For all routes further south descent is by abseil.''
-''The rock is steep with sharp incut holds and most routes take crack lines. Protection is reasonable. All grades but need to be climbing E2 to E4 to get the most out of it. Many of the routes are subject to change due to high seas and winter storms. Routes are mostly non tidal as hanging stances can be arranged, rough seas can be an issue however. It goes without saying that routes that require abseil acces see less polish and wear and tear than their counterparts on the Dancing Ledges. Boulders are shifted around from year to year and consequently the grades of the starts of routes can vary considerably.''
+''The rock is steep with sharp incut holds and most routes take crack lines. Protection is reasonable. All grades but need to be climbing E2 to E4 to get the most out of it. Many of the routes are subject to change due to high seas and winter storms. Routes are mostly non tidal as hanging stances can be arranged, rough seas can be an issue however. It goes without saying that routes that require abseil acces see less polish and wear and tear than their counterparts on the Dancing Ledges. Boulders are shifted around from year to year and consequently the grades of the starts of routes can vary considerably. The cliff faces West so late starts to catch afternoon and evening sunshine are a feature of local climbing habits.''
 ''Right of the descent the cliff gradually increases in height. 40m to the right is a short square-cut corner with an obvious wide crack (Pink Cleft). The wall is initially broken and overhanging but as Pink Cleft is approached it becomes more smooth and vertical. Left of the descent there is a long 1m wide overhang 1.5m above the boulders. The routes in this area are short but worthwhile and only a few have been recorded.''

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:56, 31 December 2025
Line 9:		Line 9:

	''Right of the descent the cliff gradually increases in height. 40m to the right is a short square-cut corner with an obvious wide crack (Pink Cleft). The wall is initially broken and overhanging but as Pink Cleft is approached it becomes more smooth and vertical. Left of the descent there is a long 1m wide overhang 1.5m above the boulders. The routes in this area are short but worthwhile and only a few have been recorded.''		''Right of the descent the cliff gradually increases in height. 40m to the right is a short square-cut corner with an obvious wide crack (Pink Cleft). The wall is initially broken and overhanging but as Pink Cleft is approached it becomes more smooth and vertical. Left of the descent there is a long 1m wide overhang 1.5m above the boulders. The routes in this area are short but worthwhile and only a few have been recorded.''
		+
		+	These 2 routes are left of the descent.

	'''ROUTE 1''' 10m HS 4b<br />''S. O Brien, 1977.<br />''Start directly beneath the second corner to the left of the large overhang left of the descent. Climb the bulge to a ledge at 4m and up the corner to the top.		'''ROUTE 1''' 10m HS 4b<br />''S. O Brien, 1977.<br />''Start directly beneath the second corner to the left of the large overhang left of the descent. Climb the bulge to a ledge at 4m and up the corner to the top.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-==''Ailladie (Aill an Daill - The Blind Man's Cliff) is an 800m long limestone sea cliff with routes varying in height from 8m to 30m. It lies out of sight below the Lisdoonvarna to Ballyvaughan road (R477) 11km north of Lisdoonvarna and about 1.5kms beyond where this road reaches the coast.''==
+''Ailladie (Aill an Daill - The Blind Man's Cliff) is an 800m long limestone sea cliff with routes varying in height from 8m to 30m. It lies out of sight below the Lisdoonvarna to Ballyvaughan road (R477) 11km north of Lisdoonvarna and about 1.5kms beyond where this road reaches the coast.''<display_map type="satellite">53.069438,  -9.358384</display_map>
 [[File:AilladiePanorama.jpg|link=Special:FilePath/AilladiePanorama.jpg|alt=|center|600x600px]]
 <br />