THE WANNEYSClimbing Club

The country · the crag · the club

Three things called the Wanneys

We share our name with a crag and with the wild country around the upper Wansbeck. They're related. They aren't the same thing.

Which Wanneys?

The country

The Wilds of Wanney

The old Tyneside name for the moorland where the River Wansbeck, nicknamed the Wanney, rises. Remote, quiet and full of Reiver history.

The crag

Great & Little Wanney

Sandstone crags above the forestry near Ridsdale, with some of the oldest recorded climbing in Northumberland.

The club

Wanneys Climbing Club

Us. A relaxed, BMC-affiliated climbing club based in Newcastle. We take our name from the country and climb all over, the crags included.

Last RetreatGreat Wanney · 1978Illustrative line, not a topo

Great Wanney

Great Wanney is a long, low escarpment of Fell Sandstone, stepped into buttresses and split by a gully, looking out over forestry and moor near Ridsdale. It doesn't look like much from the road. Up close it's steep, rough and full of character.

Little Wanney is the smaller outcrop nearby. With Curtis Crag, East Woodburn (Staniel Heugh) and a few smaller edges, they make up the Wanneys climbing area. Classics like Pharaoh's Face (E3 5c) and Endless Flight keep people coming back.

Stylised sketch of a Great Wanney buttress with a dashed route line marked Endless Flight Endless Flight the line, not the topo
A sketch for the feel of the place. For the real line, grade and approach, use the guidebook.
Blue AreteGreat Wanney · 1978Illustrative line, not a topo

Climbing there

The crag sits on working forestry land, and approaches and parking can change. Check a current guide before you go: the Northumbrian Climbing Guide covers the crag in detail, and theCrag lists the routes.

Fancy some company? Some of us head out there when the weather's right. Ask in the club WhatsApp group.

Common questions

Is the Wanneys Climbing Club the same thing as the Wanney crags?

No. We're the Wanneys Climbing Club, a club of climbers based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Great Wanney and Little Wanney are sandstone crags near Ridsdale in Northumberland. We share the name but don't own or manage the crags.

Where does the name come from?

The River Wansbeck is nicknamed the Wanney, and the moorland where it rises has long been called the Wilds of Wanney. The crags take their name from the same country. We reckon we do too, and we're asking our founding members to confirm.

How old is the club?

At least fifty years old. Our earliest record is from 1974, when we're listed among the donors in Keswick Mountain Rescue Team's annual report. We could be older still, and we're asking our founding members exactly when we started.

Do you climb at the Wanneys?

Yes, along with plenty of other Northumberland crags, the walls and trips further afield.

Where are you based?

Newcastle upon Tyne, with members across Tyneside and Northumberland.