Castle Inn Quarry

Northern Limestone (Inland)

A south facing limestone sports venue, located above a car park at Llysfaen, near Colwyn Bay. The crag is part of the Mynydd Marian Local Nature Reserve and is an SSSI.

Crag information
Climbing Area: Wales Rock Type: Limestone
Importance: Regional CRoW Land: Yes
Ownership: Local Authority No. of Routes: 53
Within National Park: No Year Developed: 1959
Grid Reference: SH 88889 77304

If the car park is closed, or busy, please use the main Mynydd Marian car park, some 5 mins walk away. Directions below.  Do not park on the approach road. 

The owners (Conwy Council) have in general no problems with climbers using this site, however developments to the west of the main cliff have involved gardening and rock removal on a site known to be important for a nationally rare butterfly, the Silver Studded Blue. Climbers are asked to minimise gardening and vegetation clearance at this location, which is an SSSI, and avoid damaging the grassland below the rock face. There have also been concerns that trees and other scrubby growth have been cut on the east side of the cliff. It is important that no tree or vegetation clearance takes place without prior approval from the site warden, contactable via the BMC.

The right hand side of the car park has been sold to a private owner, and climbers should not enter the fenced area or land belonging to the old Castle Inn.  However the cliff face is still owned by the council and climbing is allowed.

Climbers need to be aware that the cliffs are very close to and overlook residential areas and any undue noise or unsociable activity will cause anatgonism and possible access issues. This is particularly true for larger and organsised groups - this is not a a school playground, so instructors and leaders, please manage your groups accordingly! 

At busy times parking can be a problem and complaints have been received about climbers blocking the lane below the crag - consider going to other sites if this is the case.  It's strongly recomended that groups in minibuses or larger vehicles do not park below the crag but instead use the Mynydd Marian Nature Reserve Car park - and approach the crag by a short 5min walk across the meadow above the crag.  Map ref for car park SH893772.

 

https://www.conwy.gov.uk/en/Resident/Leisure-sport-and-health/Coast-and-Countryside/Assets/documents/Mynydd-Marian-leaflet.pdf

 

Parking and Approach

Please park in the Mynnydd Marian Nature Reserve car park and not directly below the cliff. 

https://www.conwy.gov.uk/en/Resident/Leisure-sport-and-health/Coast-and-Countryside/Assets/documents/Mynydd-Marian-leaflet.pdf

 

Group Advice

Suitable for small groups only - all the routes are sports climbs, and top roping directly through the bolts is to be avoided to minimise wear on the bolts.

Instructors and group leaders need to be aware that the cliffs are close to and overlook residential areas and there have been concerns by residents about noisy and unruly behaviour by climbers. Parking is also limted and there have been issues with minibuses impeding access on the approach lane. 

It is strongly advised that groups in minibuses park at the main Mynydd Marian Nature Reserve car park at SH 89334 77388.  This is located by following the lane beyond the crag, in an eastward direction, until the lane veers left (north) and after half a kilometre the car park is on the left. It is only a very short 5 mins walk across the meadow to the crag from here.

 

Area information

This area includes Craig y Forwyn, Llanddulas escarpment, Castle Inn, Penmaenhead as well as many other sports crags along the A55 corridor. Many of the crags, including Craig y Forwyn, Llanddulas escarpment and Castle Inn all lie within land designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and vegetation removal, modification of rock faces, removal of rocks, etc. should be avoided.

Weather Information

Guidebook info currently being updated

There are no files associated with this crag

Crag Update Feed

Use this feed to update other users about crag conditions or similar current information. Suggested updates to page information should be made using the ‘report a page issue’ button above.

Posting as Anonymous Community Standards
3000 characters remaining
Submit
Your comment has been posted below, click here to view it
Comments are currently on | Turn off comments
4
Anonymous User
18/07/2020
Closing the entire main face all the way round to Driving the Dumper is totally disproportionate because the rockfall came from the known loose gully between Finale and School Mam. This is an important crag and the BMC needs to make every effort to get the main face re-opened. Conwy Council's own interpretation boards list climbers as key users alongside dog walkers and nature-enthusiasts, so they have no excuse for restricting access beyond that which is strictly necessary.
07/09/2020
Is it possible to get clarification on the extent of the restrictions following the rockfall? The right hand red post has been in a different position every time I've visited.

As the other commenter points out restricting the entire main face is a bit silly. Mogadishu to Cakewalk Direct would make sense as those routes are roughly below the unstable gully.

I also second the call to stabilise the face and reopen as many routes as possible. The venue is surely worthy of some investment given its local importance.

A discussion on whether to reopen the car park would also be worth while. Problem parking has become an issue as climbers have not been using the Nature Reserve alternative over the hill. Conversely it's nice to not have to worry about your belayer getting runover by reversing camper vans.
Anonymous User
18/11/2020
Red posts, and barrier on left side of face, have been removed. Car park appears to have been reopened
Anonymous User
21/07/2023
Bantam Wall - several loose bolts at all heights!