Climbing in Yarncliffe

Yarncliffe is one of several gritstone venues featured in a compact bouldering film that maps the northern grit circuit. The roughly 25-minute edit travels across gritstone in the Peak District, Northumberland and northern Yorkshire and includes Yarncliffe among its photographed locations, using the stone’s signature friction and abrasive texture to frame powerful climbing sequences.

The film, titled WIFE ON HOLD - Gritstone Bouldering, follows Sam Carling, Leo Skinner, Solly Kemball-Dorey and Finn Parry as they work a sequence of well-known and hard problems. The edit lists problems and grades such as West Side Story (7B+), The Boss (8B), Zoo York (8A) and Crescent Arête (5+), and through those climbs it shows gritstone’s dual character: compact, steep, and often gymnastic sequences that give way to awkward, technical slabs.

On screen the contrast between raw power moves and subtle footwork is foregrounded: dynamic, overhanging problems sit beside thin, balance-dependent slabs, and the film captures the micro-decisions—smearing, heel hooks, body tension—that gritstone demands. For viewers who appreciate technical bouldering and the particular demands of British grit, the piece collects a range of styles and classic problems into a short, focused portrait.