Five of the UK's best scrambling destinations

You've cracked hillwalking, maybe you've even dabbled in climbing. You want to find that sweet spot with a close-to-home adventure that will test your nerves and skills in equal measure. Here are six of the best places to go for a weekend of scrambling in the UK.

What is scrambling?

Scrambling is often defined as the hazy middle ground between hill walking and rock climbing; anything where you have to use your hands to make upward progress or the terrain is simply very exposed. For those with sure footing and a head for heights, scrambling can offer the best of both worlds by combining the adrenaline buzz of climbing with the unfettered freedom of hill walking.

Britain’s geology and geography makes it one of the best places in the world for scrambling. Our mountains are relatively small but they cut quickly to the chase, allowing you to get amid airy arêtes, rocky ridges and gaping gullies within a short time of leaving civilisation. Some places are veritable scrambling utopias, where the surrounding mountains are packed with possibilities for hands-on-rock, heart-in-mouth moments.

Before you go:

There is a popular misconception that scrambling is a milder and less dangerous version of rock climbing - ‘climbing-lite’. In reality scrambling can be actually be the more serious activity, mainly because people typically attempt it with less protection than rock climbing or none at all.

We would recommend learning to climb to at least V Diff level or taking a scrambling course before attempting serious scrambling of Grade 2 or above. You can find out more on grading, gear and what to expect in our scrambling skills article.

1. Patterdale, The Lake District

The Lake District has more than its fair share of grassy hills and chocolate box cuteness, but its rockier, wilder upper echelons boast some classic scrambles, including the most famous in the UK.

Arguably the place within striking distance of the best scrambling is Patterdale. Striding Edge is the nearest a UK scramble gets to being a household name, and the link-up with the summit of Helvellyn and Swirral Edge is one of Britain’s best walks, but on sunny days and weekends also one of the busiest.

Quieter, though definitely not one for beginners, is Pinnacle Ridge on St Sunday Crag, a Grade 3 scramble that is one of the longest, most engaging scramble-climbs in the Lake District. And Patterdale is not too far from Blencathra, home to the classic and breathtakingly exposed Sharp Edge.

2. Ogwen Valley, North Wales

Where else in Britain does is awesome mountain spectacle more accessible than in the Ogwen Valley? The glacier-carved amphitheatre of Cwm Idwal, the surreal spiky landscape of the Glyders and – most of all – the unreal Tryfan represent the kind of sublime splendour you might expect to find at much higher altitudes in other countries, but here in North Wales you can wander into them within minutes of leaving the A5 lay-by.

Tryfan could have been purpose-built for scrambling, an angular fastness of split and shattered rhyolite and one of the few peaks in Wales with no way up it that doesn’t involve placing your hands on rock. The North Ridge is the classic but there are plenty of other routes elsewhere on the mountain. Bristly Ridge on neighbouring Glyder Fach is another archetypal Snowdonia scramble, though perhaps a bit more challenging than its Grade 1 suggests.

3. The Cuillin, Skye

The Cuillin are legendary. With a jaggedness that wouldn’t be out of place in the alps, they make even the most fearsome mountains of the British mainland seem tame by comparison. Difficult, exposed and unforgiving, the usual rules don’t apply here; the volcanic rock, for example, sends compasses haywire, while rain, having no earth to sink into, streaks straight down the slippy gabbro in lethal cascades. The famous Inaccessible Pinnacle is the only Munro summit that requires a graded rock climb.

Scrambling in the Cuillin is less a choice than a necessity, with no routes into its upper strongholds not requiring at least a bit of it (try Sgurr nan Gilean, the Southern Cuillin or Am Basteir for starters). The Dubh Ridge is a long, slabby scramble starting from right within the wild heart of the Cuillin at Loch Coruisk. Whatever you attempt, experience and knowledge of ropework is strongly advised, as even on ‘easier’ routes it’s very possible to lose your way in the jumbled rock and get more than you bargained for, and once committed to the upper reaches of the Cuillin escapes routes are difficult and few and far between.  If in doubt, hire a guide.

4. Glen Coe, West Highlands

Amazement and terror go hand in hand in Glen Coe.

This is a realm of mountain giants. The great buttresses of Bidean nam Bian frown down on man and motor alike on the A82 as if they were ants. The north east face of the much-photographed Buachaille Etive Mor, a perfect pyramid of sheer mountain meanness towering above Rannoch Moor, is impregnable-looking at first glance but on closer inspection reveals Curved Ridge, an adrenaline-pumping Grade 3 scramble. Then there’s the Aonach Eagach, six miles of tortuous knife-edge ridge representing one of the most impressive mountain days you can have, well, anywhere.

Nothing is done by halves in Glen Coe, but the reward for taking on those mountain brutes are experiences that will stay with you for a lifetime.

5. Dark Peak, Peak District

What Peak District scrambles may lack in altitude compared to their Cumbrian, Scottish or Welsh counterparts, they more than make up for in scenery and creativity! Added to this, scrambles in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District are primarily on gritstone, which is by nature a nice, grippy surface for your feet. Most of the scrambles listed here are just small sections of larger walks, so you can easily combine a saunter up Kinder Scout with a scrambling hit in one day, for example.

Grindsbrook Clough (Grade 1) is a good starting point for Peak District scrambles, starting from Edale, you can follow a steady 8-mile loop that follows a path at first, but builds to a rocky scramble as you reach the higher section of the route, descend via the popular Jacob's Ladder path. Blackden Brook is a testing little scramble that can be combined with a glorious waterfall walk too. Then there's the stunning Alport Castles scramble (interestingly, these aren't actual castles but towering rock formations resultant of a historical landslip) and will also take in the famous Ladybower Reservoir. The Peak District may be a lesser-known scrambling mecca, but it certainly isn't to be overlooked!