Frogsmouth Quarry is an important venue for climbers based in the Cheshire and Merseyside area. Sadly neglected, recent work by BMC volunteers from the BMC's NW Area has begun to transform this venue.

I went along on Sunday morning to lend a hand and help train up the keen locals in the dark art of re-bolting.

The first time I went to Frogsmouth, just over a year ago, I wasn't that impressed. Dark and gloomy with lots of broken glass, my first act was to fend off an agressive Alsatian dog which tried to attack me. The locals seemed keen to resurrect the place though, and a few meetings later saw me penciled in to head down and run a bolting workshop.

Back a year later, and the change was astounding. With the active assistance of the local council who own the quarry, trees and undergrowth had been trimmed back, opening up the quarry. Most of the glass and litter had gone. An awesome effort indeed. This place now suddenly looked worth investing some time in!

Once the guys were assembled, we ran through the basics of bolt theory and practice. Then we set to work. Many of the holes were predrilled from the previous working meeting; a quick bit of cleaning and soon bolts were going in.

By the close of play a grand total of 8 routes had been re-equiped, check out the Cheshire Wiki for details.

A big thanks for all the locals for turning up, being organised and generally being a sound bunch.

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