The Isle of Portland is located in the south of England on the West Dorset Heritage Coast, which offers stunning views across the ocean.

The Isle of Portland is a tied island, which is 6 kilometres long and 2.7 kilometres wide. But what makes this island so unique is it’s full of climbing locations, making it a perfect weekend away for you and your friends.

While you’re there, you’ll notice that there are many crags for you to check out; 12 crags to be exact. This includes the likes of:

• Blacknor North, Central, South, and Far South
• Battle Edge
• Coastguard Cliffs
• Lighthouse Area
• Longstone Ope
• And much more

As you can imagine, with all these crags available, there are a lot of routes for climbers to try their hands at. Overall the Isle of Portland provides around 900 routes of varying difficulty, with most of them being Sport Climbs with the odd bouldering and trad area.

All of this makes the island a mecca for sport climbing in South West England, which is renowned for its majestic white cliffs and spectacular views.

What does it look like?

Location & Parking

If you’re looking to plan a trip to the Isle of Portland, you’ll have to get yourself to Weymouth, which, as mentioned before, is near the West Dorset Heritage Coast.

To get to the island from Weymouth, you’ll have to drive over the Ferry Bridge Dorset, which leads you to Portland Beach road. While driving down the road, you’ll have stunning views of Chesil Beach.

Thanks to the island being so small, it makes it very easy to which your crag locations within 20-30 minutes. This means you’ll have no problems checking out all 12 crags within a few days if that’s what you want to do.

And although the island is very small, it’s incredibly well equipped, so you’ll have no problems finding food, accommodation, and much more.

When it comes to parking, you have plenty of options around the area. And to make things better, the majority of the parking spaces are free to use.

The problem is:

In most of the areas, you can’t park overnight, which could be a problem for a few people. Luckily, you have overnight parking at the New Ground ca park, which costs £10 for the parking, or £3 for the day.

Obviously, some people don’t like parking the car in car parks overnight, but if you get accommodation with Airbnb or at a hotel/BnB, you should find that parking is provided.

If you’d like to check out the complete list of parking spots in the Isle of Portland, then check out this link.

Good Climbing Spots

Okay, you know a little bit about the location and where to park, but where should you go climbing?

Most crags are spread apart, but it’s not too hard to get from one spot to another, thanks to the island being so small.

So, in this section, I’m going to explain a little bit about three of our favourite spots to give you an idea of where to go.

Sound Good?

Great, let’s get started:

Battleship Edge
You’ll find the Battleship Edge crag on the west-central coastline of the island close to Weston and Southwell.

The crag is home to around 140 routes, which are mainly sport climbs with grades between 3a and 7c. The rock is split into two areas:

• Battleship Main
• Battleship Back Cliff

Unfortunately, there seems to have been a landslide, which means some of the routes are missing.

The Wedge Area
If you’re looking for a warm-up or you want to try out a bit of bouldering, then The Wedge Area is a great option.

You’ll find the area close to Freshwater Bay and provides stunning views across the ocean.

There are only seven routes in the area, but you’ll have great fun trying some of them out. The downside is you have to go there at the right time to avoid getting wet feet.

When it comes to grades, they average from VB to V3, which is why it’s an excellent place to warm up before hitting up the Cheyne Weares area.

The Cuttings
The last area we want to talk about is The Cuttings, which you’ll find to the east of Easton on the shoreline. The area is split into four sections, which include:

• Cuttings Boulderfield
• The Ditch
• The New Cuttings
• Main Cliff

In this area alone, you’ll find over 250 climbs, making it one of the island’s biggest and most popular climbing areas.

Another great thing about climbing in this area is you have a great picture of bouldering and sport climbing. This means you can warm on the bouldering routes before smashing out some gnarly sport climbs.

And when it comes to grades, you have something to suit everyone. The bouldering ranges from V0 to V8, while the sports climbing is between 2a to 8c+.

Where’s Good For Beginners – Advanced

• Beginner Battleship Edge: Battleship Back Cliff – Braer Rabbit 4
• Beginner Longstone Ope: The Wedge Area – Wedge Traverse 3
• Beginner The Cuttings: Main Cliff – Amazonia 4c
• Intermediate Battleship Edge: Battleship Back Cliff – No Smears Rear 6a+
• Intermediate Longstone Ope: The Wedge Area – Wedge Arete 4
• Intermediate The Cuttings: The New Cuttings – Flowers On The Razor Wire 6c
• Advanced Battleship Edge: Battleship Back Cliff – Dreams Burn Down 7a+
• Advanced Longstone Ope: The Wedge Area – Raquel Welsh 5+
• Advanced The Cuttings: Main Cliff – Fighting Torque 8a