Godnor Portland 50.5284 -2.4397

Nature's playground

The Godnor crag is tucked away on a cliff side in Portland. Rock fall furnishes the bottom of the cliff, their shapes remind me of dice, squarish, smooth to the touch and ready to play with. The Godnor approach is one of my favorites at Portland because the approach embodies natures play ground. Boulders of all shapes and sized are all elements in the parkground, how you choose to navigate it is up to you. The childlike feeling of hopping between big round pebbles and clambering over and under larger jutting rocks is primal and playful. 

The cliff face is decorated with many layers of brown, deep blue and sandy colours the tall faces look down onto you. Fishing and lobster boats trundle past off to the harbour. The lobster pot floats bob away on top of the deep blue vista. Occasionally you might see the odd seal pop their head above the water to say ‘hello’, but only if you are really lucky. Unfortunately this time around we were not very lucky… My fingers are crossed for next time.

Tidal and slippy rocks

The Godnor crag instantly meets the blue-green ocean. The crag is very tidal, so ensuring that you time your visit in line with a neap tidal pattern is essential to keeping your sportivas from getting soggy! Because the venue is incredibly tidal there is a layer of green that encases the smooth rock formations. This can make for a slippy approach so extra caution is advised. On the higher platform the algae has been bleached by the sun leaving it a lavish shade of peroxide blonde that looks as if it has taken a dip in the local swimming pool. The slight green tinge blonde reminded me of the secondary school bathroom, the smell of hollister spray hitting the back of my throat and girls striding past with their best, frazzled,  attempt of at home peroxide. This hair looking stuff is a little easier to navigate however, take extra care especially after some rain or after high tide. 

Dave in his element

Dave, my lovely climbing partner is over 6ft and I am a mean 5ft 4… on a good day. It is always fun navigating climbs together as we climb with very different advantages and styles. I found the Godnor crag to be quite reachy between moves and involved me finding more feet nubbins. Dave could reach through several of the bumps that I used and half the feet. But we both found the top section the reachiest, the last moves by the chains were a bit more exciting in comparison to the rest of the climb. The last clip was spicy on some of the 5a’s but overall an enjoyable experience. 

We spent a full day at the crag and we both lead 9 routes. One of us would lead then we would clean on the way down and repeat, rotating round so we could swap who climbed first. When climbing up the 9th route the sting in my fingertips was biting everytime I pressed my fingers into the Portland limestone. My body felt heavier than on the climb before and I could feel the muscle fatigue creeping in. By the time I had cleaned off the last route it was fair to say that I was tired. By the end of the day our faces were lightly bronzed from the clouded sky and cheeks red from the wind consistently nipping at our exposed skin. (Godnor can be incredibly windy so PSA to bring your down jacket and a windproof layer.) We both walked back to the car with an accomplished fatigue, lighter packs and a playful approach back to the car ready for the drive back to the forest.

Smile if you want to go again!