UKC

My partner and I were planning a trip to Arran for her birthday, to do Sou'Wester Slabs/Caliban Creep and some bouldering. However, getting there looks to be a challenge with limited ferry availability. Going to look into the possibility of going as foot passengers, but also looking into alternative places to go. Any suggestions?

Ideally looking for juggy mod-S that go impressive places, ideally with plentiful gear, in an area that has enough options to not get bored over ~3 days ("wild-")camping. Bouldering options possible from the same camp would be a bonus too.

(I appreciate that mid-summer might seem a brave choice for climbing in the Highlands, but the midge forecast appears quite encouraging at the moment.)

North Face of Ben Nevis? At the lower end you've got something like Tower Ridge, slightly harder you've got North East Buttress, harder again you've got various Severes (I've not climbed them though). I don't know what the bouldering is like but it's hard to believe it isn't at least decent with the number of blocks all over the place. And camping under the North Face is a great location.

That seems a great suggestion.

I started trawling my (long-since-updated) wishlist after I posted, and Aonach Dubh/Buachaille Etive Mor jumped out too with a few routes that I've wanted to do for years.

There's no need for a car on Arran, I've never taken a car across to climb there. So just stick with plan A.

You can do Arran by bike. It's really barely worth taking a car if you're just camping in or around Glen Rosa. 

For the rest of the time.....

Glen Nevis possibly , lots to do but a potential midge hell.

There's good easy multipitch in the cairngorms. If you're up for a long walk.  

https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/stag_rocks-2336/final_selection-47...

https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/ben_macdui_-_stob_coire_sputan_dea...

To add to what others have said, do glen Rosa by bike, it's very little effort and adds to the adventure. The drive is only about 10 minutes, unless its part of a longer trip you really dont need a car. It's also pretty feasible to walk!

In which case, we may well just make a trip to Arran entirely by public transport and foot. Bike is out of the question (unless it happens to be all flat) as I only have a singlespeed at the moment.

Cioch Nose (S) seems hard to beat at the grade; don’t know how easy/hard it is to get to though 

It's 3.5km from the ferry terminal to the end of the road in Glen Rosa so that's all a car gains you.

If you're still considering other options, Torridon ticks all the boxes. You could camp in Coire Mhic Fhearchair and do the Triple Buttresses (D-S) and there's excellent bouldering in the Glen.

Something like an iceaxe needed for Crystal Ridge (Summer) (D), the gully you traverse across after the rock is still an unstable landslide. But a **** route.

Afterthought Arete (M) is a *** route near Final Selection (D) and gives much more length.

I must admit I hadn't got round to actually looking at the map to see that. That sounds really quite feasible.

Will still consider other options though, so please keep them coming

Glencoe is the obvious option.

Its worth making the effort to get to Arran. The climbing is just superb. South West Slabs and South Ridge Direct are the best. Its the equal of Skye. There are lots of really good routes and the granite is a joy to climb.