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Footnotes
A Bit of History - There is a wealth of climbing on the Berwickshire coast, albeit some of it a tad esoteric in nature. However, to quote the SMC Scottish Climbs South/Lowland Outcrops guide (published in 2023), ‘The cliffs offer good climbing and bouldering on greywacke and sandstone in a beautiful, atmospheric setting. All the characteristics that give sea-cliff climbing its unique adventurous appeal can be found here, from bald, wave-washed slabs to faces overhanging the sea, and the centrepiece of the area, a 25m sea-stack called The Souter.’ Surprisingly, given the proximity to both the Tyneside and Edinburgh conurbations, development did not start until 1965 when a team led by Gordon Davidson from Gateshead climbed some lines on the crumbling ramparts of Fast Castle Head. His partners were J Binns and, on one route, Peter Lockey who, with Gordon, comprised the ‘L’ and ‘D’ of Newcastle’s first dedicated climbing shop, opened the following year. Two or three of these lines are of reasonable quality, and a handful more have been added over the years. Atmospheric for sure! Dave Bathgate and Robin Campbell (of the Edinburgh Squirrels) made the first ascent of The Souter by the landward face the same year. The routes is graded ‘Scottish VS’, the guidebook noting that it ‘is ridden with nests and guano and cannot be recommended.’ The Editor can attest to this. The FA was not reported until 1968 when a short piece written by Campbell appeared in the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal. At this time The Editor was a second year medical student at Edinburgh University with a fondness for sea-cliff climbing after a couple of visits to the recently opened-up cliffs on Anglesey (and a burgeoning taste for the esoteric). In the company of a fellow student they climbed the original route, it proved quite the adventure, and, well, as the books says, it cannot be recommended! John Cleare put up the much better line on the seaward face in 1970 (‘Ordinary Route’, HVS 5a) whilst researching for his book ‘Sea Cliff Climbing in Britain’. The Editor climbed this in 1974 and has returned several times since. It’s a fine line. By this time the Edinburgh contingent had begun to explore the potential of the cliffs in the neighbourhood of the dramatic Brander promontory which lies a few hundred metres south of The Souter. Gordon Davidson returned in 1974 with the young Martin Moran to climb a hideous line on the loose, vegetated cliff adjacent to Fast Castle Head which they named ‘Cyclops’, graded Scottish VS/A2, ‘an horrific-looking route’ likely never repeated. The route name was seemingly a blatant plug for an early rucksack of the same name! A few years earlier the Editor, by then a fourth year medical student, had also had a look at this line. With fellow medic Dennis Edwards, he bailed after one pitch finding it dangerously loose. Roll the calendar a few years forward and another local lad, Kev Howett, with friends John Griffiths and Alan Moist, climbed some bold lines on The Brander in 1981. Thereafter a group of climbers including John McKenzie, Kenny Spence, Rab Anderson and others, predominantly Edinburgh-based, started to open up the fins around The Souter, putting up many lines that would become classics (including most of the routes referred to by Al Horsfield in his article). Development continued sporadically thought the 80s and into the 90s, with contributions from the great and the good, including the young Malcolm Smith. The 90s also saw new venues opened up to the north of Fast Castle, including Midden Crag and Stack, Ladywell Craig and Rough Heugh, and development of these and the Souter fins has continued to the present day. The 2023 guide lists around 250 climbs and boulder problems, mostly, as it says, in atmospheric settings and on generally decent rock. Aside from the climbing there is much else to see in the vicinity. Fast Castle itself, for example, the ruins of which, to quote the ‘Undiscovered Scotland’ website, ‘cling grimly’ to the top of the rocky headland albeit most of it having collapsed and/or fallen into the sea. The origins of the castle are uncertain but there was (inevitably) an Iron Age settlement there, probably fortified. The first record of a castle is from 1333 and through the following turbulent centuries it was fought over, changed hands, was partly destroyed and rebuilt several times over. It finally fell into ruin in the late 17th Century. It was originally known as ‘Fause (ie ‘false’) Castle as a result of the lights that were hung on the ramparts, misleading passing ships and drawing them onto rocks, leading to plunder of the wrecks; there is a legend of hidden treasure but it has never been found. Meanwhile, Siccar Point, which lies a few kilometres east of the Souter/Fast Castle area, is famous in the history of geology as the site of the ‘unconformity’ in the rocks considered by James Hutton, who saw it from the sea during a boat trip in 1788, as conclusive proof of the ‘uniformitarian’ theory of geological development. This theory posits that geological processes are uniform, comprising a continuous cycle of deposition and intrusion, uplifting and tilting, and erosion, a theory that was controversial at the time but explained why, for example, older rocks could end up on top of younger rocks. Hutton is regarded as the ‘father’ of modern geology. And, by the way, there is more than one ‘Hutton’s Unconformity’, including one in Glen Tilt in the Central Highlands, one near Lochranza on Arran, and one in Teviotdale in The Borders! Finally, the Berwickshire coast, which sports several SSSIs, and nature and marine parks, is famous for its marine wildlife. In season you will likely see gannets from the Bass Rock colony (30km north) diving for fish, will almost certainly find your antics closely observed by seals, and may be lucky enough to spot cetaceans out to sea. As for the wild flowers… You should go there. John Spencer.
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