Climbing Forecast › Northern Ireland — Ballycastle › Fair Head

NORTHERN IRELAND — BALLYCASTLE · DOLERITE

Fair Head climbing conditions

Poor — wet, too windy or closed

Right now

Temp15°C
Wind24.5 km/h
Gusts37 km/h
Humidity96.3%
Rain 48h0mm
Last rainNone recent

Assessment

0.3mm rain forecast
Windy — 26 km/h, gusts 0 km/h
Breezy — good for drying

7-day forecast

Scroll through each day — hourly detail is shown inline.

Today Friday 14 August
Poor
Temp16°C
Rain0.3mm
Wind26 km/h
Gusts37 km/h
Humidity84%
0.3mm rain forecastWindy — 26 km/h, gusts 0 km/h
  • Good friction range for dolerite
  • Dolerite climbs well when dry
  • Breezy — helps drying
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 15° 0mm 25 0 96.3%
07:00 15° 0mm 25 0 92.8%
08:00 15° 0mm 24 0 89.9%
09:00 16° 0mm 25 0 86.1%
10:00 16° 0mm 23 0 86.9%
11:00 16° 0mm 21 0 82.9%
12:00 16° 0mm 26 0 82.1%
13:00 16° 0mm 28 0 84%
14:00 16° 0mm 28 0 84.6%
15:00 16° 0mm 28 0 84.3%
16:00 15° 0mm 28 0 86.3%
17:00 15° 0mm 31 0 84.3%
18:00 15° 0.1mm 31 0 90.4%
19:00 15° 0mm 30 0 91.3%
20:00 14° 0mm 28 0 92.4%
21:00 14° 0mm 27 0 93.4%
Sat Saturday 15 August
Poor
Temp14°C
Rain0.6mm
Wind22 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity77%
0.6mm rain forecast
  • Good friction range for dolerite
  • Wet dolerite is slick — let it dry before leading
  • Breezy — helps drying
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 13° 0mm 27 0 81.8%
07:00 13° 0mm 27 0 84.2%
08:00 13° 0mm 24 0 86.4%
09:00 14° 0mm 25 0 82.3%
10:00 14° 0mm 25 0 79.2%
11:00 14° 0mm 24 0 77.6%
12:00 15° 0mm 22 0 77.6%
13:00 15° 0mm 22 0 75.8%
14:00 15° 0mm 22 0 75.1%
15:00 14° 0mm 22 0 76.5%
16:00 15° 0mm 21 0 77%
17:00 14° 0mm 19 0 80.2%
18:00 14° 0mm 19 0 80.4%
19:00 14° 0mm 19 0 80.5%
20:00 14° 0mm 19 0 81.2%
21:00 14° 0mm 18 0 82%
Sun Sunday 16 August
Poor
Temp16°C
Rain3.1mm
Wind16 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity79%
3.1mm rain forecast
  • Good friction range for dolerite
  • Wet dolerite is slick — let it dry before leading
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 13° 0mm 15 0 90.2%
07:00 13° 0mm 14 0 86.5%
08:00 14° 0.1mm 13 0 83.5%
09:00 14° 0mm 12 0 83.7%
10:00 15° 0mm 13 0 80.7%
11:00 15° 0mm 14 0 78.4%
12:00 16° 0mm 16 0 74%
13:00 16° 0.1mm 17 0 75.7%
14:00 16° 0.3mm 16 0 79.8%
15:00 16° 0.2mm 16 0 83.2%
16:00 16° 1.6mm 20 0 83%
17:00 16° 0.7mm 18 0 88.2%
18:00 16° 0.07mm 18 0 90.2%
Mon Monday 17 August
Good
Temp17°C
Rain0.2mm
Wind7 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity84%
Should be dry
  • Good friction range for dolerite
  • Dolerite climbs well when dry
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 14° 0.08mm 12 0 94.2%
12:00 17° 0.02mm 7 0 84.4%
18:00 18° 0.02mm 12 0 74.1%
Tue Tuesday 18 August
Poor
Temp16°C
Rain0.4mm
Wind18 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity87%
0.4mm rain forecastHumidity 87% — potential fog
  • Good friction range for dolerite
  • Wet dolerite is slick — let it dry before leading
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 17° 0.2mm 16 0 94.7%
12:00 16° 0.12mm 18 0 86.9%
18:00 15° 0mm 12 0 84.2%
Wed Wednesday 19 August
Poor
Temp17°C
Rain1.2mm
Wind13 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity70%
1.2mm rain forecast
  • Good friction range for dolerite
  • Wet dolerite is slick — let it dry before leading
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 12° 0.02mm 17 0 92.5%
12:00 17° 1.1mm 13 0 70.4%
18:00 14° 0.03mm 12 0 90%
Thu Thursday 20 August
Poor
Temp16°C
Rain1.4mm
Wind13 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity78%
1.4mm rain forecast
  • Good friction range for dolerite
  • Wet dolerite is slick — let it dry before leading
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 12° 0.1mm 11 0 94.8%
12:00 16° 1.12mm 13 0 78.1%
18:00 15° 0.13mm 8 0 86.5%
Fri Friday 21 August
Poor
Temp15°C
Rain1.2mm
Wind19 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity86%
1.2mm rain forecastHumidity 86% — potential fog
  • Good friction range for dolerite
  • Wet dolerite is slick — let it dry before leading
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 13° 0.5mm 12 0 90.5%
12:00 15° 0.2mm 19 0 85.9%
18:00 15° 0.05mm 22 0 87.1%
Sat Saturday 22 August
Poor
Temp15°C
Rain0.4mm
Wind21 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity80%
0.4mm rain forecast
  • Good friction range for dolerite
  • Wet dolerite is slick — let it dry before leading
  • Breezy — helps drying
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 13° 0.08mm 16 0 88.2%
12:00 15° 0.13mm 21 0 80.1%
18:00 14° 0.08mm 24 0 85.4%
Sun Sunday 23 August
Good
Temp14°C
Rain0.2mm
Wind16 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity75%
Should be dry
  • Good friction range for dolerite
  • Dolerite climbs well when dry
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 12° 0.07mm 19 0 86.3%
12:00 14° 0mm 16 0 74.6%
Fair Head Wall (E3 5c), Midnight Cruiser (E1 5b), Chrome Hearts (E7 6c), Wall of Prey (E5 6b)","Fair Head is the premier traditional sea cliff venue in Ireland, featuring towering cliff walls composed of exceptionally hard, coarse dolerite with clean vertical fissures and massive scree boulder fields below. Facing north at elevated coastal altitude above the North Channel, the cliff stays mostly shaded during main daylight hours and relies on open coastal winds to blow surfaces dry after rainfall. The climbing style demands sustained physical jamming, laybacking, and bold micro-wire placements across a vast grade spectrum from VS to E8 testpieces, headlined by iconic routes such as Fair Head Wall and Midnight Cruiser. The approach requires a parking fee at the local farm near Ballycastle followed by a fifteen-minute walk across farm fields and a steep descent through boulder gullies like Grey Man's Path. The single most important factor to manage is the physical commitment of descending into the talus field, as escaping requires sustained climbing or hard scrambling back up.

About Fair Head

Fair Head Wall (E3 5c), Midnight Cruiser (E1 5b), Chrome Hearts (E7 6c), Wall of Prey (E5 6b)","Fair Head is the premier traditional sea cliff venue in Ireland, featuring towering cliff walls composed of exceptionally hard, coarse dolerite with clean vertical fissures and massive scree boulder fields below. Facing north at elevated coastal altitude above the North Channel, the cliff stays mostly shaded during main daylight hours and relies on open coastal winds to blow surfaces dry after rainfall. The climbing style demands sustained physical jamming, laybacking, and bold micro-wire placements across a vast grade spectrum from VS to E8 testpieces, headlined by iconic routes such as Fair Head Wall and Midnight Cruiser. The approach requires a parking fee at the local farm near Ballycastle followed by a fifteen-minute walk across farm fields and a steep descent through boulder gullies like Grey Man's Path. The single most important factor to manage is the physical commitment of descending into the talus field, as escaping requires sustained climbing or hard scrambling back up.

Region
Northern Ireland — Ballycastle
Rock type
dolerite
Aspect
north-facing
Altitude
180m
Exposure
high
Seepage
low

Other crags in this region

Fair Head (Ballycastle Sector)Fair Head (Farrangrenn)Fair Head (Grey Man's Path)Fair Head (Murlough Bay)