Climbing Forecast › Cheshire — Frodsham › Helsby Crag

CHESHIRE — FRODSHAM · SANDSTONE

Helsby Crag climbing conditions

Good — dry and climbable

Right now

Temp14°C
Wind11 km/h
Gusts16 km/h
Humidity71.3%
Rain 48h0.2mm
Last rain32h ago

Assessment

No recent rain

7-day forecast

Scroll through each day — hourly detail is shown inline.

Today Monday 28 September
Good
Temp0°C
Raindry
Wind11 km/h
Gusts16 km/h
Humidity71%
No recent rain
  • Hard sandstone climbs well when dry
Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum
10:00 — dry — — null%
18:00 14° dry 11 — 71.3%
19:00 13° dry 12 — 71.7%
20:00 12° dry 12 — 73.2%
21:00 12° dry 14 — 73.7%
Tue Tuesday 29 September
Good
Temp19°C
Rain0.2mm
Wind25 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity78%
No recent rain
  • Hard sandstone climbs well when dry
  • Breezy — helps drying
Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum
06:00 13° dry 17 — 86.4%
07:00 14° dry 18 — 86.1%
08:00 14° dry 21 — 85.4%
09:00 15° dry 20 — 84.6%
10:00 16° dry 23 — 82.5%
11:00 17° dry 23 — 80.4%
12:00 18° dry 28 — 78.1%
13:00 20° dry 30 — 75.5%
14:00 19° dry 26 — 77.9%
15:00 20° dry 23 — 76.1%
16:00 21° dry 24 — 72%
17:00 21° dry 25 — 70.3%
18:00 21° dry 25 — 71%
19:00 21° dry 26 — 70.9%
20:00 21° dry 27 — 71.3%
21:00 20° dry 26 — 74.1%
Wed Wednesday 30 September
Poor
Temp20°C
Rain6mm
Wind20 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity66%
6.2mm rain forecastDo not climb wet sandstone
  • Wet sandstone is slippery — let the rock dry before leading
Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum
06:00 18° dry 25 — 94.3%
07:00 18° dry 19 — 94.1%
08:00 17° dry 17 — 91.7%
09:00 18° dry 17 — 83.9%
10:00 19° dry 20 — 77.3%
11:00 19° dry 20 — 72.7%
12:00 20° dry 22 — 66.2%
13:00 20° 0.4mm 22 — 61.1%
14:00 20° dry 22 — 61.1%
15:00 20° dry 20 — 59.3%
16:00 19° dry 18 — 63.3%
17:00 18° dry 17 — 66%
18:00 17° dry 15 — 69.7%
19:00 16° dry 14 — 73.7%
20:00 15° dry 14 — 78.6%
21:00 14° dry 13 — 82.8%
Thu Thursday 1 October
Caution
Temp17°C
Rain0.2mm
Wind9 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity65%
Drying — 23h since rainSandstone may still hold subsurface moisture
  • Hard sandstone climbs well when dry
Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum
06:00 11° dry 8 — 93.7%
12:00 17° 0.1mm 9 — 65%
18:00 14° dry 8 — 78.9%
Fri Friday 2 October
Poor
Temp19°C
Rain0.8mm
Wind17 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity71%
0.8mm rain forecastDo not climb wet sandstone
  • Wet sandstone is slippery — let the rock dry before leading
Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum
06:00 12° dry 18 — 90.9%
12:00 19° 0.3mm 17 — 70.5%
18:00 16° 0.1mm 18 — 90.9%
Sat Saturday 3 October
Caution
Temp15°C
Rain0.1mm
Wind9 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity66%
Should be drySandstone may still hold subsurface moisture
  • Hard sandstone climbs well when dry
Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum
06:00 14° dry 10 — 93.4%
12:00 15° dry 9 — 66.2%
18:00 12° dry 5 — 82.1%
Sun Sunday 4 October
Caution
Temp15°C
Raindry
Wind2 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity69%
Should be drySandstone may still hold subsurface moisture
  • Hard sandstone climbs well when dry
Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum
06:00 7° dry 4 — 97.4%
12:00 15° dry 2 — 68.7%
18:00 14° dry 3 — 75.9%
Mon Monday 5 October
Good
Temp18°C
Raindry
Wind7 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity75%
Should be dry
  • Hard sandstone climbs well when dry
Time °C Rain Wind (km/h) Gust Hum
06:00 10° dry 4 — 94.3%
12:00 18° dry 7 — 74.5%
18:00 15° dry 5 — 94.3%

About Helsby Crag

Helsby Crag stands as Cheshire's premier natural sandstone cliff, towering high above the Mersey Estuary with extensive views across the Cheshire Plain. The rock is a hard, red Triassic sandstone, offering varied climbing styles from delicate slab smearing and pocket pulling to fierce overhangs and roof crack jams. Facing north to northwest, the crag stays in shade for much of the day but benefits from late summer afternoon sun and strong breeze drying, keeping the rock quick to dry after rain. The grade spectrum is extensive, accommodating everything from moderate trad climbs to E8 testpieces and a vast array of high-quality bouldering. Classic routes like Flake Crack and The Scoop represent some of the finest traditional climbing in the county. The approach involves a scenic ten-to-fifteen-minute walk uphill through woodland paths from Helsby village or the hill summit carpark. The single most important rule at Helsby is rock conservation: soft sandstone must never be climbed when wet, and top-roping directly over the edge without carpet protection damages the fragile rock.

Region
Cheshire — Frodsham
Rock type
Sandstone
Aspect
north-west-facing
Altitude
120m
Exposure
medium
Seepage
low

Other crags in this region

Frodsham Crag