Climbing Forecast › Cornwall — North Coast › Pentire Head (Great Cliff)

CORNWALL — NORTH COAST · OTHER · tidal bird ban

Pentire Head (Great Cliff) climbing conditions

Good — dry and climbable

Right now

Temp20°C
Wind15.1 km/h
Gusts23 km/h
Humidity91.9%
Rain 48h0mm
Last rainNone recent

Assessment

No recent rain
Tidal access: Base ledges are completely submerged at high tide — climb strictly 2h either side of low water
Loose slate on top-outs — exercise extreme caution

7-day forecast

Scroll through each day — hourly detail is shown inline.

Today Friday 14 August
Good
Temp22°C
Rain0mm
Wind14 km/h
Gusts23 km/h
Humidity92%
No recent rain
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 20° 0mm 15 0 91.9%
07:00 20° 0mm 15 0 91.5%
08:00 21° 0mm 13 0 92%
09:00 21° 0mm 13 0 92.2%
10:00 21° 0mm 14 0 92.4%
11:00 22° 0mm 13 0 91.7%
12:00 22° 0mm 13 0 91.4%
13:00 22° 0mm 13 0 91.4%
14:00 22° 0mm 14 0 91.2%
15:00 22° 0mm 15 0 92.1%
16:00 22° 0mm 16 0 92.3%
17:00 21° 0mm 19 0 94.1%
18:00 20° 0mm 22 0 93.3%
19:00 20° 0mm 22 0 91.2%
20:00 20° 0mm 23 0 89.1%
21:00 20° 0mm 24 0 88.1%
Sat Saturday 15 August
Good
Temp20°C
Rain0mm
Wind26 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity77%
No recent rain
  • Breezy — helps drying
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 18° 0mm 30 0 82.2%
07:00 18° 0mm 30 0 81%
08:00 19° 0mm 29 0 80.7%
09:00 19° 0mm 27 0 79%
10:00 19° 0mm 27 0 78.2%
11:00 20° 0mm 26 0 78.2%
12:00 20° 0mm 23 0 77.6%
13:00 20° 0mm 22 0 77%
14:00 20° 0mm 23 0 74.8%
15:00 20° 0mm 27 0 74.6%
16:00 19° 0mm 32 0 79.6%
17:00 19° 0mm 33 0 76.7%
18:00 19° 0mm 32 0 73.3%
19:00 19° 0mm 29 0 69.8%
20:00 18° 0mm 28 0 69.9%
21:00 18° 0mm 27 0 69.7%
Sun Sunday 16 August
Good
Temp20°C
Rain0mm
Wind14 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity74%
No recent rain
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 18° 0mm 19 0 75.9%
07:00 18° 0mm 17 0 75.2%
08:00 18° 0mm 14 0 74.9%
09:00 19° 0mm 13 0 74%
10:00 19° 0mm 13 0 73.9%
11:00 20° 0mm 14 0 74.3%
12:00 20° 0mm 10 0 72%
13:00 20° 0mm 13 0 73%
14:00 20° 0mm 17 0 73.1%
15:00 20° 0mm 18 0 73.7%
16:00 20° 0mm 16 0 75.2%
17:00 19° 0mm 17 0 75.6%
18:00 19° 0mm 21 0 76.2%
Mon Monday 17 August
Poor
Temp21°C
Rain0.3mm
Wind22 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity92%
0.3mm rain forecast
  • Breezy — helps drying
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 19° 0.22mm 16 0 87.7%
12:00 21° 0.02mm 22 0 91.9%
18:00 20° 0.03mm 22 0 86.9%
Tue Tuesday 18 August
Poor
Temp22°C
Rain0.4mm
Wind23 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity90%
0.4mm rain forecast
  • Breezy — helps drying
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 20° 0.05mm 18 0 92.2%
12:00 22° 0.07mm 23 0 90.1%
18:00 21° 0.17mm 27 0 91.4%
Wed Wednesday 19 August
Good
Temp19°C
Rain0.2mm
Wind12 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity79%
Should be dry
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 18° 0.03mm 18 0 82.3%
12:00 19° 0mm 12 0 78.7%
18:00 18° 0.1mm 20 0 73.5%
Thu Thursday 20 August
Poor
Temp18°C
Rain2.3mm
Wind29 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity71%
2.3mm rain forecast
  • Breezy — helps drying
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 17° 0.47mm 20 0 81.5%
12:00 18° 0.32mm 29 0 71.2%
18:00 18° 0.75mm 35 0 68.2%
Fri Friday 21 August
Poor
Temp18°C
Rain1.7mm
Wind31 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity81%
1.7mm rain forecast
  • Breezy — helps drying
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 18° 0.37mm 32 0 75.2%
12:00 18° 0.15mm 31 0 81.4%
18:00 18° 0.05mm 29 0 72.1%
Sat Saturday 22 August
Poor
Temp17°C
Rain0.3mm
Wind7 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity78%
0.3mm rain forecast
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 17° 0.23mm 11 0 74.3%
12:00 17° 0.08mm 7 0 78.4%
18:00 17° 0mm 11 0 73.7%
Sun Sunday 23 August
Good
Temp18°C
Rain0.1mm
Wind20 km/h
Gusts—
Humidity76%
Should be dry
Time °C Rain Wind Gust Hum
06:00 17° 0.05mm 21 0 76.4%
12:00 18° 0mm 20 0 76.3%
Tidal access
Base ledges are completely submerged at high tide — climb strictly 2h either side of low water
Bird ban (03-01 to 07-31)
Peregrine and fulmar restrictions on main sectors; refer to BMC RAD
Pentire Head (Great Cliff) is one of the UK's most famous sea cliffs, offering towering precipices of dark green pillow lava slate near Polzeath. The rock is exceptionally steep, compact, and featured with sharp crimps, subtle side-pulls, and atmospheric crack systems. Facing northwest into the Atlantic Ocean, the cliff receives late afternoon sun, drying steadily under heavy coastal winds, though lower routes collect ocean spray. The crag is world-renowned for hard, bold traditional climbing, hosting legendary testpieces like Darkinbad the Brightdayler and Cobra. The approach takes twenty minutes along the coastal path from Pentireglaze car park followed by a long abseil to low-level ledges. Severe tidal restrictions, huge Atlantic swells, and friable top-outs make this a serious venue.

About Pentire Head (Great Cliff)

Pentire Head (Great Cliff) is one of the UK's most famous sea cliffs, offering towering precipices of dark green pillow lava slate near Polzeath. The rock is exceptionally steep, compact, and featured with sharp crimps, subtle side-pulls, and atmospheric crack systems. Facing northwest into the Atlantic Ocean, the cliff receives late afternoon sun, drying steadily under heavy coastal winds, though lower routes collect ocean spray. The crag is world-renowned for hard, bold traditional climbing, hosting legendary testpieces like Darkinbad the Brightdayler and Cobra. The approach takes twenty minutes along the coastal path from Pentireglaze car park followed by a long abseil to low-level ledges. Severe tidal restrictions, huge Atlantic swells, and friable top-outs make this a serious venue.

Region
Cornwall — North Coast
Rock type
other
Aspect
north-west-facing
Altitude
50m
Exposure
low
Seepage
medium

Other crags in this region

Porth MissickCarn Gowla