Introduction The Kiln o the Fuffock is an impressive steep crag adjacent to the climbing area of the Fish Kettle. It lies NW of Stranraer, on the coast of the North Channel. The simplest approach is a scenic 20-30 minute walk from the Portobello crags, though a shorter approach from ..... Farm is also possible.
Access The simplest approach is from the crags at Portobello beach. To get here follow the A77 or A75 to Stranraer then the A718, B7043 and finally the B738 to Cairnbrook farm. A private track, leaving from sharp bend leads down thru two gates to a small ruin, with limited parking. The Fish Kettle is about 2km south from here, you have to walk along the landward edge of four or five fields. First look out for the bay with the very steep (and loose) looking pinnacle of Juniper Rock, (marked on the OS map). The Kiln is about 500m south of Juniper Rock, just past a wide boulder beach. The rock is greywacke. Routes are about 15-20m long.
Guidebook For a definitive list of all the climbs here see the SMC published Lowland Outcrops guidebook.
Dangers These are adventurous sea cliffs with areas of dubious rock and the protection is not always reliable. Most of the routes require abseil access, sometimes to hanging or semi-hanging belays. This is a very open stretch of coast so much of the crag will be hazardous in big seas and is open to rapid weather changes.
The Kiln of the Fuffock - Main Crag
The Kiln is about 300-400m further south than the Fish Kettle, quite clearly marked on the map and easy enough to find.
The main crag at the Kiln o the Fuffock, Galloway. There are lots of hard but recommended E3 and E4 routes on this steep greywacke buttress, with one or two VS and HVS routes too.
Another shot of the Main Wall from the landward end of the base. You can scramble easily down to this spot by going down into the Kiln itself (a circular grassy depression) and then through an arch towards the sea.
Black Slabs
The Black Slabs lie immediately north of the Kiln on the north facing side of another narrow inlet. There are a couple of S/VS routes on the left-hand slab and two easier routes on the right-hand slab. The rock is reported to not be as good as it looks! Approach is by abseil.
Orange Wall
The Orange Wall lies about one hundred meters north of the main crag.
