The aim of the GRAPE project was to produce a global cloud and aerosol dataset using a state-of-the-art physical retrieval of the entire duration of the Along Track Scanning Radiometer 2 (ATSR-2) mission (aboard ERS-2). This dataset will be compared and contrasted with existing climatologies (based on different instruments and very different retrieval algorithms). The GRAPE project was initially funded through the Clouds, Water Vapour and Climate (CWVC) Programme, a five-year NERC directed research programme. The dataset has been developed further within the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) and now includes data from the Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR). The GRAPE dataset contains cloud optical depth, aerosol optical depth (cloud free), cloud phase, cloud particle size, cloud top pressure, cloud fraction and cloud ice/water path along with associated error measurements. Data spans the period 1995 to 2009 (v2 covers 1995-2001, v3 covers 1995-2009).