This weekend was the BMC supported Lakes Festival of Climbing in the Duddon Valley. Unfortunately the weather forecast looked a little dodgy. However, Saturday dawned quite bright, and despite a few spots of rain on the windshield driving over to the Duddon Valley, it was dry when we got there. It did mean the high Lakeland crags would be damp though, so combined with the late start we all (Richard, Paul, Anna, Ian, Laetitia, and I) agreed on the reliable Wallowbarrow crag. Amazingly, with the festival in the valley, this popular crag was almost deserted when we got there. I guess the morning rain showers had kept people in their tents? It did of course get steadily busier as the day went on.
We did a few routes in the glorious summer sunshine at Wallowbarrow, including Marilyn, a tricky HVS that I reckon might warrant notching up a grade… Later after we’d finished Grey Wall (a nice, un-starred, but star deserving E1) we noticed a leader falling from the crux of Marilyn! 😮
After a spell of sun bathing on the rocks at the bottom Wallowbarrow we retired to the campsite at Turner Hall Farm to get our £1.50 BMC vouchers towards our dinner at the Newfield Inn. 🙂 Everyone was there, well okay nowhere near “everyone” … but mostly! 😛 Remembering that this was a BMC event, there were loads of non-climbers there too; walkers, skiers, anyone interested in mountains really…
Sunday was another stunning day. But we were tired (and a little hung-over), so the short approach to Black Crag Wrynose was selected. Quite a few E-points were scored by the amassed team on Glass Slipper and Yellow Wall, but mostly we enjoyed the hot weather with awesome Lakeland views in every direction. It would have been a good day for Esk Buttress or Scafell, if it hadn’t been for those hangovers and the strong wind that developed in the late afternoon.
A brilliant weekend, rounded off by a trip the Chesters – a top rate (we are talking better than Chamonix patisserie top rate) tea and cake venue at Skelwith Bridge! 😉
Yeah – I can definitely recommend Chesters (tho’ not cheap). No photos of the cakes – we ate them all too quickly. 😀
Hey, didn’t know you were over there ❓ Me and Vikki went to Grange Hut but grossly over suscribed due to somebody holding a ‘tea-party’ 😕 and no camping presently 😥 We adjourned to campsite down valley, which was very pleasant 🙂 until the dogs started barking, and continued all night 👿 Consequently, up at crack of dawn 🙄 and finished on Shepherd’s by noon, so off to Woden’s Face and Bowderstone :star: neither of which I’d been to for 20 years. Sorry, no photos :angry:
No photos! Terry, you must know that your camera is the most important part of your climbing equipment?
Terry, good wind-up, Pete really doesn’t like it when there are no pictures.
💡
Pete, glad that a camera is a piece of climbing equipment :good:
A camera is also an essential piece of caving, diving, and – in fact – “anything-ing” equipment! 😛
Dogs barking – I bet they slept all day! 😡
They did after I shot them 😈
Further to all the camera-comments, we did have a camera, its just that Vikki was on camera-strike and wouldn’t take any photos 🙂
So the talk of a 5 pound voucher was completely unfounded? buy hey, 1.50 might buy you gravy right?
did you take a picture of the amount of food you got for 1.50?
Yeah, that was wrong – but £1.50 towards dinner is better than a poke in the eye… :good:
Sorry no pix of dinner. 😳