On Saturday we were quite tired and our muscles were stiff, and as the weather wasn’t wall to wall sunshine we thought we’d take the opportunity to finish off some more landscaping in the garden.
Luckily on Sunday the sun was hot again, so we could rest from the garden and get back out on the rock. Not having had much of a rest on Saturday, so our other muscles were stiff, we chose Castle Rock – short walk-in and excellent rock in glorious sunshine. It didn’t matter that we would repeat routes we’d already climbed, they’re all classics.
We started with Kleine Rinne and Failed Romantic – a duo we’ve done before, but they’re good to test the head space. They’ve both got tricky starts, and Failed Romantic reminded me that my forearms really aren’t very strong.
The rock at Castle Rock is just wonderful. It started off quite cool while we were in the shade, which was useful while I got my head together. I made it to the steep groove on Kleine Rinne just before the sun reached that critical angle where it would blind you as you look for that crucial jug – phew! – easy when you know where the holds are.
As the sun came round the rock warmed up beautifully but there was still a nice cooling breeze at the top. We couldn’t ask for a better day.
We finished off with Direct Route and Gazebo. Another two classics – perfect rock, perfect holds. Direct Route has another awkward start, but it eats up gear so it’s super safe. Gazebo has a lovely slab after an interesting corner and can easily be done in one pitch if the rope work is right.
Only four routes – but we’re on holiday – so we went to Ambleside in search of cakes!
“… in search of cakes!”, and ended up buying a shirt to wear to our posh dinner on Wednesday evening…