Before I even describe the climbing there, may I say hats off to the Northumbrians. The wind was strong enough to knock us over but even without it, those routes had us stumped. Bowden Doors was too exposed and Back Bowden's cliff seemed to start a metre and a half above the ground making the starts outrageously strenuous. Kyloe Out, the third crag of the day helped us regain some confidence though and we may yet return to this corner of the country. A couple of days in, we dropped in on some old uni friends of Ali's, Tom and Kate but the wind continued to blow us right off the Yorkshire crags and in the end we had to escape to the sheltered Helm Crag in the Lake District. After this the forecast was so grim that we drove straight south to Winchester for a good mum-made dinner, a much needed shower and an inside bed.
The wedding was perfect. Mum and Daj decided on a registry office service which could not have been nicer. I will admit there was emotion rolling down my face as they walked in with such happy smiles. My brother David and a friend Pete did two beautiful readings, the rings were exchanged and the book was signed. It all felt very special indeed. Coffee and cake was followed by a charismatic tour of Winchester Cathedral and we returned home for a luxurious cheese and biscuit lunch. Naps and flower arranging then preceded the evening's festivities - a photo shoot in the pub garden and a superb three course dinner with friends and family.
The photos are slowly being sorted and pimped up and given to Mum and Daj but here are just a couple to show the beautiful and jolly nature of the day.
The day after the wedding, we started the second half of the climbing road trip starting at Swanage with the newly weds and old Rua Fiola friends Justin, Sara, Molly, Rupert and Rosie. Swanage is famously adventurous climbing but it turned out only to be the beginning of our epics on sea cliffs.
Our next aim was Pembroke and we did manage a successful day at Mother Carey's Kitchen. We struggled up a loose climb to start but the rest of the climbing was glorious and in the sun. The last route of the day had my feet leaving the ground with the tide just tickling them! The next morning we had a brush with the army wanting to spend the day firing at our next crag (outrageous!) so we have unfinished business at Pembroke. Then the weather took another bad turn and we had a big chunk of day in Tescos for breakfast and MacDonalds for internet. Pembroke was sadly lacking in anywhere more appealing to sit on a rainy day... Our next reunion was with Magnus, Helen, Archie and Lizzy in Brecon. More old Rua Fiola friends who were very welcoming indeed. A long drive down to the Gower peninsula only confirmed the fact that it was raining and we drove to North Wales for more incredible sea cliffs, just perched out from under the clouds. Gogarth was surprisingly welcoming on our first day, so we stayed a second for a more notoriously "gogarth" kind of route, with damp rocks, loose rocks, treacherous top outs and wild descents. Excellent.
After North Wales we drove to the Peak District to see Jago and Sarah. Jago is a professional juggler and even having heard a lot about him, I still never quite clicked on to how professional he actually is. AMAZING and easily on a par with the likes of Cirque Du Soleil. We saw his work space too, lined with row upon row of pyro-this, flame-that and fire everything. Glowing clubs, fireworks coming out of hula hoops and crazy costumes. Quite an exciting life that couple leads!
We climbed in the Peak District with Ed (our peak district tour guide), Glen, Logan, John, Sylvie, Tom and Kate, ticking off some gritstone classics and before we started running out of time on the trip, we climbed a day at Brimham Rocks (very weird rock formations but single pitch climbers paradise!) and stayed a night with Wee Ben and Mary, more Rua Fiola people, and finished off all Ben's sloe gin! Ben is rebuilding an old ruin in Yorkshire in a beautiful little valley but at the moment is fighting with all the paperwork that comes with living in a National Park... When the place is done though he will have the most beautiful home.
We now have a small tour of Scotland to do, packing the van and cleaning clothes etc to get ready for going back to work at Ru'a Fiola. We are at Ali's parents now and soon to go back to Mull and then in only a few days time, our next adventure begins back at work. Bring on the island madness!
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