Not Loving Shepherds Crag Climbing

My new climbing club’s last Tue evening meet for the year – it was a supposedly easy crag so I thought I’d best attend. I have to admit to quite a bit of trepidation though as, although I’d always been told Shepherds Crag was easy-peasy and all the beginners went there, I’d never liked what I’d seen of it from a distance!

Climbing My Local Quarry at Last!

Tue 20 Aug 2019
Since I moved up to Cumbria two and half years ago, I’ve been dying to get at my local quarry for climbing. I’ve got so frustrated waiting sometimes that I’ve just scrambled up some of the easier routes without a rope. I decided I needed to join a club and then I can get to climb it properly and chose Keswick Mountaineering Club – mainly because they had it on their meets list.

Head End Quarry, Sandale

Wandhope (again) – Third Gill Exploration

Mon 15 July 2019
My last walk to Wandhope was up the unremittingly steep Third Gill Ridge. While I was slogging my way up it, I was pretty fascinated by the gill down on my left – Third Gill itself. It looked really interesting and, lately, I’ve been very interested in exploring gills. Despite being my only day off of the week and feeling pretty tired (I’m currently working full and part-time), I decided the weather was too good and I must give it a go – I could always struggle slowly up it…

Hindscarth via Far Tongue Gill

Sat 22 June 2019
After having an interview for my new job in Keswick in the afternoon, I planned to go down Newlands – I’d been on the fells a few weeks before and I’d seen a gill…

Wandhope – the Daftest Route I Could Find!

Mon 10 June 2019
As I’ve done all the Wainwrights several times each (some probably hundreds of times), I’ve started looking for new, interesting routes. Wainwright’s guides are a good starting point – this is in his North-Western Fells book. I have to say he doesn’t really recommend it and, after doing it, I most definitely don’t – but it was interesting…

Wandhope via Addacombe Hole

Wed 15 May 2019
Since peering down into the abyss once from the summit of Wandhope, I’ve always been fascinated by the coombe or hanging valley of Addacombe Hole. I noted at the time that a path bravely set off down a little ridge at the edge of the hole but was put off by the steepness above and below the hole. Recently, since my hip improved, my ambitious streak has started up again and I suddenly decided it had to be done!

Glaramara & Allen Crags

Wed 10 Apr 2019
During mine and Richard’s trip to say farewell to the folks we stay with down Borrowdale, Richard also wanted to say farewell to Langstrathdale. He wanted to see if it was as long a valley (the ‘Lang’ in the name) as he remembered…