Today I had the chance to get some personal outdoor climbing in. It doesn’t happen very often – I think the last time may have been September. I’m fortunate enough to have a local climbing partner, who introduced me to rock climbing while I was still a teacher, but opportunities don’t arise too often when we’re both free. However, today was one of those days that couldn’t have worked out better. Good weather, friendly company and great climbing – the perfect combination!

We started off with a few bolted sport routes on Impact Wall, before turning to the more traditional way of climbing by placing out own protection on Railway Buttress. This always feels more like ‘real climbing’ to me, but certainly carries greater risks. I was therefore rather pleased with myself for leading a couple of awkward routes, at the limit of my current climbing grade, without too much bother. As the afternoon wore on, we moved over to Suspect Wall where we finished off the day with a couple more bolted sport routes, including 2 that must have only been put up recently as they don’t appear in the guidebook.

A fantastic day – Thanks Ranjit.