Thanks to all who joined us for the orienteering friendly at Ashton Court last Thursday. I think Alastair’s GPS trace sums up the difficulty of finding the markers:) 17 people in all took part, all staggered in pairs or solo to comply with outdoor exercise rules. The format was simple, 2 hrs to find as […]
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Cheeky Lakes weekender
“I’m too old to sit in a campsite cooking on a gas stove, we have to go somewhere we can get a meal indoors.” So shifted the plan for our annual reunion from Wales (pubs for household groups only) to the Lakes. And the obvious venue was Coniston. I only ever seem to go to […]
Thinking of doing a winter skills course? Winter skills at Glenmore Lodge …
At this time of year you might be preparing to book onto some winter training. This is a popular topic of conversation around the camp fire and the pub etc. so since a small group of us did courses together at Glenmore Lodge I thought I would share my thoughts on our experience for anyone […]
Evening trip to Blaise Castle
I didn’t fancy driving out to the Wye Valley and George couldn’t make the Tuesday or Thursday meets so we teamed up and headed off to Blaise Castle (aka Trym Gorge) instead to climb at Lovers’ Leap. Starting from a lay-by opposite the main car park (which closes after 2100), we headed in what we […]
Scottish Tradfest
After an extremely successful haul of gullies and ice last year, Pete, Cameron, Niall and I hoped to build on our success. In the days before the Scotland trip this year however, it became apparent that all of or our new ice gear would be of little use. Instead we reached for our trad racks and […]
Dog walker to Mountain Leader
In midlife I unexpectedly found myself with time on my hands. Wondering what to do with this unwanted and unappreciated turn of fortune, I considered the options. I looked into getting back into sailing but Bristol’s a bit far from good sailing locations, I thought about horse riding but couldn’t afford it and decided that […]
Climbing in Wadi Rum, Jordan
A desert trad paradise Whenever I mention climbing in Jordan, most people are surprised to hear that there is any. Not only is there climbing, if you like big adventuress trad, it may be one of the best destinations in the world. This year was my second trip to Wadi Rum. This vast canyon system has […]
30 Pitches in the Gorge
Turning 30, for some reason, is quite daunting. But what better way to mark it than by exhausting yourself in a climbing challenge? Thirty pitches in the Avon Gorge came to mind. As a complete punter, it would be difficult but still achievable. The Avon VS Challenge nicely takes up about half the pitches and is […]
Cycling across Europe
Trying and inevitably failing to sum up my three month cycle trip into a snappy sound bite for curious colleagues has debatably been more challenging than the ride itself. I am not going to attempt to do that here. Instead I will focus on one country, Switzerland, during which I also enjoyed a few days […]