Sands of Time

The weather window arrived as promised, though it was more like 90 minutes than the 8 hours the BBC had suggested! We legged it up the moor (MUCH further than it looks) to Sandy Crag, cracked of the shots I needed then raced up Angel Fingers ("the best HVS in Northumberland") just as the rain started again.
We ambled back down with the wind over shoulders, chatting away and trying to remember exactly when we were last up there. Back at the pad a check of the guidebook revealed it was September 1979 - half -a-life ago - where does the time go?

Northward one more time

A week in Northumberland was the plan to tie up the loose ends, so we slipped away early, and headed up the A1. A brief detour had me thrashing through the jungles of the Eavestones, and getting blasted on the minor grit of Crag Willas (where is that do I hear you say?) before we hauled up to classic sandstone at Simonseat and Ravensheugh.
Colin arrived and Bruce turned up too; amazingly we had Corby's to ourselves - and on a Saturday - I manage 10 routes, Binky went into overdrive with 16! My tally included Tiger Feet (E1 5a **), Sunshine Superman (HVS 5a ***) and Ranadon (E2 5b ***) all routes I had never done before.
As we packed in and headed for the cottage the rain arrived and much, much more is forecast for the Bank Holiday - especially down south!

Tidying Up

Before the great spring weather decided to break we had another weekend visit to the Dales to start tidying the Yorkshire grit section of the new Northern England guide. Conditions were superb as I skipped round Rocky Vally and Rylstone, getting a nice set of pics of these great cliffs - there were not many climbers about though!
The following week it was still superb so off we went once again - the Chevin, Caley, Earl and Eastby followed by tea and a beer in a boozer in Skipton, then a night's B&B in the pub in Eastby. The next day was another cracker so it was up to Simon's Seat, for photography, sunbathing and a bit of soloing. Its a grim job but someone has to do it!
That just leaves Northumberland to sort out - so that will be Half Term week occupied.