Windy Wharncliffe Wanderings

May Bank Holiday rolls around again and for the 2nd year on the trot we headed to Wharncliffe Crags to avoid the crowds. (An aside: When I used to teach Chemistry at the nearby High Green School 'Wharncliffe" was my nick-name - it could have been a lot worse!).
It was 'fresh' with a brisk north westerly, and the crag was quite busy. It turned out that Steve had only been there twice in the previous 20 years, so we ticked a few of the classics.
Scarlett's Wall Direct (photo) was the starter, S 4a in 'the Definitive' guide, my book gives it a more accurate HS 4c - nice one guys!
Monday we had to pack the car and get ready for Sweden - looks like it is time to head off again.

Burbage Summer Bumblings

The hottest day of the year so far; 28C or thereabouts. The shady recesses of Burbage South was the chosen venue (nice one Steve) - the crag was the busiest I have ever seen it - by a mile. Many routes were occupied and there were boulderers by the dozen scampering over those small rocks down in the valley. Our jolly group of almost a dozen sampled some of the full-on mini-classics that the Edge abounds with.
Everymans' Misery was the most striking - it has long been given VS 5a, though ascents by several members of the team (excluding yours truly!) suggested a grade of E2 5a might have been nearer the mark.
When the sun finally came round we adjourned to the Norfolk Arms at Ringinglow for a pint in the beer-garden - mellow!

Back to Blighty - Briefly!

The French month was good though hectic, now it is time to settle down and get stuck into the less glamorous side of guidebook writing - the donkey work of writing the text, sorting the shots, drawing the topos etc. It needs some long days in front of the computer though the bulk of the book is already in the bag. A day on the grit with the usual suspects plus another photographing for Peak Limestone broke the week up nicely.
Then there is the summer - current plans centre around southern Norway, possibly accessed via a freight boat from Immingham, or maybe Harwich > Esbjerg and southern Sweden. I'm looking forward to it already.