Time to Head East

Autumn in the Ariege - always a pleasure

 Eight weeks sice we left the UK, it has been the usual pleasant mix of wandering, climbing and just taking it easy. We have visited Austria, Italy and the Briançon area and then the Ariege for the past two weeks. If all goes well we should be in Kalymnos in a couple of days, in time for the autumn coolness and the clearing out of the crowds who pack the place in October.

We have been asked if we fancy three weeks cat sitting - in a château near Foix, over Christmas - can't really think of a reason not to, so it looks like we will be back!

Oldest Rocker in Town

Puntering at Sollieres

We had a week in Arco, which was pleasant enough but it was a bit too hat and busy for our tastes. The house was huge and had recently fitted aircon, but it struggled to cool the place below 24C which is a bit warm for sleeping. 

Nougat getting used to his cat bed :-)

Then onwards to Ausssois in the Maurienne via an horrendous 90 minute traffic jam at the bottom of Lake Garda - it was grim, we wondered if it would ever end. We had almost two weeks there - at 4,800' we were puffing a bit but the nights were gorgeously cool and I got a goodly amount of climbing done. I also had my 76 birthday whilst we were there, which was a bit depressing - but hey-ho, onwards and upwards.

Then we nipped through the Frejus Tunnel (€56!!!!) for a week and a half in one of our favourite pads - in Argentiere. The house came with a semi-feral cat - Nougat - which was a bonus - he loved the little cat bed we bought him. Oh - we had a look at the devastation caused by the August flahfloods up at Ailefroide, and I quite a bit of easy climbing too. Onwards to Kalymnos via Ariege next.

The end of the road - Ailefroide

 

On the Road Again

Heading out early doors - glorious Austria

 Surprisingly they let us back in and didn't even bat an eyelid - so across the Netherlands, a night in Germany and back up into the Ötztal in Austria, an area we like as it is quite high and cool, plus there is a fair bit of easy climbing there. 

A week in the lower valley was very pleasant, though the pad was a bit hot/noisy and then ten days up at Langenfeld which was great, open windows and cold nights = great sleeping.  The crags were often busy to really busy as the holidays in Germany/Austria are still on-going, but we got some stuff done for a nice gentle starter.

Did I mention some of the crags were busy? Roll on winter!

Then over the scary pass of the Timmeljoch and down into Italy for a week. Again it was a bit too hot for us to be honest, but more gentle climbing, which was just the ticket after twelve boring weeks in the UK - great to be back on the rock 'n' road again!!

 

Marking Time

Up amongst the heather and the breeze - Stanage

Once again it is that rather dead time of the year, the schools are out, everywhere is busy and of course it has been really, really hot - with no rain for at least a couple of months now and a series of heatwaves and broken records. On the plus side we have a ferry booked for ten days hence, have our fifth France six-month visa and I even got a couple of days out in the Peak, climbing with Colin.

The new garden - zero maintenance!

The flat next door has been sold and the new owners (inc Def Leppard guitarist) have done a magnificent job renovating it including a very smart garden refurb. I had a word with the guy who had done it - Apex Landscapes - and he said he could fit us in for the same treatment before we leave in late August - that'll be £9,000 thank you very much! In the event it took six guys working up to 10 hours a day in the hottest spell of the year (35C) to sort the garden - a magnificent effort, and it looks great.

We have also done lots of walks out and about, mostly not very long, but almost every day - trying to stay high to catch the breeze or down in the trees where shade is on offer. It will be nice to get up in those high chilly mountains again.
 

Welsh Wales

South from White Sands Bay - Pembroke

 In the end we had nearly three weeks in Wales, nice and quiet before the school holidays kicked in, and most of the time it was the coolest place south of Scotland - Sheffield was baking with 30C+ temps over a prolonged period so it was good to be out of that.

We had a week in North Wales first just south of Caernarfon, it was windy a lot of the time but we did some great coastal walks, visited some of the old climbing venues and enjoyed the peace and quiet of our rather nice Airbnb - where I banged my head a lot :-(

Then we moved to Pembroke for 12 days - stopping between Fishguard and Haverfordwest - not an area we know very well at all. More sunny weather and great coastal walks, which turned out to be very up and down. The narrow roads with high hedges made driving a bit of a pain - in the end we mostly stuck with main roads to cut down the stress.

Then homeward via night in Shrewsbury and the M6 toll -  quiet and expensive!!

The Rivals seen from across the bay

 

UK Bimbling

Above Reeth - amongst the debris from lead mining

We had only been back in the UK a few days when we decided a trip away would be a nice idea so we booked a mobile home above Reeth in Swaledale for week. We had a few reservations about the area, up amongst the old lead mines, and the accommodation, but in the event it was great up there, cool and so quiet. Then it was back to Sheffield and the second heat wave of the year with temperatures up to 35C which is pretty outrageous for the UK. On the way back, we called in at a garage near Barnoldswick and bought a new car, the XV has been okay but we fancied a bit more space and they had a rather smart, one year old Forester Touring - Sherri did some top class negotiating.

Then away again, to Wales, as it was forecast to me markedly cooler over there, another very smart and quiet pad near the Nantle Valley.

Alpacas - we got a bit lost on a walk!

A smart new Forester 2025

There and Back Again

The Gorgeous Maurienne

 From Argentiere we headed over and through the mountains (Frejus Tunnel = €56) as the Galibier Pass was still closed with snow, to Aussois for a couple of weeks, stopping in a pad we have used a couple of times before. While most of Europe - and the UK - suffered an early heatwave, it was spot on up at 4,900' - pleasantly warm days and lovely cold nights. I climbed nine days out of twelve and tallied up 80 routes for the month May - not something that happens very often these days. All in all, a great choice of a venue to spend our last couple of weeks in France.

Tippler Buttress the scene of epics long ago

And then it was onwards - via a couple of nights near Dijon, three longish drives, a very bumpy ferry crossing and the loop was closed - nine and a half months gone just like that.

 On day one back home we had a ride out to Stanage - visiting old haunts, with vague memories of great days on the Grit - it all seem so long ago now - I guess that's because it is!

 

Waiting for the Summer

Orgon - Bank Holiday

 We left Chez Arran and headed for Orgon, as it is only about three hours away and it is a while since we have been there. We checked out the crags on the first day and were surprised how quiet everywhere was - the campsite lady, where we went to check the guidebook told us that the bedlam started 'tomorrow' - the first of four Bank Holidays in France in May. 

The pad was right in the middle of Orgon, though it was pretty peaceful, it had brilliant aircon and a very friendly cat - so that was all good. It was pretty hot so we mostly climbed in the shade - dead easy stuff but nice for all that.

Up amongst it all - Ailefroide

Then up to Argentiere-la-Besse for a couple of weeks. Another very nice pad, owned by a lady climber who knew all about my books, and again with a (rather shy) cat - it doesn't take a lot to make us happy. There weather was rather unsettled, cool and windy, with some rain and very chilly nights, but again we got out climbing occasionally and had a couple of great walks up in the mountains at Ailefroide.

Three Months On

Back to the Pyrenees

 It is three months since I last Blogged, which has never happened since my first post back in late 2006. Of course the change is because I use FaceBook as a daily diary now so Blogger has become a little redundant, though it remains a great way of keeping a broad overview of what we have been up to down the years.

Saltburn = Bedlam

So to keep it brief, after Solius it was back to Chez Aran for about five weeks or so - we did a bit of climbing and a lot of photography and droning for the next guidebook that might be out in a year or so. Also there was plenty of pleasant hikes and a good amount of cat action which is always nice

Part way through our stay Sherri's mum (93.9 years) died after quite a long illness. We flew home for a couple of weeks for the funeral and to help Sherri's brother Mike start the sorting of the one bedroom flat that was packed to the gunwales with stuff. We stopped in a nice farmhouse just three miles from Saltburn, the contrast between the peace of the North York Moors and a chaos of the seaside was extreme.

Then back to the Pyrenees - first time into Schengen with the new EES system (no Passport stamping) for a final couple of weeks. Old boy Tiger (cat) was in quite a poor state when we arrive, John and Jacci though he was on his way out - but Sherri hand fed him for a few days and soon he back to his normal sprightly 14 year old self.

Plateau de Beille in mint conditions

And finally back on the road UK-wards with a stop off at Orgon for starters - best not rush the trip, as it is one of our favourite times of the year.

 

Heading for the Blanca for a few late jobs

 

View from the terrace

A month on the Blanca was very pleasant, a few jobs to complete the new guidebook - 570 pages compared to 90 for the first one back in 1990, some lovely accommodation, and reasonable weather, though the incessant wind was a bit of a bugger.

Back to the Ariege - same as it ever was

Then up to the area inland form Gandia for a week - a bit of climbing, a fair bit of walking and lots of free oranges - and still windy.

Next the Ebro for a three days - back to Eucalyptus, right on the tip of the Delta - always a great spot to visit.

Then five days in some fancy golf course pad close to Solius on the Costa Brava - two days climbing on the lovely granite there.

And finally back to Chez Arran to get shots for a rewrite 13 years after the first edition of the Ariege guidebook - one of out favourite areas as it is always so quiet.