Managed to make the most of an optimistic trip over to Castle Inn Quarry, for some outdoor climbing on dry rock. Thanks to a damp start to the day and late night, there was no rush to head out. We’d had a fun and sociable night out at a local gig, dancing away to a cool band who had ventured all the way from London to play the lesser know venue of Bethesda!

The roads were still wet as we were driving over towards Colwyn Bay, so we stopped for a sandwich by the beach as the clouds began to part and we hoped that the wind would be drying the crags. The gamble paid off!

It wasn’t super warm, but the rock was dry and the sun even shone for a bit!

After climbing the main wall classic climb, we went along to the routes on Wilderness Wall at the end of the cliffs, as they were most sheltered from the wind and receiving full sunshine. They aren’t very long, but there were some nice moves and it felt good to be in the sun, before carrying on east to Chester, where a Hotel sauna awaited to warm us up!

Wilderness Wall Climbs:

• Route 1, 5a**
• Inspiration, 4a
• Birthday Boy, 5b
• Butterfly Blue, 4a
• Wilderness Wall, 5a
• Noah’s Antics, 5a