We set out from Chester this morning anticipating a day in the Boardroom Climbing Wall at Deeside, but things were looking much sunnier than anticipated. Outdoors always wins over indoor climbing for us, so we crossed our fingers and carried on to the nearest crags. It was dry when we arrived, but we had not factored in the fact that a gale would be blowing across the cliff faces. We wrapped up with all our layers and set off!

We found a semi sheltered alcove of crags and set about climbing the routes as fast as we could as we could see rain approaching in the distance. While the bottoms of the climbs felt okay, the lower-offs at the top were flapping in the wind and hard to reach! We had to hang on tight to avoid being blow off!

Despite the wind, it stayed dry as we climbed and the sun even came out for a bit!

Feeling a little moisture blowing in on the winds, we decided not to push our luck and quit while we were ahead. The first proper raindrops fell as we drove away and by the time we had descended down to the A55, the heavens opened and it’s continued to pour down all afternoon back here at The Cottage. We arrived home very happy to have had a dry trip away, with two outside climbing days and a great cycle tour.

Castle Inn Quarry Climbs:

– Taid, 4c

– Ffrind, 4a

– Nain, 4a

– Cariad, 5a