We decided to have a semi-rest / semi-active day today, starting with a nice stroll down to the bakers for some fresh croissants as a late breakfast. What a commute to have…

Later in the day we went for a bit of an ‘explore’ to see what the climbing was like on our local crag. The cliff has only recently been developed and the routes have literally been brushed clear of thick moss. We knew we’d be in for a dusty day, but thought that a little ‘traffic’ on the route should help things along. It turned out (as expected), we were a bit too early to the party. The climbing is going to be great in a few years time, but the bottom pitch was already re-covered in moss and pine needles.

The black rock was almost too hot to touch once we got above the tree line! It’s a shame it was so dirty are the rock underneath was really good. Perhaps it’ll clean up over time… However the views were superb and it was nice to be able to look down on our village and see the river we’d walked along early in the day.

We didn’t bother with the top pitches (which did look good), and returned to base feeing a little frazzled by the sun, and coated in a sweaty layer of dust and moss!

We were heading up Route 2 on the topo.

In the evening, we went down to Egliers, (where we’d stayed last year), to see John and Steve who were packing up camp in preparation of the long drive north tomorrow. It was a fun night hanging out in the campsite bar and swapping stories of our respective two weeks in the area…

Climbing at Grayson:

• L’Chappée Belle, 5b, 5c, 5b, 4b (climbed the first pitch – destined to be a great route once it cleans up!)