It was a cold damp start to the day in Buxton, but we still went over to the gritstone crag of Castle Naze ‘for a look’. It was bracingly cold in the easterly wind when we stepped out of the car, but, as hoped, completely sheltered at the base of the cliff. As my hands warmed up, the skies began to clear, then the sun even came out!

Gritstone is a challenge medium to climb, often requiring some hand jamming techniques in the blank, wide cracks. Unfortunately my little fingers now refuse to move ‘in to position’, so I can’t quite climb as I used to.

A steady approach and choosing appropriate climbs meant that there was still plenty to do and the short routes felt longer.

The views were superb at our little sun trap and we could even see the high rise buildings of Manchester in the distance.

Having thought we’d only last a few minutes out in the wind, we’d left our lunch in the car. I had to run back and get it as it was so idyllic at the base of the crag. There was one other pair climbing, otherwise the place was deserted.

As the sun moved around we climbed almost all the routes in the first ‘pinnacles’ area, saving the longer and harder stuff for another day.

We climbed until just after 15:00, then set off back to Wales eventually reaching The Cottage after an extra hour sat in slow moving commuter traffic!

A fine trip away…