A mammoth few days of safety checks in the equipment stores. Miles of rope and hundreds of carabiners to count, check, oil, fix, replace ready for the summer expedition season. Not the most glamorous of outdoor activities, but an essential one. I even checked through all the rucksacks and emptied pockets of rubbish, apple cores Read more

Thanks to a new sponsorship deal with the Association of Mountaineering Instructors, I’m now in possession of a very bright and shiny new set of ‘Tendon’ climbing ropes. I was very keen to get out up a cliff somewhere, but there was more pressing office work to be done first. Working indoors on such a Read more

After all the excitement of Clare’s birthday and late night of Cottage socialising, the day got off to a slow start. Neither of us had the energy to drive off to the distant cliff that we’d half planned on climbing at. Instead of racing off out into the day, we enjoyed a splendidly leisurely morning Read more

It’s been great to have been able to spend Clare’s birthday together and especially on the hottest day of the year so far! It was such a stunning morning, that we went straight from bed and into the river for a pre-breakfast birthday wake up. Bliss! We had planned on going rock climbing on the Read more

Not many photos this week as I’ve been swimming, jumping, paddling and climbing in and above the water, so not ideal camera terrain! On the whole, the weather has been glorious, so well timed for a ‘wet’ activity week. I’ve swum most evenings somewhere near The Cottage as well, which always makes for a refreshing Read more