We woke to the sound of rain on the van roof on Friday – nature’s way of telling you to take a rest day. It was time for a change of scene anyway, so we upped sticks and headed north for the Castellon province of Valencia. 

Settling into the campsite at Navajas it brightened up in time for a gentle jog along the river.

Saturday saw normal service resumed on the weather front. Big blue skies, so we headed over the 10km to Jerica. 

It was rammed, with plenty of climbers on the sectors on both sides of the gorge, just a few minutes walk away from the middle of this pretty town.

We’d been on a slightly gloomy day a few years ago, on the day of Helen’s Big Birthday. She marked that occasion with a 6a lead, which she repeated for nostalgia’s sake (a much more commonplace achievement these days! )

A less welcome trip down memory lane saw me backing off a 6c I’d tried, failed on and forgotten last time – completing a hat-trick of failures including a 7a and a 6b (the grading is a bit ‘old school’) and some of the rock is quite polished. 

However, we did manage a couple of outstanding routes, and we’re due back for a session on the right bank later in the week.