Escaping some iffy weather in Istria we hoped to sample the climbing on Krk (a handy island destination because it is now connected via a now free bridge), but that plan was snookered by an inch of rain overnight. Instead, we wound our way gently down the impossibly lovely and unspoilt Adriatic coast, with barely a vehicle on the road, and ever-present views down to the sparkling sea. There’s a huge amount of rock about, but surprisingly little climbing between Rijeka and Karlobag (in fact nothing featured in our newly acquired 2022 selected guide to Croatia – remarkable as it covers 72 climbing areas!) However, the Vertical Life App threw up a possible seaside stop-off about halfway between the two, so we set the sat nav for Lukovo to check out this newly-developed crag.

A few alarming hairpins (or serpentines as they seem to be termed hereabouts) bring you down to this tiny village and it’s picture-postcard harbour.

It might well be heaving in summer, but in mid October we could park on the sea front and it’s an easy 10mins stroll around to the crag (you need to head up a diagonal tarmac path behind the first row of houses, then follow your nose down a few stone steps before hugging the coast to reach a pebbly beach).

The combination of beach and crag, just 50m apart, would have been an absolute winner when we had tiny people in tow.

The crag itself is pretty decent – around 25m high and with a couple of dozen routes from 5c to 6c, most of which have names written at the base (helpful as there are a few additions since the guidebook).

The rock is super-sharp, and hopefully it’ll settle down as it gets more traffic. No complaints about the quality of the gear though. Lukovo Express, 6a, was enjoyable if stiff:

… but Gondwana, 5c, was outstanding

… and the view from the top isn’t bad!

Shame we hadn’t arrived earlier to climb for longer, but that just means we’ll have to come back!