No, not a trip report from an expedition to ScrewFix (though perhaps that would be more exciting!), this is a roundup of the shower-dodging exploits from the last couple of weeks – mostly of the sport climbing variety…

First up, a Wednesday Evening meet with The Rucksack Club to Frogsmouth – an unusual bolted sandstone quarry in the urban surroundings of Runcorn. Very accessible (if you find the right path) in a couple of minutes from the parking, but the easy access comes at a price – it’s a well-used spot by local youths, with attendant litter of cans and waft of weed.

A glorious evening followed a few showery days, and though the rock was largely dry it was quite sandy in places. Happily the bolting has been thoroughly modernised (thanks Mark!) since the early days of miscellaneous ironmongery and huge rusting coach bolts. Still worth bringing a clip stick but leaving your ego at home – they don’t give ’em away, though it might be a style you adapt to.

Neil on Just another 50, 6a+ (Really?!)

Ade on Horoscope, 6b (desperate start!)

Me on Wall Street, 6b+

… and no pics of Dogsbody Arete, 6b, and the pick of the bunch.

Next day, chasing a weather window and a change of scene, Jake I headed to Chapel Head Scar – Jake’s first visit and my first in a decade or more. A bucolic idyl, quite a contrast to Frogsmouth!

My agenda was to tick a couple of routes from the few remaining gaps in Chris Craggs’ Limestone 100 book: Moonchild and Lunatic. Originally E4 and E3 respectively, and recommended as a combo, via the Moon-Loon connection, both have now been retro bolted. At 6c+ and 6c they’re still not pushovers, and I was glad to have the clips in from Jake’s warm-ups. Moonchild in particular is outstanding (and must have been a stiff test at E4).

Jake upped the ante a bit with a very smooth ascent of Wargames, 7b+. His verdict: Really very good, a rare example of UK lime which compares to the best on the continent! Not 7b+ though. Loose second bolt a nice excuse to have the third pre-clipped, especially as the start was v soggy. I’d have been a long way off doing the start even if bone dry, but would agree that the upper wall is absolutely superb.

Jake also onsighted Super Dupont, 7b+ (and more in keeping with the grade, he reckoned).

I would have been more than happy to call it a day, but a late appearance by Paul prompted “just one more route”. Tufa King Hard, 6c, proved a case of Tufa King Tired for me, with a really tough last move to cap some outstanding climbing – another route that could safely bear comparison with the Continent’s finest. Here’s Paul on the start…

Back to another post-Industrial hole in the Peak, tagging along with Jim and George, who’d arranged to explore the esoteric cragging on offer at the National Stone Centre. Helen and I visited a couple of years ago when the first routes had only just been put up, and vowed never to return again. In fairness, time and traffic have enabled a bit of settling down, and there are a few decent lines now.

North East Quarry is probably the most extensive bit of rock, with Frustration a decent 6a+ warm up

Turning Swords into Ploughshares a good 6b with a tough crux:

… and Scarlet Thread, 6b+, a genuine classic in the making. We also nipped into Shaw Quarry (a short stroll away) for Shaw Thing, 6a+, and Get Shawty, 7a, on a short but interesting slab.

My next climbing was as much of a surprise to me as anyone – I found myself participating in a bouldering comp! I’d been invited by the lovely people at SubStation Macclesfield to run a pop-up CAC stall at their Sub Tropical summer comp, and arriving a bit early found myself with time to spare for a quick whizz around the problems. Needless to say I didn’t trouble the podium, but I did enjoy myself (note to self – must go bouldering more often).

Another window seized from the sogginess saw Hamish and me head to The Roaches (no bolts there you’ll be relieved to hear!) Some fine climbs including Bachelor’s Buttress (Fred Pigott 1913 – Wow! – Rucksack Club legend!), Safety Net, E1 5b, on the Skyline (tougher than I remember it!) and Wombat, E2 5b (which Hamish flew up despite the damp, which saw me dangling unceremoniously on a top-rope).

No rummage through a miscellaneous Bag of Bolts would be complete without a foray to Stoney, and Helen and I managed to bag a couple of YECTOYDs between showers on Garage Buttress.

Surely August can’t be as bad as July? Fingers crossed for a break in the weather, and meanwhile hopefully this has provided a bit of entertainment to pass another damp day.