Pabbay
Pabbay and it’s neighbour Mingulay have become part of the British climbing Hall of Fame over the last decade, jostling in amongst the established royalty of Gogarth, Cloggy, Scafell and […]
Category Archives: UK
South Ridge Direct, Rosa Pinnacle, Arran – Hard Rock in the Bag
I started my Hard Rock journey in 1987, almost 40 years ago, with Helen on an ascent of Gimmer Crack. Here’s the entry from her climbing journal of 29 September… […]
Climbing in a Winter Wonderland
Jake’s shift pattern threw up a bonus three-day window for the second weekend of 2025 and I signed up for a provisional Scottish winter climbing adventure, more in hope than […]
The Scoop, Sròn Uladail or (Strone Ulladale)
The Scoop is by far the most difficult “tick” of the 61 routes featured in the iconic book Hard Rock, rumoured to have been included by the mischievous Ken Wilson […]
Hard Rock tick (but not the big one!) and more purile ticking
Weather and other commitments have frustrated my plans for a final push to complete the two remaining gaps in my Hard Rock ticklist. The cruddy weather has allowed a bit […]
A Long Way from Strone Ulldale
Anyone tuning in for news of Bill and Dom’s Excellent Adventures Episode 14 – The Scoop on Strone Ulldale – are in for a disappointment. Storm Lillian had other ideas […]
The Path to Rome
Apart from one tentative foray many years ago, I’d never climbed on the Llyn Peninsula. Nor had Andy. To have lived within three hours drive of such an iconic and […]
Splendid (Self) Isolation on Range West
We’ve posted a few Pembroke reports over the last year or two, often featuring the juggling and compromise required to balance all the permutations of seacliff climbing on a military […]
Doing the Rounds
You might have spotted a recent slow down in posts, and a corresponding brevity. That’s probably a relief to many of you, but for anyone missing the more regular outpouring […]
South West Seacliffs – #3 Pembroke
… and all of a sudden, it was summer! After the washout-that-wasn’t on Gower we headed further west to Pembroke to meet up with Jake and Leah for the weekend. […]
South West Seacliffs – #2 Gower
A grim day in prospect and angry swirls on the rain radar coming up from the Bay of Biscay prompted a relocation to South Wales, more in hope than expectation. […]
South West Seacliffs – #1 Devon
With the continued unpredictability of this “summer” we packed the van and deferred a decision on actual destination until the morning of departure. Spinning the “wheel of fortune” we almost […]
Gogarth and an Everest ascent
Brilliant to see so many people at Gogarth last weekend. Around 80 Rucksackers, Pinnies and various friends and family made the journey (pilgrimage?) onto Holy Island, despite the cruddy forecast, […]
Pottering around Purbeck
Helen has been out of action with a back strain for a few weeks, and was ready to start on a very gentle rehab into walking and climbing. Any plans […]
Dragon and Gob – Carnmore
The first chapter in Hard Rock features these two iconic routes, which are the most remote in the book. Accessed via an 11 miles approach from Poolewe in the far […]
Spummin Marvelous at Sgaps & Mid Clyth
The biggest frustration from my Caithness Convalescence trip last year was having to watch a succession of the Sheffield crew climbing the immaculate Spummin Marvelous, E3 5c at Sgaps (a.k.a. […]
Sarclet – a Special Place
More mixed weather and more fretting over weather apps – this time with Paul as partner in crime. The final coin toss came down to Caithness vs Pembroke, and we […]
Third Time’s The Charm at Ellen’s Geo
My relationship with Ellen’s Geo has been a slow-burn affair. From a bird-infested, wind-blasted, no-route recce in 2021 to last-year’s broken rib convalescence, I’ve departed utterly enchanted but somewhat unfulfilled, […]
Earnsheugh and Aberdeen Coast
Surveying the weather patterns across the UK, in advance of the Bank Holiday weekend, you’d be forgiven for just sticking a pin in a map. Meteo Blue were offering a […]
Rosehearty Revisited
Helen and I visited Rosehearty a couple of years ago, getting a few routes done on the slabby north face; ticking the 4* E2 Afterglow, and even putting up a […]
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