Climbing road trip. Peak District,Yorkshire.

---

With the weather being very unpredictable, as usual in the UK, we decided not to risk a venture over to the lake district.
We filled up the car and headed off to the peak district, and a climbing area named Windgather.
We soon found out why it was aptly named Windgather, as strong cold winds nearly had us blown off the top of the crag.
we set up and climbed a couple of easier routes, in preparation for our drive to the rock climbing Mecca that is Stanage.
After windgather we headed off to a disused quarry for a quick blast on a couple of sport climbing routes, i struggled up a supposedly f5+ which was more of a 6a, i was certainly not strong enough to master the crux and the finishing move to the final bolt.......
Ilona led her first sport route in good style, .....to the pub it is then!
After a very cold night in the tent and farmers field we woke to very crappy British weather, thick fog!
we would be probably have had a better sleep in a fridge truck, as our sleeping bags are still bobbing up and down somewhere at sea, on their way back from Australia.

With the crap weather we decided that we would shop for a wedding dress in Manchester........................

next day we finally had the chance to get over to Stanage,
Stanage's naturally weathered Millstone Grit face is now known as a highly popular location for rock climbing in the Peak District. The edge runs four miles north from the Cowper Stone to Stanage End. It is the northernmost of an almost continuous line of cliffs, including Burbage Rocks, Froggatt Edge, Curbar Edge, Baslow Edge and Birchen Edge. It is the scene of some classic hard grit routes of the 1980s first climbed by protagonists such as Johnny Dawes and John Allen
Although the edge reaches only 30 m in height it is one of the most famous UK climbing venues: aside from having a plethora of routes close to a major population centre, it is home to the route Right Unconquerable (HVS 5a), which, when first climbed by Joe Brown in 1949, was considered a milestone achievement in British climbing.
First route i tried was a classic V diff, "Heaven Crack" which after a few trouser filling moments and a few mumbled words such as "who the F@@k graded this route?" and Ilona shouting "why don't you just climb back down?" as i was hanging 15m up in a jamming crack.
We finished our day with a few more easy routes and headed to the local youth hostel.
At the youth hostel, situated only a stone throw from from the cliff, we bumped into the strangest odd ball we have met in a long time!!!
We walked through the rear car park and suddenly a guy emerged from the back of a car, "are you German?" he asked.
"No, Swedish and English"
"oh, pity, i am an activist" he then started to beat his drum about immigration and dairy farms???
strange considering he was about 50 years old, and was sat in the back of his own car in a hostel car park. weirdo!!!

---