Recently

Dinbren, climbing until it's dark, a summer evening's climbing at it's best

Climbing at it's worst: a climber is injured by a rock fall, and rescued by helicopter (the climber's ok-and making a full recovery- no serious injuries)

Some graphic flower shots from Trevor Hall today

f7a+

My 1st lead climb at this grade- Technicolour Yawn. A fantastic climb- top quality moves. Loved it.

Topping out; elation, relief, and even a touch of sadness.

OK, just damn chuffed to finish my route :¬)

(thanks for the great photos Patricia :¬)

Next: Fat Boys......

A day in the gardens

I have not photoshopped this!

Today I chopped wood- one of my favourite jobs- hard work; but incredibly satisfying

Ok, so I did photoshop this

Trevor Hall

Bubbles- the most chilled out cat I know

Dolly snoozing

The drive home- the scenic route

Broughton Liesure Centre......

Sunday: My 1st visit to the home of

Real rock holds make this the most authentic climbing experience indoors

Over a thousand boulder problems to be tried

One last go before our muscles give up

If you like classic cars.......

then click on the link below. (thanks to Blair- where do you find these gems?!)
Imagine you buy a farm in Portugal, go to enter the barn, cut off a rusted-up padlock, swing the door open, and see this:

(link fixed)

I have a plan...

The plan is to get fit for climbing.

This is how we train:

Dave bouldering on Frodsham- the 1st time I've climbed here for about ten years- happy memories

Phil makes a dynamic move on the wall he built himself, one of the regular Thursday evening sessions open to friends- thanks for making me welcome at your amazing wall :¬)

This is why we train......

Malham Cove, Yorkshire - an amazing crag- a dramatic venue - home to some of the hardest routes in the UK.

Spot the climbers at the base of the black streak.

Ali worked Raindogs, f8a, and I set my sights slightly less ambitiously on Rose Coronary, f7a.
I had a great day, successfully red pointing my route on the 3rd try, and Ali had a good day working Raindogs- particularly impressive was a clean ascent of the final 1/4 on the last go, whilst tired from the days excertions- good effort, and thanks for a great day :¬)

A sun trap- scorching conditions ("too hot" the excuse everyone had at the ready in case of failure ;¬)

A backward glance towards the crag as we leave, last light, climbers on the upper tier as well as the lower.

Fantastic day :¬D

A different perspective.....

Some of Lee's excellent shots:

spot the horizon- virtual white-out conditions Saturday

Maurice and Jester

amazing image

Sarah's boys in their field

These are some shots I took when Lee and I enjoyed a winter walk

amazing ice formations




the summit of our local 15km walk in the snow




We've finished our ginger tea and jaffa cakes, and now Lee looks ready to leave the top of Moel Famau

Why the British talk about the weather so much....

Because unlike many countries, which have climate, we actually have weather! Within 4 days. we've gone from sunbathing, to nearly 30cm of snow.

I wanted to show nature reclaiming the works of men. This is in the morning.

This is in the evening, at the time of writing, the rear window is no longer visible.

The morning after..

Water's all frozen- so Fred and Brio eat snow instead (watch the yellow stuff though boys ;¬)

My Gran's back garden this evening.

Last light gives an eerie other-worldly feel to the view.