Members:  Dave Wylie, Midge Castick, John Castick, Peter Walker, Alan (Liverpool) Jones, Roger Dyke  (6)

On Thursday, the forecast was for sunshine: by Sunday morning it was for cloud, showers at lunchtime, followed by rain. Peter, Alan and Roger drove out through steady drizzle. But the crag was dry and stayed dry!

Lunch was enlivened by tales of visits to Birchen long ago by Peter, and highlights of the Tour de France from John and Midge.

After the wet drive out, Peter had left his climbing gear in the car so he went off with John and Alan for a walk along the edges.

Dave and Roger zipped up ten routes in total, followed on most by Midge in her walk-and-climb shoes, which mysteriously gripped better than Roger’s ancient rock boots. (Midge: “Weren’t those made before sticky rubber was invented?”)

Most of the 96 vertical metres we clocked was VD, but our best two routes were our last two: our hardest: Dave’s lead of ‘Visitors Only’ - a Hard Severe none of us had done before – and our easiest, a mass solo of Roger’s favourite Mod, ‘The Gangplank’.

Back at the cars just as the rain arrived……

Climbing, walking, running, bouldering, caving (well, one), sheltering from the rain, eating, sleeping, getting fried by the sun… it’s all here.

Ten minutes easy walk from the car park at SK281723 (get there early to park easily), sunny airy crag that dries fast if there has been a shower overnight – and a great choice of routes.

Even a pub to have a coffee afterwards!

Bouldering from V0 4a (even I can do that) upwards.

Climbing Diff to E2 – with lots of really good VDs and VSs.

Fairly short routes – 20-40 ft – but over 160 of them, and half are Severe and below.

Meet 10.30 onward below Trafalgar Wall, where there is an excellent VD, a Severe, two HSs and a VS for a start. Just for fun, the VD has a 4a start and the VS is 5b.

To the right from Trafalgar….. Yo-Ho Crack is 20 ft of pleasant well-protected VD. And it’s surrounded by other VDs and Severes.

Further right is rafts more at similar grades, and further right still the excellent Horatio’s Horror HS and Nelson’s Nemesis VS 4b.

Left from Trafalgar, the classic Topsail VS 4c – my reach and a tight toprope help me with this.

Just a little further left, the beautiful Sail Buttress, HS 4b: the 4b is for getting onto the starting block!

Then it’s one minute’s walk left to Emma’s Slab with its excellent collection of 40ft Severes and VS’s, including my personal favourite Emma’s Dilemma S 4a with its interesting start and even more interesting finish, both well-protected. It always surprises me when I lead the finish – and I haven’t fallen off it yet.

The sun will be on the rock by 11 and we’ll all have a grand day……