Climbing the Bomb Rocks at Charnwood Lodge

Since the 2006 Countryside Right of Way Act a large section of grassy upland has now become open to the public near Charnwood Lodge. A rocky outcrop there known as the Bomb Rocks offered the potential for
some bouldering on some potentially unclimbed boulders and the setting of routes. Even though today was overcast and autumnal we still went out and had a crack.

From the south the Bomb rocks look like the picture above. The Boulder on the right hand side was the most obvious one to climb given that it was the largest (about 15 feet) and nicely pointy at the top.The south face of it offered an easy climb with horizontal cracks for fingers. I couldn't find much low down though for a sitting start. I name this South Bomb and from a standing start its a VB but I don't know what its sitting start is - because I couldn't do it.

From the East the boulder is easily climbed. Hand holds and foot holds line the ridge. The only downside was that even after all the millions of years since this igneous (lava bomb filled) rock set it still had quite a lot of sharp glassy bits in it. I name this East bomb and its a VB.

From the north the boulder offers a little bit more potential. From a sitting start and not using the easy hand holds on either edge of the boulder. Its not too difficult maybe a V0. So I name this route North Bomb. 

And here I am climbing North Bomb. To the south of this boulder there is another nice warm up boulder. It lacks height but it has some great holds.

Just when I thought I thought I had seen all the climbing that was there to see I wondered over the top of the rocks to the north west and came across this little beauty of a cliff. 

This is the cliff from the south west. Plenty of scope here.

This is the cliff from the north west. Though it is sloping back it must be about 16 feet high. I couldn't resist having a go climbing the pinnacle on the end (central in this picture). The first time I came off. Not able to find a good enough hand hold on the left to allow me to reach for the final hold on the right. So on a second go I found some comfy places to stick my feet and trusted that they wouldn't budge (even though my left hand was unreliable) and with a quick push of my legs I found the top of the pinnacle. So I call this Charnwood Pinnacle and its probably a V1.  

Climbing in Snowdonia

The last week we have been on a family holiday in North Wales. On the way home we took a drive through Snowdonia and stopped at Llynnau Mymbyr near Capel-Curig. 

With a fantastic view of Snowdon (above) the girls had some great fun on the boulders that lay at the side of the road. 

I was quite impressed with Ev. When she was climbing up this diagonal crack she used her left foot to stop herself from over rotating with the reaction force of her right foot. She wasn't trying to have four points of contact. She was finding her own equilibrium.

After a good send, one happy boulderer.

Indoor climbing

One of the things that I have been doing up to now is taking the girls to The Climbing Station in Loughborough. It is a nice indoor bouldering and climbing wall. I like it because the low walls and crash mats allow for easy traversing as well as sending. It gives the girls the opportunity to climb around on any holds they like without ever getting higher than they want to be. Only one of the walls slopes back, but it has some nice easy holds at the bottom of it. 

Today it was the time for Ev to climb. It was good to see her trying different holds. Its all too easy as an adult to instruct children towards the good holds, but this takes away that self discovery and evaluation of holds. She didn't get too far but she had a good go. 

First reconnaissance of Pillar Rock

So where did this desire come from? Back in May this year I fulfilled a lifetime ambition of staying at the Black Sail Youth Hostel in Ennerdale in Cumbria.

Now Youth Hostels are often atmospheric, but the Black Sail is something else. The walls have climbing history soaked into them. When I arrived at the hostel and entered the common room I was instantly taken by the charm of the place. A scene of damp walkers and lots of gear crammed into a small, but comfortable space, alongside an evening of beer and heroic mountain stories left me feeling inspired.

I had planned to do several things whilst there, including swimming in Ennerdale Water, cycling down the track, walking the hills and maybe doing a little bit of scrambling up near Pillar. I spent a lazy morning slowly creeping, with aching muscles, up the Shamrock Traverse until I was within sight of the stone fortress that is Pillar Rock. From the East it looks utterly unclimbable however it is from this direction that it is most easily climbed. 

I scrambled up on Pisgah and looked across at Pillar Rock High Man. Vertigo and exposure swirled around my head leaving me terrified but yet totally convinced that I would be back to climb this. 

When the journey lay all ahead

This blog started as a non purposeful documentation of my wanderings around and musing at wildlife and nature. However after several years of not updating it my life has moved on and things of great importance now seem insignificant and things of no great significance now seem important.

I have always liked climbing and being in the outdoors. Now I have children I want them to also share in the joy of being out there on the rock and savoring life at its richest. So here is the challenge that I am setting myself. To take my children and climb three technically easy but exposed classic routes.
1) Pillar Rock
2) The Inaccessible Pinnacle
3) The Aaonach Eagach

I am confident that I could climb all three next week. However my children are all under five years old. Though I do not plan to take them climbing these routes just yet, I do want to steer their childhoods so that before I am too old we can climb these together. What this blog will now become is a documentation of the years of training and practice that will go into my kids so that when the time comes we are successful at reaching the summits of these three legendary British climbs.

When the journey lies all ahead you are at the best part of the whole adventure.

Pillar rock.

Spiders in the Garden

 Two spiders in the garden. The first Philodromus Philodromidae.

The second a delightfully emerald Araniella Araneidae

Insects at Ashover

I have wanted to see one of these for ages. Black & red froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata) sunning itself on Blackberry leaves.

Green-veined white (Pieris napi)

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)Dance fly (Empis tessellata)

Nettle Weevil (Phyllobius pomaceus)

The nymph of a Green Plant Bug (Calocoris alpestris)