by Graham Dolman
Whilst some of our brethren were surviving on a diet of bread and smelly cheese in a foreign field somewhere south of Paris, seven of us were enjoying a traditional bank holiday weekend of proper breakfasts, real beer and curry in Pembroke. And climbing, of course.
The weather on Saturday and Sunday was perfect – cool with clear skies. Unfortunately, a combination of mid day high tides and heavy seas meant that suitable climbing venues were somewhat restricted unless one wanted a soaking. Even then, as Paul found out as a wave crashed over his head at the foot of Front Line. Trade routes at Crickmail, Saddle Head, Stennis Head and St Govans all got traffic during a very full Saturday.
Sunday saw an early start for the threesome excused washing up duties in order to get on Blue Sky before the sea and the crowds. The rest of us did a temporary partner swap and headed for Mother Careys for high tide ascents of Rock Idol and Strait Gate. In the interests of exploring pastures new (for me, at least) we headed over to Becks Point to get sandbagged on a VS, followed by an amazing scoopy jug fest on Magic Flute on the Scoop Wall (climbing in and out of a tube on the way – memorable and well worth the effort of waiting for low tide).
Monday resorted to bank holiday drizzle. Our intrepid 3 managed a couple more routes at Pembroke, the rest of us bailed out to the Wye Valley and a first exploratory visit to Tintern Quarry, a couple of clip up routes and more (real) beer.
Font ? who needs it ?