Having spent the weekend visiting my mate Pete in Newcastle (who I used to climb with in Oz), I was keen that we should try to get out and climb as the weather was superb. We considered numerous crags and in the end decided we would get more done bouldering. Pete suggested Shaftoe, which is one of the nearest venues to the 'Toon'.
Pete had climbed a lot here, along with other members of the NMC and rated it. It is located in a lovely rural setting with the hills rolling away in the distance. The rock is a gritty sandstone and has excellent friction. It had had 2 good dry days before our visit, something to be aware of is damp sandstone holds are easier to break off.
Pete took me out to the 'Ship's Bait Cabin' area first where there are some popular introductions to the crag. We both climbed 'Galley Wall (sit start)', 'Port', 'The Thug and a few unnamed problems there. Despite the low height they all felt higher and often had very rounded top outs.
Pete on 'Port', Font 5+.
Jim on 'Galley Wall (sit start)', Font 6a.
The last problem in this area was on a seperate buttress called 'West Wall', this had a testing finish, literally having to test every possible combination of holds, before I commited to the mantle move at the top.
Searching for the best hold on 'Problem 32'.
We then moved down to 'The Ravine', where we did a few easy problems and one that felt hard for it's grade of Font 5, called 'Way Cool'. It was probably the best one we did though and felt very hard going over a bulge using a couple of finger pockets. Satisfied with what we had done, we headed off for a walk along 'Hadrian's Wall', after visiting a cafe for refreshments.
Pete on 'Way Cool', Font 5', some of the best moves of the day.
Shaftoe is a good place to spend a bit of time at, some of the boulders were a bit too damp at the base this time of year, but in a decent dry spell it would be excellent.