As a club we've not had a good success rate in terms of the weather for our recent trips to Northumberland, and perhaps because of this it was a sadly depleted group of 2 who made it to Bellingham last weekend. Either that, or everyone wanted to stay at home and watch the foopball.
For once, the weekend was forecast to be warm and sunny, but form seemed to have reasserted itself when Saturday dawned overcast and windy with occasional drizzle. Not to be deterred by a bit of discomfort, we headed for Selby's Cove, which the guidebook said was sheltered; also it faced west, which we hoped would offer some protection from the cold north wind. Some protection was indeed given, though not quite enough, and we spent most of the day climbing in more clothes than we wore in the depths of winter.
It's not a bad little crag, but judging by the vegetation, not climbed on that much. The main routes were clean enough though. We started with The Corner (Severe ***), Carmen kindly offering me the lead when she saw how steep it was. An excellent route, which would be top end HS anywhere other than Northumberland. Next Carmen led The Arete, a nice Diff (more like boldish VDiff), then it was my turn again with Lichen Wall, allegedly VDiff. This turned out to involve about 5m of unprotected climbing up a slightly overhanging wall on ever-shrinking holds, and by the line described in the book would be at least VS 4b, probably harder. I took a line slightly further left, which was less steep, with bigger holds, and allowed some side runners to be placed, but still felt VS 4b. Finally, I led Holly Tree Wall (Severe *), which would be a good route (with a hard jamming start, maybe S 4c) if it weren't for the fact that the ledge at the top had been recently vacated by nesting ravens, so the rock was mainly white and smelly.
The only remaining routes were a 3 pitch Severe traverse (which we didn't fancy as the 'best' pitch led through the deepest section of guano), or were VS and above, which given the harsh grading we didn't fancy risking. But by now the sun was out, so we stopped off at Simonside North on the walk back. Carmen led Innominate Crack (VDiff **) a nice route and amazingly the grade was right. After I'd spent an age repeatedly failing to work out the crux move of Flake Corner (MVS 4c*) before retreating ignominiously, we finished with a quick ascent of Great Chimney, a brilliant 3-star Diff.
Sunday's weather was much better – bright sun with just enough breeze to keep the midges off, so we headed for Crag Lough, a fine crag on the Whin Sill buttresses immediately below Hadrian's Wall. Despite the weather, the fantastic views, and the large number of multi-starred routes at VS and below, we had the entire crag to ourselves until about 5pm when 2 other pairs arrived. We'd hopped to have a look at the classic HS's of Main Wall and Great Chimney, but a nesting kestrel made it clear that our presence wasn't welcome, so we stayed well clear of that part of the cliff!
Once again the guidebook grades bore little resemblance to the actual difficulty. Routes climbed:
– Spuggie's Gully (VDiff **). A fine lead by Carmen up steeper-than-they-looked cracks, passing nesting jackdaws (sorry) on the way.
– Raven's Tower (MVS 4b ***). My lead, that rarest of beasts an overgraded Northumbrian route. It deserved all of its stars though.
– Tarzan's Mate (VDiff **). Carmen again, and a return to reliable Northumberland sandbaggery. Probably (H)S 4b, but at least the gear was good.
– Hadrian's Buttress (Severe ***). This one took a while! I spent ages working out how to leave the ground, and then higher up I met another impasse that took another aeon to solve. A classic route, but definitely VS 4c!
Finally we wandered along to Peel Crag, a continuation of Crag Lough, where I led Sunset (MS ***). I'd already done this on our previous visit (7 years ago!), and it was just as good as I remembered it – thoroughly recommended to anyone, whatever grade you climb at (unless it's Mild Severe or below, as this one is really a tricky severe, especially the start).
A fantastic weekend – for those who stayed at home, I hope the England match was half as good!
More photos here.