UKC

As I sit here resting my sore tendons this weekend unable to climb or train and with lockdown coming to an end in the not too distant future, it’s given me time to think. 
 

Where will people be travelling too or visiting to boulder once all restrictions have been lifted? 

Font, obviously. I’ve got a couple of months holiday saved up, so a rental in Milly la Foret and a daily walk into the forest.

Font is a likely first international trip if we are allowed to go. French new cases are much higher than UK at the moment.

After Lockdown 1.0, my first domestic trip was to Dartmoor. The combination of sharp granite and soft skin led to significant loss of blood. I’ll be looking for some polished limestone this time. The Cuttings, maybe.

I went to  Dicken Rocks / Lower Gorple - ouch! Lasted about an hour. 

Anywhere with actual hills and enough space to be a very, very long way from other people!

(I live in a block of flats with rather thin walls and some ... interesting ... neighbours.)

The hills. I don’t really mind where just as long as I can happily roam for a couple of days away from normality. Scrambling, climbing, bouldering can come later. 

I hear the far south of England is quite good. The Lakes, by contrast... awful, awful place. We're all constantly miserable here and it rains every day. No point flocking up here this Easter.

The far south? No, don't waste your time coming this way. Here in Devon we normally have horizontal rain and no rock other than crumbly crumbly red sandstone.

There's also predictions of there being a plague of grockles this year. Those pests can ruin a good summer at the best of times.

Edit: repetition

You'll all be better off if the grockles stay away forever, then.

I'm lucky to be able to walk to some bouldering and trad from my house. 

But a proper trip would be to Font to do the trip I had planned last year. 

Oh, horizontal rain  and crumbly sandstone, eh? Well, lah-dee-dah. Up here, the water cycle gets so strong that when it rains it pelts us with rock. Horizontally and vertically. And we're glad for it - just to experience a little novelty.

Strong water cycle? Sounds lovely that - I'll have to come up to experience that for myself sometime. Novelty down here counts as getting weather clement enough to actually climb something. The wind gets so strong down here I once flew my mate on lead to the top of Berry Head quarry like a kite.

Ha! Brilliant! Reminds me of the time I rapped off Gimmer and wound up on the Isle of Man. Cheaper than the ferry, I must say, though organising an abseil back proved tricky...

Ferry?! Luxury! Down here we'd have to do a tyrolean...

Same places I've been visiting all through lockdown, probably. 

I'm planning to go home. Haven't been home since September last year. 

Sounds like every man and his dog will be going to Font (Including me hopefully)! See you all there.

Before we can do that though I think a Portland trip is well overdue