Climbing in the Peak District

Alastair BegleyRock Climbing Short Link

This weekend I headed up to the Peak for my gritstone induction. I had mixed feelings about the climbing before I went due to knowing the climbing would all be very short, hard on the hands, run out and involve lots of jamming, although all these worries were quickly put to rest once I started climbing and realised that I really rather like grit! As well as being my grit induction it was also the first time I have been away with the Avon Mountaineering Club who I joined a couple of months ago and it was a fantastic weekend, so thanks to Becky for organising it! The forecast for the weekend was a beautiful day on Saturday with a rainy day on Sunday so all the climbing for the weekend had to be done on the Saturday which meant a relatively early start leaving for the crag by 9. This would have been fine had it not been so cold, there was ice on the ground and all the turf was nicely frozen on the walk up to the crag in the wind, thankfully at the base of the. Read the full article…

A Week in Snowdonia

Alastair BegleyAviation, Landscape, North Wales, Rock Climbing, Scrambling Short Link

I have just got back from a fantastic week spent camping in Snowdonia National Park in North Wales. Heading up for a weeks camping in North Wales in October I was expecting the week to be full of wet weather and hill fog, I was very wrong with only one day being a wash out and only one day was spent with an annoying amount of time in hill fog. For the first two days I met up with the expedition society from Exeter Uni which I was a member of last year and who were in Snowdonia with 15 people for some scrambling. Despite arriving in the rain we awoke on the first morning to a fantastic sunrise over Tryfan and its North Ridge, one of the most famous scrambling routes in the UK for obvious reasons. Despite having done the scramble up Tryfan’s North Ridge about 7 times in the past 3 years every time I climb it I manage to take a slightly different route which keeps it interesting, and when the weather is good the views are spectacular and I don’t think I will ever get. Read the full article…

The Lizard

Alastair BegleyLandscape, Walking Short Link

I have just spent the weekend at the Lizard in Cornwall with some of my university friends from ExSoc who I haven’t seen since graduation in July. It was a fantastic weekend which involved little exercise, lots of unhealthy food, lots of alcohol and great weather with great company.We arrived late on Friday night so sat around the remains of someone else’s campfire catching up before heading to bed. On Saturday morning we had a very rude awakening from lots of chickens and ducks which I really did not appreciate!After a very leisurely breakfast we headed down the coast to Kynance cove where we relaxed, went swimming in the very cold water and then headed to the cafe for more relaxing and cream teas. After this we walked the half hour back to Lizard via Lizard point, the most southerly point in England. It was a lovely chilled out day which was needed after starting work and still getting used to the early mornings. We spent the evening around the campfire again before heading to bed fairly late and enjoying a nice lie in the next morning to let the. Read the full article…

The “New” Severn Bridge

Alastair BegleyLandscape Short Link

I have seen many stunning photos of a local landmark over the past few years on various photography sites but have never had the urge to visit at sunset myself. This week however my shiny new Canon 5D mark 3 arrived and put me back in the world of SLR ownership. After work when it arrived I was itching to go out and use it in anger. As it was late and the sun was setting I didn’t have much time so jumped in the car and headed out of Bristol to the new Severn Bridge which is about 15 mins from my house if there isn’t any traffic. As I was driving there I was dubious about if I would get a sunset as there was lots of cloud about especially towards the west, however as I got closer I realised the sun was sitting in just about the only hole in the stormy sky which made for a lovely sunset with some ominous looking clouds which I always enjoy in a landscape photo rather than just a plain “normal” sky. However, I have always found conditions like these. Read the full article…

Day trips climbing in far away places

Alastair BegleyRock Climbing Short Link

On Monday I start working at Rolls-Royce so I have been making the most of the last few weeks where I am free to go off climbing whenever the weather allows. Due to lots of unsettled weather over the past week I have been on two day trips to venues slightly further away than most people would call day trips as last week I headed down to Swanage in Dorset and yesterday headed to Baggy Point in North Devon both of which are around a 2.5 hour drive from Bristol. On arriving at Swanage we headed straight to the Boulder Ruckle which is approached by a very committing 40m free hanging abseil, which was made even more committing due to the fact that with high tide and the swell the easiest route out was the route I was planning on climbing combined with the fact that we were the only people there. The first route that we climbed was Lightning Wall a HVS 5a, the climb went up a groove to a huge overhang which was then avoided by traversing left to a line of weakness and some very committing. Read the full article…

North Herefordshire Hunt fun ride

Alastair BegleyEquestrian Short Link

It has been two and a half years since I last rode a horse, though I haven’t just abandoned the equestrian world as I have been regularly going out and taking photos of my sister eventing and making money from equestrian photography. However, this weekend I headed up to my grans where the horses are based and on the Saturday decided to go out for a ride. Due to a SJ lesson everyone else was busy, so after 2.5 years I went out for a ride on the rather excitable horse that I used to own. The ride was great fun and surprisingly considering the amount of grey clouds it stayed dry. The next day the North Herefordshire Hunt was running a fun ride which is where you get to ride over farmers land which would normally only be accessible during hunting in the summer for fun. The weather was great as it was warm and the sun was out for a large amount of the ride. I quickly discovered that it is hard to take photos while on horseback due to the movement of the horse but I persevered and even started getting. Read the full article…

First time Climbing on Pembrokeshire’s Sea Cliffs

Alastair BegleyRock Climbing Short Link

I have been waiting to go to Pembrokshire in order to climb on the steep limestone sea cliffs there but it’s not just a case of turning up and climbing there due to an assortment of bird bans until the end of July, many of the cliffs are within the Castlemartin firing range so they can only be accessed when the range is not being used, many of the sea cliffs can only be accessed at low tides and finally wanting good weather so it is enjoyable to be on the cliffs. Last week most of these happened so I headed over to Pembrokeshire for three days with mum, although tides were not ideal but due to calm seas and neap tides it wasn’t an issue. On the first day we arrived in the afternoon and headed to Mowing Word which is home to the classic traverse line Heart of Darkness which is given HVS 4c. This was the first route we climbed and we combined it with New Morning which is E1 5b to make it a truly fantastic three star climb by climbing the first pitch of Heart of Darkness. Read the full article…

Four Days of Climbing on Cornish Granite

Alastair BegleyRock Climbing Short Link

I have just got back from a brilliant four days sea cliff climbing down in Cornwall with my parents. Having spent most of July waiting for any nice weather to go on a climbing trip we were finally greeted with a a weather forecast which consisted of sun for an entire week so we headed off. On the first day we headed to Chair Ladder where we climbed a couple of VS routes to adjust to the rock, and it definitely took a bit of getting used after plenty of climbing on limestone. The first route that we climbed was South Face Direct which was graded at VS 4c, although a few moves felt hard for 4c but this was probably because we were not used to the rock. It was a great route with some stunning climbing and locations, though route finding wasn’t so straight forward and I did end up belaying in the wrong place which was slightly awkward given that we were climbing as a group of three! After we had done South Face Direct we abseiled back down and climbed a classic VS called Diocese which was VS 5a, the first. Read the full article…