Galloway sea cliffs – meet report

Galloway sea cliffs – meet report

Eleven of us made it to Galloway over the course of the meet. Marian, Mary and Kathy joined from a 5 day cycling trip in the area. Friday afternoon we climbed on Crammag Head – on Viking Zawn; difficult to identify the routes, some of which remain a mystery and one of which is now minus a large block. On Saturday – we climbed at Mull of Galloway, Carrickcorie. Routes included ones put up by club members Martin, Pat, Dave and Linda in 2000: Old Whippersnappers, Anemone Action, Ruddy ‘ard Kipperling, Friends in High Plaices, Happy as a Sand Martin – and others. Clearly some route naming fun in the day. On Sunday we went back to Crammag Head –Lighthouse walls. The guidebook supplement written by a local climber was very helpful with a lot of worthwhile routes at easy grades. Poor weather on Monday meant those remaining retreated to sodden Sheffield.

All the joys of sea cliff climbing: tricky route finding, abseiling in and some loose rock. Wonderful atmosphere with pounding waves, dolphins, sun on the sea and views of distant land. Some top quality climbs. If we go again its worth seeing if a new guide has come out. The SMC web site records a lot of new climbs since the 2004 guide, many at easy grades, but these will be easier to locate with diagrams. Worth taking cycles as a poor weather option. The Galloway coast path would also be worthwhile. Welcome to Em and Tomasz on their first away meet. Thanks to the cycling team for booking a chalet which provided a warm haven in the evenings.