A week ago, I took part in a four-day winter skills mountaineering course in Scotland. The trip was a lot of fun. Great group of adventurous people from all types of backgrounds and of all ages, men and women. Only problem was the weather. Not enough snow to actually use ice axe and crampons. Too stormy to attempt the Ben Nevis summit via the ridge. As luck would have it, the day after we left the conditions became perfect. UPDATE 29 March 2023: According to various news reports the Indoor Ice Climbing Wall seems to have closed for good. So sad. No more indoor ice climbing course UK. MORE TIME AT OUR HANDS THAN EXPECTED AT THE INDOOR ICE CLIMBING COURSE UK We managed to get a fair bit of hiking done nonetheless. However, all days were cut short and we usually returned mid-afternoon, beaten by the hail […]
Crowborough Caves, East Sussex – Excellent Caving Just Outside London?
How did I come across Crowborough Caves, the ‘subterranean jewel of East Sussex’? Ms B & I like caving. So recently I googled for caves close to London and these caves popped up. CROWBOROUGH CAVES’ WEBSITE, LOGO, SOCIAL MEDIA They come with a full-blown website, professional logo, and continuously active social media presence. Until very recently they also had a great ranking on Tripadvisor with plenty of reviews. NO DOUBT ABOUT THE IMAGINARY NATURE OF CROWBOROUGH CAVES Already the third or fourth Google match links to a Reddit group that extensively discusses the imaginary character of the caves. The matches that follow split equally between fake sources waxing lyrical about the caves and articles discussing the non-existence of the caves. Wikipedia marked the Crowborough article for deletion. The reasons for deletion make an interesting read in their own right. CONSPIRELUNKERS VS CROWBOROUGH CAVES Many reviewers and commentators are very […]
Paddleboarding with Somerset Adventures in Creech St Michael
During a recent trip, Somerset Adventures very kindly invited me to go paddleboarding in Somerset with them. As usual, whenever Ms B and I go on a trip these days, the weather forecast was horrific. Then the forecast was gradually amended when it came closer to the day. It turned even more abominable. YOU CAN’T CHOOSE THE WEATHER WHEN PADDLEBOARDING IN SOMERSET Obviously this is not Somerset Adventures’ fault. To the contrary, I very much appreciated them acting responsibly and not taking any risks. That said, the weather forced us to reschedule the trip twice. Initially I had been looking to do some paddleboarding in Somerset in the sea along the cliffs. Then we had set our minds on a canyon-like fast-flowing river inland with some of the county’s best beauty spots. LET IT RAIN During the day when my paddleboarding in Somerset experience was scheduled, one month’s […]
Caving with Somerset Adventures at Goatchurch Cavern & Swildon’s Hole
A few weeks ago Somerset Adventures very kindly invited me to check out their one-day caving experience. The outing includes 2 to 3h of dry caving in the morning and 2 to 3h of wet caving in the afternoon. Those terms will be clarified further below. TIME FRAME & COST – SOMERSET ADVENTURES CAVING EXPERIENCE In addition to these 4 to 5h of caving, you will need to allow for travel time, time to change in and out of gear, half an hour for a quick packed lunch, and the short walk from the respective parking lots to the caves. The dry caving was taking place at Goatchurch Cavern near Burrington Combe. Doing the full-day two-caves experience with an instructor on your own like I did costs £150. But if you are happy to join a group or you are a group of 3 or more, then the cost goes […]
How I got started with outdoor rock-climbing despite my fear of heights
As those of you who stop by here every now and then know, I used to have a debilitating fear of heights. It kicked in in my mid-twenties. The condition only started to gradually improve about two years ago, when I pushed myself to do lots of activities that involved heights. MEETING THE RIGHT GUY ON A HIKING TRIP I did a tandem skydive, some canyoning, caving, abseiling, ziplining, a flying lesson on an ancient single-propeller airplane, plenty of hiking with serious exposure, a flight in a hot air balloon and so on. Rock-climbing, however, continued to seem too ambitious until about two months ago, when I got talking with a fellow hiker on one of the GO London hikes. Ellie & I do plenty of hiking with them, such as the Goring circular walk. All pics (c) BerkeleySqB, those pics showing me (unless selfie like this one above) […]