A FAMILY FUN DAY. | bowlandclimber

My son and my youngest grandson have come up from Manchester for a spot of Bouldering at Craig Y Longridge, here in the village.

I am lucky living in Longridge on the edge of Bowland and The Ribble Valley. Many of my posts have been about this local area which I am passionate about. From a climbing point of view I have on my doorstep one of England’s premier bouldering venues. This unique gritstone crag overhangs for almost all of its 150m length creating an outdoor bouldering wall with many desperate, certainly for me, problems. Over the years I have used it as a training crag to keep me fit for the traditional climbs in the mountains and dales of Britain. I never became really good but I was always strong.

Climbing has changed as a sport over the years, big boot days in the Lakeland mountains have been replaced by gymnastic bouldering in indoor gyms, you may have seen this modern take in the last Olympics. Youngsters are taking to it for the pure physical challenges without the danger. All you need is a pair of rock shoes and a chalk bag to have lots of fun and build up an all round physical fitness at the same time. Friendly rivalry and a good social scene go hand in hand. No wonder climbing gyms have been springing up like mushrooms in all our towns and cities. 

All three of my grandchildren have taken to bouldering and regularly attend climbing gyms in Manchester. Even my son, just turned 50, has gone back to the sport which I introduced him to as a child. I always preferred climbing outdoors and only resorted to the climbing walls when the weather defeated us or in the coldest winter months. We tended to visit the walls with higher roped climbing as that is what we did. For years this helped me keep up my fitness but various issues in the last few years have curtailed my activities. I still manage a few ‘proper’ routes each year but they are diminishing along with my climbing partners as aging creeps upon us. But I do have Craig Y on my doorstep as I said, so whenever possible I go up there and do some easy traversing to keep my muscle memory intact. It is far better, and cheaper, than going to a gym and I still get the social interaction from the youngsters and old hands who regularly turn up.

 The weather is promising, there have been far too many bad days this year, so Sunday is arranged. His dad will bring him and he has invited one of his bouldering buddies to join us. Time to introduce Alex to the delights on hand and see how he performs away from the plastic. In the gym the holds are colour coded so you can see what you are going for, outside you have to ‘read’ the rock to pick your way. 

The afternoon starts badly with the discovery of a burnt out pile of papers on the car park, The rain overnight has created a soggy mess, I may have to come back another time to clear it. What is in the minds of some people? I’m beginning to sound like Victor Meldew.

In we go through the gate, tortoise like with the bouldering mats on our backs. Convenience climbing 20m from the car.

You may notice and wonder about the proximity of houses. This was once all the abandoned Greenbank Quarry, one of many in Longridge. Most closed down after World War II but I am led to believe stone was used from this one for the completion of the first motorway in the UK, AKA Preston Bypass, in the fifties. The quarry, partially infilled, laid dormant and became grassed over. We climbed in here from the early 80’s. I remember cows grazing in the field, with the pond lower down a favourite fishing spot for local children, almost a rural idyll.  All changed when it was bought by a developer who wanted to turn it into a holiday chalet park. Planning permission was granted from the tourism affect it would have on the village. That was always a  debatable point. 20 chalets became 30. and yes you guessed it about fifty houses were built. There was no attempt at the ‘tourism’ market – but we knew there wouldn’t be. Once again the planners duped or was it more sinister than that? 

Anyhow the developer kicked us out of the field when building commenced, well some of us. A fund was started by local climbers contributing money towards purchasing the strip of land directly adjacent the crag, the BMC (British Mountaineering Club) matched the donations and the crag was bought from the developer. He should have really have given it us as he was absolved of all responsibility of a potential danger directly  below a public road. 

In August 2008 the ground below the crag was levelled, a great improvement. Fencing put in place and our own gate complete with official BMC signage installed. The ‘housing’ development has matured, there have been no serious conflicts between the residents and climbers – although this is always an issue when in close proximity to the general public but, and dare I say it, some of the younger generation don’t respect privacy and property. (Victor Meldew again) Lets hope we retain this facility for future generations.  

The early days of BMC ownership.

I’ve gone off subject a little, but good to fill you in with the background to this unique place. 

There are already a few other climbers here but it never gets seriously busy. People come and go, enjoying their own activity without impinging on others. I direct our little team to some easy traversing to warm up. It becomes evident that the youngsters lack stamina for too much length of horizontal moves, being used to a limited number of vertical moves before jumping off at the gym. They do however soon dispatch the ‘up’ problems I show them next.

Below is Bomb Squad 6B being dispatched.

They both are then eager to try some of the harder problems along the crag, that’s when my son and I take off our rock shoes and continue in only in an advisory and encouraging capacity.

Alex and his friend had enjoyed the day. They found the grades tougher than in their gym which is understandable in the transition to real rock. Their confidence for going higher improved as the day went on. Enthusiasm fired I hope. 

Meanwhile my son and I had a good catchup 

Sit start to Porridge Gun 6B+ almost to the top.