Stanage Edge

We went climbing
on Stanage
Edge, a lengthy escarpment in the Peak District.

Climbing. We mostly stuck to Mod and Diff routes. For the
first few days we managed a lead and a second each; much of the rest
of the time was consumed with false starts and getting lost trying to
find the next route we wanted to do. We had nice weather and
beautiful scenery though. For the last couple of days our
productivity roughly doubled, partly a result of more effective
navigation but probably also “getting into the swing” of it. On
Sunday Matthew and Sally joined us which made for a good end to an
already excellent week.

Other Activities. Friday was the only day that was
seriously wet during the day and we went
to Chatsworth House, the seat
of the Dukes of Devonshire even today. In local terms it’s kind of
like Wimpole but on a rather grander scale. Its continued noble
occupation has resulted in the accumulation of contemporary art as
well as the usual stately home standbys, although excepting the
photography I didn’t rate much of it. It’s also substantially covered
in scaffolding and sheeting at the moment due to extensive renovation
works; apart from the occasional drilling sounds (which based on
conversation maybe annoyed the staff more than they did us) this
didn’t really impact on our visit, though if you want a clear view of
the whole exterior then maybe you should postpone your visit until
this is finished.

We also made it to Sheffield Hallam
Parkrun, where
I chipped a few seconds off my PB. I’m not sure how comparable it
is with Cambridge, though. Doing a 5km run in the morning coincided
with the uptick in our climbing productivity, which N didn’t consider
a coincidence.

Accommodation. We stayed at
the North
Lees campsite, which is a pleasant 10m walk from the road below
Stanage Edge (more to the rock, depending which bit you aim for and
how lost you get). Slightly spartan but it did the job. It was
mostly fairly empty, only really getting crowded at the weekend.
Generally the first thing we heard on waking was sheep.

The nearest village
is Hathersage,
which was a pleasant enough walk in the light though a bit dicey
coming back in the dark. We tried two of the three pubs for dinner,
returning to
the Scotsman’s
Pack for a second visit and eating once at the nevertheless
perfectly
acceptable Plough
Inn and one of the two local curry
places, Maazi.

Driving. I haven’t owned a car for more than a decade and
until very recently hadn’t driven one for around half as long. For
this trip we hired a car and mostly got on well, though I thoroughly
disliked the single-track lanes around the campsite.

Cars have changed in the (mumble) years since the previous car I
drove left the factory. Six forward gears is an obvious enough
evolutionary step and I was vaguely aware
of start-stop
but I’d not expected the electronic handbrake, nor had I expected the
car to tell me when to shift gear - something it was generally right
about on the motorways, but I thought less reliable when getting round
those narrow lanes.

Photos. There
are lots more photos on flickr. I made some videos while climbing
although I think they’ll be of more interest for analyzing gear
placement than general interest.