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Village sign

John at the top of the second 40m pitch

Naomi belaying Mike at Valle de Abdalajis

Mark, Stu and Darren at Los Cotos

Late autumn in Spain – the rock’s warm, the beer’s cold and the pool has had eight months to warm up. If you fancy a week sport climbing in a T shirt in October, this is the trip for you! El Chorro has dozens of crags with thousands of routes and RoCs has a copy of the new (December 2018) Rockfax guidebook. We’ll explore several areas, perhaps including some long (40m+) and multi-pitch routes. For more inspiration see https://mojagear.com/sport/2017/06/01/climbing-destination-guide-el-chorro-spain/.

Eight of us went in 2019 and had a brilliant time!

This year quite a few of us have already booked Ryanair flights from Bournemouth to Malaga, but there are plenty of flights from London airports if you want more options. I’ve booked a large villa: https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p10456446, which has plenty of space and flexibility. It’s also got several fun activities for entertainment including ping pong so from now on will be known as Ping Pong Palace! We’ll self-cater (well, Hannah organises it with our assistance!) and rented several cars for flexibility (volunteer drivers needed…).

Meet organiser: John H

Members booked:

1. John
2. Mandy
3. Matt
4. Hannah
5. Jon
6. Sarah
7. Tony
8. Patrick
9. Adam
10. Emma
11. Stu
12. Roland
13. …

Staying at Stu’s flat in the heart of Keswick. It’s got four beds so, depending on numbers, some people may be sleeping on the floor.

Now CANCELLED due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Meet Organiser – Pete Telling.

For this regular Dartmoor meet we will be staying at the usual “glamping value” site at Langstone Manor, Moortown PL19 9JZ about 2 miles east of Tavistock on the western edge of Dartmoor in the grounds of an old manor house. We have used this site for many years and we know the owners very well. The facilities are excellent with good showers, toilets and washing up, clothes washing and drying, as well as an on-site shop, bar, lounge and eating facilities. The owners are Jane and David.

The contact details for the site are 01822 613371 and the website is  https://www.langstonemanor.co.uk/

As well as camping, there are some wooden Pods with power and lighting for the less hardy climbers. You will still need to bring sleeping bag, mattress and cooking gear. If you wish to book a Pod, or plan to use a Camper Van, please do this yourself as I will only be booking camping places with Jane. There will probably be a deposit to be paid for a Pod, so book early to ensure a bed for the night. Be aware that if we have to cancel at the last minute due to bad weather you may lose your deposit on a Pod booking. Please let me know if you are camping or using a Pod or Camper Van so I know how many camping spaces to book.

We advise you also bring along wet weather walking gear in case the weather turns damp as there are many miles of Dartmoor to explore if we cannot climb. All that is required is a waterproof coat, over trousers, some walking boots and a small ruck sac for food etc.

Dartmoor is an ideal climbing area for members who have not climbed outside before. The climbing will be either at Dewerstone Rocks, Sheeps Tor or on any of the numerous Dartmoor outcrops (Hound Tor or Hay Tor for example) where there are many single and multi-pitch routes of all grades, from very easy to quite tough!! This meet is ideal for beginners and the more experienced climbers so if you are new to outside rock climbing it is an ideal meet for you. Make sure you bring suitable food and cooking gear for breakfast and also food for mid-day as there are no facilities near the climbing areas for food and drink. We will be using the bar or a pub for evening food and drink.

Anyone wishing to attend this meet can you please post on this page your intention, including when you plan to travel down, which nights you plan to stay and if you are camping, using a Camper Van or a Pod. We will be trying to car share as much as possible to save on fuel costs. We hope to negotiate a single person price per night of about £8 per night by sharing pitches. Jane has confirmed that we now have 6 pitches all near each other in the name of Romsey Climbers (for about 18 people). We will need to know the final camping numbers nearer the time to ensure there is enough spaces for all the members to be together. Do not leave this until the last week or so as they may be full very soon.

We have secured 6 camping pitches booked for about 18 small tents in the Daffodil Field (top right field). I will not be arriving with Helen until Friday afternoon. Patrick will be the meets sub organiser for Wednesday and Thursday. I have booked places in the ‘on site restaurant’ as shown in the table below. They are very flexible and will even be able to provide food for those wishing to eat outside if it is nice weather!! The restaurant is open from 5-pm to 8-30 pm along with the bar (which I hope will stay open later!). If the numbers change they think they will be able to take extra bookings on the day.

Patrick, Roland, Mandy and their guests will be arriving Wednesday.

People attending so far.

1. Pete Telling (organiser) – camping Thursday to Sunday
2. Kirsty Chapman – camping Friday – Sunday
3. Hannah Hetherington – *not camping!! Friday – Saturday
4. Patrick Manuel (sub-organiser) – camping Wednesday – Sunday
5. Roland Manuel  – camping Wednesday – Sunday
6. Rolands Guest – camping Wednesday – Sunday
7. Jon Gibbins ? – camping Thursday – Sunday if it is not too wet!!
8. Jim Kearn – camping Thursday – Sunday
9. Matt Lovesey – camping maybe Saturday – Tuesday ?? (Weather dependent)
10. Ivan Kileff – camping  maybe Saturday – Tuesday?? (Weather dependent)

Mandy Chapman – Not camping but may join us for a day trip (Weather dependent)

Hannah Hetherington – *staying in a B & B type accommodation

Camper van slots to be booked WITH THE CAMPSITE by individual members please. I have only booked camping slots.

This meet is aimed at outdoor novices and anyone else who needs to ease themselves back into climbing after a long layoff, although all club members will be very welcome. Fairy Cave is one of our favourite ‘local’ venues and is about an hour and forty minutes from Romsey. There are many lower-grade routes to learn or refresh techniques and plenty of harder routes, virtually all on amenably-angled slabs, if you want to push yourself.

Organiser: John H

Members going:

1. John H
2. Matt
3. Hannah
4. Jim
5. Jon G
6. Jon H
7. Jamie
8. Trevor
9. John D

We’ve got limited beds available (up to six)  at the Don Whillans hut due to Covid restrictions. The rest of us will be at Hazel Barrow Farm (Hazel Barrow Farm holidays | Facebook), about a mile from the crags, either camping or in the bunkhouse.

Organiser: Patrick

Who’s going:

1 Patrick (Thursday-Tuesday) camping
2 Ro (Thursday-Tuesday) camping
3 Pete (Thursday-Tuesday with Patrick or Friday-Sunday with Helen) camping 
4 Helen (Friday-Sunday) camping
5 Charlotte (Friday-Sunday)
6 Caron (?)
7 Matt (Thursday-Sunday)
8 Ivan (Thursday-Sunday)
9 Mandy (Thursday-Sunday)
10 Jim K (Thursday-Sunday)
11 Hannah (possibly Thursday-Sunday)
12 Kirsty (possibly)
13 John D (camping)
14 Neil (Thursday- Sunday)hut
15 Naomi (Friday - Sunday) hut
16 Tony (Thursday - Sunday) camping
17 Boyd (Thursday - Sunday) hut