Meet report by Karen
This was only my second trip to Pembrokeshire, as traditionally the meet coincides with my wedding anniversary so I’m usually away somewhere; but not this year!
Because the Freshwater Inn had closed permanently, we decided not to use the usual campsite advertised on Bernie’s outdoor meets list. Instead, we stayed at Vicar’s Field campsite, close to St Govan’s Inn. At £10 per person per night, it offered a pleasant, flat field and a small, clean toilet block with two toilets and a washing-up sink. There was also a cold outdoor shower—with no cubicle—which none of us was brave enough to use.
Friday
Everyone arrived on Friday. Bob and Mike arrived first, at around 3pm, which gave them time to visit Saddle Head before setting up camp. Another group was already climbing there, so Bob and Mike used the group’s abseil rope to reach the upper-tier climbs, well above sea level. In sunny, calm conditions, they climbed 'Flake-Quake' (S) and 'Wetstone' (HS)—an excellent warm-up and a chance to get back into the outdoor-climbing mindset.
Ann and Ray didn’t arrive early enough to climb, so to compensate, they got fish and chips at Pembroke, yum! The rest of us arrived just in time to put up our tents and head to the St Govan’s Inn for food and drink, then back for an early night.
Saturday
Saturday was another warm and sunny day and we all decided to go to Saddle Head as the base is non-tidal and we felt it would be quite a sociable venue.
Dez and Ann climbed Haze VS 4b (led by Dez), Wetstone HS 4b (Ann led), On the Cusp HVS 5a (Dez led), Gorgeous Grey Groove VS 4c (Ann led) and Sunset Boulevard HVS 5a (Dez led).
Jan and Mike climbed Upon a 'Weather Beaten Cliff' (VS) and 'Sea Mist' (HS), both lovely climbs from the upper tier. Now the tide had gone out so they were able to abseil down The Main Cliff to a rock platform which is briefly exposed at low tide. From here they could climb 'Blue Sky', a 3-star, 2 pitch VS. Once at the bottom they realised that the rock platform would shortly be wave washed so a short scramble up was needed to belay at a safer location. Mike led the first pitch which was lovely and ended at a belay ledge by a rock scar and small cave. Jan's second pitch continued directly above which was over a small roof and then steeply to a short but tenuous traverse right before finally reaching easier ground and exiting to the top. A later examination of the topo revealed that the belay ledge they were on after the first pitch was a little left of where they should have been which meant that the second pitch was off-route and much more difficult than it should have been. After a late lunch they returned to The Main Cliff to climb 'Landvetter', another 3-star, 2 pitch VS. Now the rock platform at the base of the climbs had disappeared below the sea so they had to abseil down and start from a hanging belay just above the crashing waves. Jan took the first pitch this time with bold moves up a corner, over a jammed block then right onto a belay ledge just below and to the right of a small roof. Mike's second pitch needed a sketchy left traverse to gain the easier exit grooves to the top. Reviewing the route afterwards they found that again the belay had been in slightly the wrong location and that the second pitch had been a little off-route which had forced the more difficult traverse.
Me, Bob and Ray opted for some easier routes, wanting to gently reacquaint ourselves with sea cliff trad climbing. We climbed Final Groove Diff (Bob led), Forgotten Corner HVD (Bob led) and Fel Gŵyr Diff (I led). We then stopped for lunch and after lunch Ray and I climbed one more route, Small Beginnings VD.
That was it for Saturday so it was back to the campsite then off to a crowded St Govan’s Inn for a nice meal, only marred by the limited beer options.
Sunday
Sunday morning was windy and raining. The forecast said it would clear up around lunchtime so we all headed to The Bosherton Bistro for a hearty breakfast. Bob told us tales of the café when it was Ma Weston’s café, and how she became a legend and received an MBE for services to hospitality and tourism in Pembrokeshire.
The rain cleared as predicted but Dez decided to head home, not keen on climbing on damp rock in the windy conditions. Bob, myself, Ann and Ray also didn’t feel like the conditions were optimal for climbing so we decided on a walk instead. We walked about six miles from the campsite, around the Bosherton Lily Ponds, to the beaches and along the coast to the National Trust tea shop at Barafundle Bay. Then we headed back across country and back to the lily ponds. A really beautiful walk!
Mike and Jan were feeling much more intrepid and decided to head to Huntsman's Leap for some climbing. There was one route just outside the seaward end that they felt could do. A 2-star HS called 'Myola'. A short walk in and they were laying down peering over the edge to find the small ledge which is exposed at low tide. A 36m single pitch straight up a slanting corner so they think 'easy route finding'. An abseil down and now looking up it's less obvious. Jan's turn to lead and it's lovely until at half height Mike notices he's going a little too far left and then there's a stall, way above the gear. Some fiddling to fix more gear and then a tricky little traverse right to get back on route. At the end of the traverse that last piece of gear has fallen out but Jan hasn't realised. He's on easier ground now so all good and the route is quickly finished. By now Mike was getting splashed by the waves of the incoming tide so very glad when he could start up and second the route. As the gear on the left-hand diversion had fallen out, he had no need to visit that area and so kept to easier ground. Again, they consulted the topo afterwards and this time found that Jan had wandered onto an E1 before traversing back. This was beginning to be a theme.
Next, they found a Severe called 'Oversight' just around the corner on Stuntsman's Buttress. Again, this was an abseil down to a ledge exposed at low tide and a 36m climb up a corner. The topo wasn't good as the route was dotted indicating it was out of view but it sounded straightforward. Once on the belay ledge they realised that the sea was already well on the way in and making the platform wet so they stepped around the corner and squeezed onto a small boulder protruding from the cliff which was more sheltered. Now Mike's turn to lead so up he went. Easy at first but soon the corner was running out and the arete had to be climbed. Then a short, exposed traverse left around the arete to another corner and up to the top. Meanwhile the original belay edge had become wave washed so stepping around the corner had been a good move. Jan got off the protruding bolder just in time and seconded the route. An exciting climb. This time they think they wandered briefly onto an HVS.
Still some time left so they headed for Stannis Head and located The Main Face which has a non-tidal ledge and an easy scramble down. The last climb of the day was 'Highland Fling' a 18m VS which Jan led. No wandering off-route this time!
Ann, Ray and Jan headed off home sometime after 5pm leaving me, Bob and Mike at the campsite. Back to the pub we went again, looking forward to something to eat. Unfortunately, we didn’t go to the bar to order food until about 7.15pm, only to be told that they had stopped serving at 7.00pm. Annoying! We went back to the campsite. It was very mild, so we sat outside, ate whatever food we had available, drank wine and put the world to rights. It was an amazing evening with a beautiful sunset followed by a big night sky, full of stars. We all remarked that we wouldn’t have such experiences if we didn’t go on CMC meets.
Monday
On Monday, we decided to pack up and drive to Giltar Slabs close to Tenby, which was on the way home. We spent a really pleasant few hours in the sunshine climbing on the slabs. We climbed Central Corner VD (Bob led), Overlap Slab VD (I led) and 45 Degrees in the sun VS 4b (Mike led). Another beautiful day, hot and sunny and a perfect end to the weekend.
Mike drove us all home (thanks Mike). A really easy journey with no traffic jams to contend with and got home before 9pm.
Thanks all for a fantastic weekend!
Roll call
Karen (meet leader)
Mike
Bob
Ann
Ray
Dez
Jan (ex-member) and his dog