Club Picnic Barbecue, North Berwick
Saturday 9th of June 2018.
Attendees: Tim and family, Richard, Dennis , Wendy, Craig, Paul, Karin, Scott, Keith, Jim, Kirsty and Adam.
Planning for the club barbecue and picnic began hastily in late May, driven by several factors. First, the rock tigers in the club wanted a climbing venue. Second, we needed to include a hill or other worthwhile walk to satisfy those who were accompanied by younger ‘prospective’ members. Finally, we needed to ensure good weather, so it was important to avoid any dates that were proposed by me. We settled on North Berwick on the 9th June, as it is easily reachable from Perth, has interesting single pitch sport and trad climbing, a nice short walk up the Law and (I’m assured) a practically middle-eastern climate.
The careful planning played out well and we were able to combine a good attendance with excellent weather and great fun. More or less by accident, we all arrived at the car park at about the same time mid-morning, with the exception of Karin, who had arrived a little earlier and gone for an exploration around the base of the hill. The group immediately divided its efforts, with the party containing younger attendees heading up onto the hill, while the rock tigers headed off to tick their first routes. The second party spent the morning on the sport climbs nearest to the car park, where the rock was already warm and the routes enjoyed. From what I can tell from the guide book, many of the routes have names that aren’t really fit for repetition amongst a refined audience such as the club membership, so no further details will be shared. The first party climbed to the summit of the hill, enjoying good, if somewhat hazy views of the sea and surrounding flats.
Around 1pm it seemed sensible to break for lunch, with a multitude of routes being completed during the session. Craig broke out his barbecue and took up the role of chef, even permitting vegetarian food to be cooked. We also appear to all have had the same idea and decimated the Perth area stock of strawberries.
After lunch, the climbing was resumed on the trad slabs further along the crag. The somewhat bare nature of the protection meant that I ended up more or less soloing up one route, whilst others were more sensible and setup a top rope. By this time, we needed to depart with the children and left the climbers to their fun. More climbs were completed in our absence, before a second attempt on the summit was made, again enjoying good views. The last party from the club left the crag at around 10pm after a thoroughly enjoyable day in great company.
Other photographs from the meet:
