I’m not entirely sure it’s a sabbatical if it only lasts for six weeks and I continue to work sporadically during that time but the point being that, as I did last August, the school holidays have become a time that I step back from Prowess for a while. More importantly, I take a break from climbing too.
People are always shocked at this but quickly come to understand. Honestly, we all need a break every now and again and with my New New Years concept, it works well.
Only a ‘break’ stretches the moniker yet further. This summer has been anything but. Indeed, as much as I don’t like to compare myself to others, I can’t imagine most people doing what we’ve done over the past couple of months in a year.
To add some perspective, I counted up and the kids have spent a total of 20 nights away from home during their six weeks off school. That’s about half. But as much as I seem to be complaining, I am most certainly not.
So in this post, I’m going to quickly run through some of the highlights (you don’t need to know about a day trip to Chester for example) and what’s been occupying my time, if not my arm muscles.
The Big Trip
I did actually start a live post when we were in the far north of England back in July but didn’t get very far. I think I got distracted with a more ‘Philosophy’ page explaining the bigger picture instead; a page that will hopefully appear at some point.
The short version is that we’re trying to take a trip to every National Park in the UK. We got our sixth with that weekend in Pembrokeshire (the one that spurred me to return and develop Garn Fechan) and this summer saw us on a trip to Northumberland. With me, my wife, kids and parents, this was a full on family gathering.
Staying in the furthest southwesterly tip of the park, one could easily claim we didn’t really visit the park proper and most of our time was spent cycling in Kielder Forest (just outside the park which became a running joke). That being said, a day at the excellent Vindolanda and a quick visit to the Sycamore Gap, erm, stump as is now, both meant I’m counting it. We are all keen to return and check out further North though.
Snail Camps
Another summer tradition is what has been dubbed ‘Snail Camps’. Really it’s wild camping but not your modern influencer wild camping. No, this usually involves some kind of mountain walk, an overnight stay and this year, cooking.
The first was back in 2024 on Moel Eilio, while last year we headed up to Beddgelert forest. Well this year, we took to the mountains more. And what’s more, did it twice.
The first continued our mini tradition of just me, the kids and the dog. We’d been up the Watkin Path on Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa not long ago and I spotted a great opportunity and so this summer, we returned. It was an eventful night, being sporadically buffetted by wind before running out of gas; no bacon butties for breakfast. But I made up for it with chocolate pancakes at the local cafe instead.
Then, as we crested into September, we all went together. With an extra adult to share the load, we could take a little more and did indeed have dinner and breakfast this time, although did run out of water and didn’t get morning tea… Oh and cutting my head open on a branch on the walk out didn’t help either.
But overall, it was a great experience and one I’m very pleased Em joined us for. The hope is we can combine the National Park challenge with some small camping at some point, so it’s a move in the right direction.
Midlands Visits
This is where the sabbatical title falls apart. I have done some work this summer, mostly in the Midlands. It combined nicely with the kids visiting grandparents for a week.
The first weekend joined a drop off with a coaches’ meet. We’ve begun to develop a group containing many of the best climbing coaches and professionals across the country and have been putting on occasional meets.
This one was not particularly well attended (you could argue there were only four of us) but was a good opportunity to catch up with some good friends, including Ben Brooks, down at 270 in Gloucester.
The following weekend was then 270’s annual festival and I went to deliver some workshops. They were excellently subscribed this year, giving a nice shot in the arm to my confidence.
As it was last year, it was a fantastic event and there’s already talk of going back next year.
Anything Else?!
All that might have been enough but we’ve squeezed in so much more. There was a day/few days (the kids stayed, I came home) in Bala involving some SUPing.
Then there was the bike ride along Lon Las Ogwen, which might not sound like much until you know that we cycled the full length. From Bangor to Idwal Cottage. And back. That’s 23 miles, in a day, with a 7 and 9 year old who died not complain one bit. In fact, it was them that persuaded us to finish the last little bit.
There was the day wandering Parys Mountain on Anglesey; an old copper mine and excellent day out.
Two visits to the local sauna, both involving a dip in the lake in between. It was genuinely amazingly refreshing and I owe old friend Fredrik a huge debt for getting me over that threshold when visiting last summer.
And honestly, I’m starting to forget. There’s been courses run, two boulder bash days, days out and so much more fit into a manic, magic summer. Honestly, now it’s over, we all need a bit of a break!
chezdelabloc 