Edinburgh

Sorry for the long gap since my last post, I've been busy, sociable, and otherwise not blogging. i got half way through a post a while ago, and have just picked it up some time later... (also, I'll try to get some photos on this post tomorrow.., as it's time for bed now)

After a nice relaxing train ride from Birmingham (did I mention it only cost 4 quid) I arrived at Waverly station (after changing trains on the way because the one i was on was running late... surprise surprise), After wandering around the train station and finding the right exit, I walked up the the stairs and heard the sound of bagpipes resonating down the street.On the way down the street, I passed the busker, and heard another one a couple of hundred metres down the road. After the forth bagpiper and a belly dancer, I got to the end of the road, turned left and walked down to find Reg's apartment and met his flatmate, Annalise.

The buildings in Edinburgh have been well made, and since there don't appear to be many earthquakes in this part of the world, there are a lot of relatively old buildings. Reg's is no exception, stairs have worn somewhat, and the front profile of the steps is a rather smiley shape, sloping making it somewhat odd climbing the stairs with a heavy pack.

Since then,I've been wandered around town a bit, (I found that what appeared to be the high density centre of the city actually goes on forever, until the city runs out and you're in the countryside.) From an urban design point of view, this city's wonderful.., you can ride pretty much anywhere in town in 10 minutes, or walk it in 30. Buses seem to work, and the best part is they've managed to achieve this without everyone living in a shoebox. The city may have formed the way it has purely as a result of the cold climate, (and people's unwillingness to travel long distances to visit friends, or the pub) along with the fact that people didn't have cars when the city was established.

On my second day here, I discovered the art gallery and museum, and that evening, Reg took me to the local bouldering crag. quite a nice spot, one I've visited a couple of times since.

About an hour's train journey out of Edinburgh, there's a small coastal town called North Berwick, home of a Puffin colony, and various other excitement, none of which were a priority while i was there. The reason I went was to climb. On North Berwick Law, the only hill in the area, there is an abandoned quarry, with a few routes on it. The easy routes were easy, and the medium routes were fun. The routes I should have been able to do were too hard, and the hard routes looked very cool. Unfortunately, when Reg and I arrived, there was already a small crowd there, around 10 people (which may not sound like many, but when there are only 8 climbs there it makes for slightly crowded climbing and a little waiting for climbs).... then after we started climbing, a few more people showed up, and in the end, it was getting late and i didn't have time to climb the route I particularly wanted to.. one short attempt and failure before we realised we had missed the train left me a little unfulfilled.., (on the plus side, at least we managed to get a lift back with some of the friendly climbing crowd.) A short drive out of town, is Ratho, a small town, with a big wall, In fact the highest indoor climbing wall I've ever seen, 40m in parts. Most of the lead wall leaves you wondering where all that rope went when you reach the ground. (the shortest climbs are about 23m)

I've managed to get out of town a couple of times, once was a trip most of the way to the highlands, but not quite there... for burgers, which, while rather pleasant, weren't anything out of the ordinary.. of course, the location, and scenery were something amazing.

On my first Sunday here, I ended up at Destiny church, (the Edinburgh one, not to be confused with destiny NZ, or any other church by the same name) I met a handfull of interesting people, and discovered that they're in the process of fitting out a new building as a church... so the next day i went along and have spent a fair bit of time there since, hanging Gib board,framing up walls, moving chairs around,

Last Monday was Reg's birthday, so he, Maeghan and I went on a road trip to the isle of Mull.., a little way north, and a long way west. but that can wait for the next exciting and beautiful blog post.., (for those of you who are interested, the photos are already up on facebook)

Aber

After leaving the rain in Llanberis, I embarked on a wonderful 5 hour bus trip to visit Michaela in Aberstwyth, a university town on the west coast of Wales.. right in the middle of welsh heartland country. a place that took me quite some time to learn how to spell and a good place to be a New Zealander rather than a Briton. Michaela met me at the railway station after a long hard day in the field... After a strenuous 2 minute walk, we were at her flat enjoying a nice dinner and catching up on old times and gossip. After a couple of games of cards, I went to sleep on a relatively comfortable air bed which became somewhat less comfortable as it deflated During the course of the night. On Friday, it turned out that i could be useful helping to keep people from nicking or disturbing survey equipment (although I'm not too sure how much good i did apart from protecting the pavement from an almighty dumping of guano), So I headed out to Borth with Michaela and Jack to do some lazer scanning of the beach and adjacent street. Before we left Aber, Kyla had mentioned that the department did have some very nice toys, and she wasn't joking. Lazer scanners are essentially a ground based equivalent of Lidar., surveying the ground (and building) profile at very high resolution, to build a 3D model of the area. (If I'm allowed, I'll post an image of the data collected while we were there.)

On Friday night, i had the opportunity to check out Aber night-life, minus the students, as they're currently on holiday. After a drink at Scholars, we headed down to Witherspoons, possibly the best value restaraunt/bar in town, and oddly, located at the train station. After a burger and a pint, we wandered on to Rummers, in the hopes that some lively, upbeat music would wake us up. The music was good, but sadly not very awakening, and we ended up calling it quits at around 12:00.

On Saturday, Kyla had more work to do, so we wandered up the hill toward uni and I split off to explore a nice wood. very interesting in that the tracks there had clearly been made by mountain bikers, before they were banned, and now there are lots of intertwined flowing walking tracks with no sign of tire marks. In the afternoon, I had a guided tour of the southern end of the coast and then saw “The Hulk” at the Commodore Theatre. Going to the movies in Aber is quite a different experience. They close the doors shortly after the previews begin, and the atmosphere in the theatre is more like a living room, with people relaxed and chatting. Before the movie starts, the curtains close, lights come back on, and a refreshments booth opens in the corner of the theatre. The end result of this is that, by the end of the movie, you feel like you've had a really good night out,

Sunday saw the only truly beautiful weather during my stay, clear blue skies (somewhat of a rarity in these parts) so we walked over the hill to Borth, (where we had been on Friday), and along the beach to Ynyslas, where we caught the bus back to Aber for drinks and dinner with some of Kyla's colleagues/partners.

Sadly, all i achieved on Monday was a bit of a wander around the ruins of the castle and a lot of time on the internet.
(with the result of finding a 4 pound ticket from Birmingham to Edinburgh early tomorrow morning..., (so I'm writing this on the train to Birmingham, which i spent too much to catch, because i was disorganised.., and i probably won't get cheap accommodation in Birmingham because i'm running late... but it all seems worthwhile given the standard price from Birmingham to Edinburgh looked more like 70 pounds..

Llanberis and the mighty Snowdon.

I stumbled into Llanberis because I found a reasonably priced bunkhouse behind a pub about 1 mile out of town.. and a climbing wall about 3 miles further out than the bunkhouse. It turned out that the walk into town is rather beautiful, and the local population of chickens are rather friendly.

It wasn't until i arrived that i realised quite how close Llanberis actually is to Mt Snowdon. On the way into town from betws-y-coed, I actually changed busses at pen-y-pass, the place where most people (or at least the ones who don't catch the train) start their walk up Snowdon.

Rain seemed to be a general theme for my time in Llanbeirs.., (apparently it doesn't always rain there.., (I've seen photos). When i first arrived it wasn't raining!, but i was tired and lazy, so unfortunately i wasted the few spare hours i had that day. The next day, when i woke up, it was raining.... then it fined up a little but still looked menacing so i headed off to the climbing wall..., it was a longer walk than i'd expected, but still worth it. The beacon climbing center (complete with panoramic photos on the website..., ) isn't in the biggest building out there, but there is plenty of wall space, over 100 good bouldering routes (I was climbing at about the middle of the difficulty range there. Lotsa space for leading, (but since i went there on a week day, there were a few pairs of people climbing, and a whole pile of kids groups. so i didn't get any opportunities for belayed climbing. They did, however have one steep bit of wall with an autobelay on it and by the time i'd spent 3 hours climbing just about every variation of the 4 climbs on that rope, and bouldering , i couldn't get up a 6b (~19ish) so i felt it was ok to leave. (all this “not climbing” and eating is really taking a toll on my strength.., I don't think I've been this weak since I was 16..

The next day was sunny so i decided to head up the mountain, but unfortunately, it was the same day that i realised that the place i was staying at has wifi., so by the time i started walking it was 12:30, and the weather was starting to turn to crap. since i'd started so late, i cheated, just like everyone else, and started the climb from pen-y-pass, and was at the top 2.5 hours later after a reasonable amount of mucking around scrambling on rocks at the side of the path. The number of people on that mountain is quite outstanding., it makes the Tongariro crossing look like a back country wilderness experience..., (and i was there on a rainy day, mid week, and when the summit train wasn't operating because the cafe is currently being rebuilt.) Every man and his dog were up there.., I'd guess that 2000 people and 50 dogs, of all shapes and sizes climbed that mountain the day that i did (and did i mention the seagulls at the summit??. While i was up there, I did see a route i want to try, following ridge lines up to the peak and back down. rather than the paved tracks to the summit.
On some of the bussier tracks in nz, you see sacks full of gravel that have been dropped off by helicopter for track maintenance, but here they have sacks of large slabs of rock, it's both a testament to the geology of the area and the sheer volume of traffic it recieves.

The economy of Llanberis seems to rely heavily on outdoor “adventure sports” with the river full of school groups canoeing and all the small crags at the base of the valley also packed with kids.., (which somewhat limited my soloing opportunities) just at the south end of town, there is a small industrial area, including the DMM factory.., those who don't know what DMM is, probably don't care, but they're the only manufacturer of climbing gear made in the UK. they also make gear for wild country and Mammut, and have developed some ingenious designs like the I-beam construction for lightweight carabiners, carabiners with a built-in pulley to reduce rope drag, and the belaymaster (a specialist extra-safe belaying carabiner) to name a few. As a result, the local climbing shop, V12 receives a lot of cosmetic seconds which they sell for a slightly reduced price... and they stock a comprehensive range of full priced gear as well.
Anyway, I was lucky enough to still be in Llanberis on Wednesday night when large numbers of outdoorsy people converge on a hotel at the end of town for pizza and a pint... which costs a chiefly sum of about 6 pounds, depending on what toppings you choose for your pizza.., (ok, it's more than I'd spend at some greasy takeaway, but it still works out as pretty good value) and during the course of the night i managed to talk to kayaking instructors, climbing instructors, and a variety of other outdoors obsessed people.

On Thursday morning, I bundled up my life, bouldered for a while on a slab of rock that once sheltered secret meetings of the miners union while they were banned from meeting anywhere on land owned by the mining company. A mat and spotters would have been a welcome bit of security, but I still managed to play on some sweet lines. before heading in to town to catch a somewhat indirect bus to Aberstwyth.

Cymru

Wales is an interesting place, culturally defined by the fact that It's not part of England... All the signs are in Welsh and English, at first it's difficult to tell whether a given word is a place name, or if you're not allowed to park under the sign it's written on. There seems to be an ongoing fight between The English Language rolling in, and a strong defense from Welsh.

The country, or at least what I've seen of it so far is incredibly beautiful!, lots of rocks poking out from the ground, rolling hills, sparsely dotted with sheep and deep bush-clad valleys. I arrived in Wales to Richard, Rob and Katie's late mother's cottage in Glen Ceriog, a small village just over the hill, (and about 40 mins walk) from Llangollen, a tourist town centered around a picturesque river and railway. The cottage itself is perched on the side of a steep hill (Rob's Toyota Yaris couldn't get out of 1^st gear climbing the hill with 3 of us in it).

Our time at the cottage could be defined by the delicious barbecues and the amount of tennis we watched on T.V..., but I did manage to run away for a wander around the local valleys, and out to a little town called Pandy, with a small crag overlooking it. The potential for Mountain biking in the area is astounding!, perfect bush for carving some sweet lines through., (and no doubt there are already some pretty decent dedicated tracks around. One afternoon, Phillip drove into the Berwyn ranges and sat contemplating his gall stones while Rob, Richard and I went for a walk across the ridge line of some exciting looking hills, through the typical welsh mist. and a little real rain, mixed with rather a lot of wind. This, naturally was followed by a delicious meal at “The Hand” a nearby pub.

On my first trip over the hill to Llangollen, I looked up, and saw the ruins of an old castle.., but my gaze rapidly diverted to the lovely bluffs stretching on and on into the distance. So, the next time i got a chance, Richard dropped me at the end of a road where we met the farmer, and i jumped the fence and ran uphill. Endless, sweet limestone was all that confronted me... most of it isn't that steep, (but some was), none of it has big flowstones, or other jugs, just exciting climbing on relatively small holds, varying from slab to -5 degrees I started out scrambling, then dropped my bag and boots and moved on to a little bare foot soloing.., (most of the routes are only around 6-10m high, but the landings are steep enough to make falling a less-than-enjoyable concept.., added to by the fact that if you didn't damage yourself landing, you'd still roll through a lovely mattress of nettles and thistles... It was after about an

hour of playing around scaring myself, that i saw a little bit of webbing hanging from the rock..., at first I thought “crag booty!!” but, no, it was just a thread, and another thread,..., and some bolts!!, .. and some more bolts!!.., if only I had someone to climb with... I guess I may have to return sometime to see if i'm good enough for some short, small, but very hard welsh climbing... (as I walked on, there appeared to be a few easier routes)

Then we said goodbye to Rob the night before he headed back to cornwall at 4am, and Richard and I had another afternoon wandering round on the tops near/in/? the Berwyns. (we had planned to take a nice path through the valley, but after we found we were 2km past the turnoff we had intended taking, we slogged our way through a pine forest (douglas fir??) up to the ridge and followed it back down to the hand for another lovely meal.

Today I left the house with both my packs, and remembered how much fun it is to walk around with over 30 kg of gear... especially when over 10 kg of that gear happens to be pinky and the crabs.. (a rope and a stack of quickdraws and carabiners that are yet to be used in the UK. :(

A nice slog up and over the hill, and a chat to the lady in the information centre at llangollen saw me getting onto a bus to Bets-y-coed, another bus to a saddle just below Mt Snowdon, and another bus to Llanberis. Bets-y-coed seems like a lovely little tourist hole.., (it is beautiful, nestled at the junction of 4 river valleys) It appears to have plenty of everything you could want.., mountain biking, climbing, kayaking, etc... so long as you're prepared to pay for it. I might try to return if i get hold of a bike, (and possibly a car...). The bus trip from Bets-y-coed was nothing short of spectacular; lush valleys, and the steep hills, (in fact I'm almost prepared to call them mountains) of Snowdonia.

Now I'm sitting in a bunkhouse 2 miles out of Llanberis, typing away, and feeling just about ready to get back on my feet and walk around outside for a wee while... I'm secretly hoping that it will be rainy tomorrow, so I'll be justified in heading down the road to the local indoor rock wall.. (and hopefully will meet someone there who's prepared to belay me, or, better still, take me out climbing the next day.

Cambridge

Finally, the family have managed to get rid of me :). I've enjoyed a very comfortable, relaxing time for the last week and a bit with Philip Baddeley, (also the same generation as me, but only slightly younger than my parents).

After arriving in Cabmridge with Rob and Richard Jefferies. (waiting for a lift up with them was what kept me in Cornwall.... not the amazing place and other people...) I met Phillip, a rather eccentric entrepreneurial type of guy. He thought he was suffering from food poisioning as a result of some prawns, and wasn't too well for the whole time i was with him..., as it turn out, it looks more like he is suffering from gall stones. That night we headed out to Katie, (Rob and Richard's sister)'s place where all her friends were getting ready for a good night out on town... a last drinking session before graduation. The company was good, the booze was good (apart from the bottle of old sherry we pinched before we left Philip's place. ) and the Baileys-chocolate slice was delicious! We then headed out to “Secret Disco”, a funky little soul music bar in the middle of town. When we arrived, at about 11:00, the floor was all ours(about 10 of us), so the dancing began. by the time i left, at around 3 there were 6 of us and 80 other people. a great bit of fun, with the standard Baddeley/Jefferies dance moves going strong.

Back at Philip's place, there was a certain lack of space in beds, so a permanent challenge was laid down to try to find somewhere else to sleep for any given night, although i won't comment on anyone's success.

The next day Katie took us punting on the river., a very traditional experience, On the way down the river, Richard gave a wonderful demonstration of why you don't attempt to just get that last push in before you reach the bridge, with a spectacular lifeguard-like swan-dive/belly-flop into the murky water, gallantly rescuing the pole. When we got to the downstream end, I suddenly found it was my turn, to punt upstream.. but a lot of bank-hugging and a couple of doughnuts later we were back where we started, I was still dry, and we hadn't made too many enemies in the other boats. Sarah arrived that afternoon, and of course, we went into town again that evening.., although it wasn't nearly as exciting as the previous night.

The graduation day itself was a spectacular celebration of a lot of hard work by a lot of people. Naturally, i was the most under-dressed person present, but running around all day with my camera made me feel like i was meant to be there, even if most of my photos were kinda average. The ceremony itself (which i didn't have tickets for) was a very formal, yet quick affair when compared to Auckland University graduations. Only one college at a time (Cambridge graduates in it's residential colleges, not faculties), and with only 80 people in the college, no clapping, no singing, etc. the whole formal ceremony is over in 30 mins.

After the ceremony, there was a lunch in the garden of Katie's College, the highlight of which must have been Rob's parachute,
we then walked on to a lovely garden cafe, (Someone email me if they know the name of it)... where we enjoyed scones and Pims..,. after the walk back through many kissing gates we were ready to head back into town for dinner with the families of some of Kate's close friends..., which, of course, was followed by heading to the pub for our last night out in cambridge, Any rumours of brothers splitting generations are purely hearsay, I assure you.

The following day, after helping Katie move the last of her posessions out of her room, we headed up to wales., and since I'm nearing the end of this bus trip, Wales can wait for my next blog post.