Visiting Yorkshire and Scotland

Balancing up the slab of Centre Point (Diff).

I went climbing yesterday, which isn't uncommon, but instead of checking in on the Lake District crags or the Northumberland outcrops or the limestone of the Dales, we headed further afield to the gritstone crags of Brimham, which are just outside of Ripon. This did mean we had an early start to make the four hour round journey worthwhile, but we did get four-and-a-half hours under cloudless skies with perfectly conditioned gritstone. Then today, we headed to Scotland for the day.

Poling up the River Annan, Scotland.

When I say Scotland I don't mean the Highlands, but rather Dumfries and Galloway, which is only just a stones throw from Carlisle, and has many a perfect river for messing around in boats. The river of choice was the Annan, which we have visited on one previous occasion, but failed to get on because of the unusually high river levels. Today, the river was much lower and it was a perfect way to spend the day.

Paddling down the River Annan, Scotland.

Negotiating a cheerful Scottish fisherman on the River Annan.

Good lines, stay safe and see you on the wet stuff...
Iain