Climbing has always been one of my favourite activities, but before my trip to Croatia last year where I got to try both Cliff Jumping & Climbing I always climbed indoors and mostly bouldering.  Fast forward a year later, my friends and I decided to do a weekend climbing trip to Peak District, organised by the Westway Climbing Centre.

The three of us rented a car from Luton (to avoid traffic in London) on Friday and stayed at Thorpe Farm Bunkhouse, where we shared with all the other climbers in the group.  Kind of felt like I was at camp again, except as an adult with people I didn’t know.  It was a cute farm, where we got to wake up to the cows and all the lovely smells that come with them.  Plus there was an adorable dog that was best friends with the cow and would come say hi in the mornings.

Our instructions told us to bring enough food and drinks for us to eat during the day, as there would be no where close to purchase food or drinks.  So being the glutton that I am panicked and brought a variety of nuts, dried fruit, jerky and protein bars as snacks on top of the deli meat, cheese and tomatoes I purchased for lunch.  I realise when I am being active during the day I don’t eat much and ended up eating almost none of it…

We did 2 days of climbing and ended up going to Stanage for the first day and Birchen Edge for the second day.  Saturday was a perfect day for climbing, slightly overcast with a breeze, while the second day was beautifully sunny, but SO hot.

Of course, I had to bring out my drone for the weekend and take it out for another spin in the beautiful English countryside, but this time I had a plan!  I’ve been wanting to get better at putting all my wonderful videos together so I can share with friends and family, rather than having all of it (similar with my photos) get tucked away into a hard-drive never to be seen again.  See my attempt at a travel video below and let me know what you think and feedback!

All in all, I really enjoyed my first outdoor climbing trip, and can’t wait for the next one.  First, I am think I will learn how to lead climb and then maybe Trad Lead Climbing…maybe!