Lee Harrison Climbing

Jack and me could afford a casual start. It was 11am by the time we arrived in the White Cliffs of Dover National Trust car park. There was even time for a slice of cake in the shop. High tide was at 9.20am so much of the morning would be a write-off. We descended the zigzag path to the beach. Waves were still extending the full length of the shore and showering the boulders strewn beneath the cliffs.We waited patiently. Then we ran out of patience... We clambered over the boulders, avoiding waves, sometimes getting soaked by waves. We reached a section of cliff with no boulders that would forced us to pause and wait for the tide to recede a little more. Everything in this area was too steep to consider climbing so we had to press on. There was soon another impassible section. Beyond this the cliffs cut back from the waters edge before reaching the huge section of cliff that collapsed over the summer. We donned our crampons and traversed above the waves to the safety of a strip of ...

With winter approaching it was time to begin the season of chalk again. Having been plagued with shoulder injuries for much of the summer I was keen to ease back into things gently to avoid re-injury. I headed to Saltdean together with Julia, another member from the London Mountaineering Club, who was keen to try some chalk for the first time. We met Kirill and his climbing partner Paul at the crag. Back at Saltdean Julia and me climbed the usual regulars on the West side including Day Dreaming, Back in Time and Back Off Back On (all C5). I also top-roped (there are no bolts) a direct version of Day Dreaming, which climbs through a low jutting roof and offers much better value than the regular line. Kirill and Paul managed between them to climb most of the routes in this part of the crag. Julia climbing Day Dreaming (C5) Julia climbing Back On Back Off (C5) Paul climbing the unnamed route (C5) between Back in Time & St. Jerome Rain struck short...