Queens

Living in the Peak district you certainly learn to value solitude. There are so many people in so many of the Places, almost everywhere you can see some evidence of man, and its quite condensed - there arent great swathes of emptiness. This is what makes the county special. It also helps that visitors only think there are two crags - Kyloe and Bowden. I wonder whether Chris Graham's excellent new guide will encourage people to quest further afield? its a double edged sword writing a guide book. On one hand you can argue that doing so opens up an area for all, and on the other you can say that it might jeopardise access, lead to erosion etc etc. I dont suppose the county will ever get Peak busy. Its just too far from the south east.

Despite 9hrs sleep I felt tired when I woke up. Something had bitten me (I think) on the elbow, sometime over Thursday night. All day friday it hurt to the touch and had swelled up and gone red. Nice. On Saturday I had developed a hideous rash to accompany it - great. Clearly my body was fighting off something. But, the boys had made considerable efforts to make my County dreams come true and I had to go. Besides, a tour from the crag's premier developer was not to be missed. Owing to communication errors we set off first to the county, then discovered we had to collect Dan from Carlisle so headed up the A66 - which was closed. Sat in traffic for a while before taking a chance on a b road up country. The gamble paid off and we were soon hurtling past the carcasses of many a furred beast too keen to cross.

Met Dan and three of his mates outside the farmhouse. The guide says you should approach the house and try to pay them, but Dan apparently knows the farmer and its all square. We park, collect our stuff and I realise I've forgotten my trainers. Noone else seems to have any sort of hardy walking shoes either, so flip flops will hopefully suffice. We set off walking down a dirt track, skirting some trees and then questing on across fields. An edge comes into view off to the left and I hope thats not it. Its not. We drop down the edge past Chris Graham's Worldline and clap eyes on Queen Kong, Dan's testpiece from 2005/6. Awesome. An impressive 6m prow, with a flat or slightly scooped face and twin aretes that must be 5-6ft apart. The edge is set atop a boulder field covered with ferns, and as it doesnt get much traffic, so there arent really paths trodden into the foilage. We walk along the edge marvelling at the quality of the rock and ogling the undone projects. There are certainly some great lines. At the far end is an amazing lone block that stands away from the edge like a kind of ancient menhir, on it is the second most impressive looking problem of the crag - red dragon. This block has also the classic 6b+ 'The magician's nephew' - the Black Pearl's only addition to the crag.

We head back to the pads and warm up on a block set down from the edge. It has a problem called 'The power is on' - 7c which Smith is on in the guide. After some easier bimbling we get involved. Ned dispatches, I split a tip and Keith does the hard bit but drops the wierd finish. I think - he did push on when I'd stalked off but I didnt think he did it. Lets presume so. Certainly he was more than strong enough. I've moved to Worldline to avoid the youthful exuberance of one of the host team, but am quickly reunited. Yay. Ned crushes Worldline as does one of the hosts, and then I get on. Worldline is exactly like the dagger at Cresc. Its a roof which is climbed by clamping the corners with hands and feet. I flash past the hard bit then stuff the easy final slap. Have to have a sit down. They move to queen kong and I try again, but get nowhere. Its funny how you can get to the end on the flash, then spend ages getting back to your high point. Plenty more goes take place and finally I complete the problem, which is amazing. As i top out I can see stars and feel quite dizzy. Take my boots off and lie back in the shade. After eating Keith's malt loaf I feel more human and join them at Queen Kong. Ned is getting really high but doesnt manage to send. I want to have a go but I know I'm beat and just rest up, taking pictures. Keith Dan and Ned invent a new problem which both Keith and Ned complete in their trainers. Its one of those not hard but scary problems and I'm gripped just watching.

The whole camp moves to Magician's Nephew/Red Dragon. Noone does RD but MN has a few ascents. I lie in the grass feeling destroyed before deciding to walk out now. The walk out on my own is lovely. Theres noone about, no sign of anything and I really enjoy the silence. The light is beautiful too. In spite of my virus riddled body I've had a lovely day. Its a beautiful spot, and now I know I'm keen to go back. The others get back to the car at 2100 and we say our goodbyes and cane it home, making it back to sheff in 2hrs30.

Spent sunday in a daze. Feeling really tired, elbow still all swollen, but no rash at least. Wierd. Feel massively frustrated at ill health this summer. I dont feel like I've been well for 10 minutes. I dont know why but I dont like it. The monster got home and was ok, so we had a nice tea and went for a walk. Nothing this week until weds.