We have had some nice spring weather recently and I decided to go exploring. I’d read about Froggatt Edge in the Peak District as a good spot for climbing. I found a spot to park on the side of the road and wandered through the forest and up the hillside until I came to the [...]
It is a short walk from Gail and Dave’s Scottsdale house to the undeveloped desert. Piles of granite, remnants of ancient igneous intrusions, are scattered across the landscape. They just call out to be climbed!
Quite a few of us scrambled up the crack and made it atop this boulder.
I came back later with my rock [...]
Yesterday, I went to Stanage Edge, a gritstone escarpment that forms that border between the High Peak District and Sheffield in South Yorkshire. Gritstone is a coarse version of sandstone laid down when the area was a delta during the Carboniferous period. It was once quarried to be used as grindstones for milling flour. Apparently, [...]
Yesterday, the kids and I went to an Apple Day at Calke Abbey. The National Trust has been restoring the gardens and orchards at Calke for a number of years now and the orchards are now producing a wide assortment of locally developed apple varieties. Their apple event showcased these heirloom fruits.
We had slices of [...]
After visiting Sacketts Hill, we decided to go to the beach to enjoy what is likely to have been the last of the summer weather. We headed to the beach and found a tea house right near the car park. It was lovely: someone’s home surrounded by flower gardens.
Unfortunately, the service was very slow and [...]
The cold, windy weather finally cleared off today. My arms are still sore from an enjoyable morning spent climbing at the Nottingham Climbing Centre. Mostly though, I’ve been obsessively re-reading the Harry Potter series. I’m most of the way through the 4,224 pages that chronicle the adventures of the young wizard and [...]
It is almost impossible to visit Calke without climbing something. After visiting the lambs, we discovered a fallen tree nearby.
Sage had a great time exploring this amazing old tree!
We went climbing this week and both kids made it easily up to the top of the rock wall. It was great to see their confidence and ability increase since our last visit.
It’s hard to identify them at such a height, but the picture above is of River and the one below is Sage.
It [...]
We went rock climbing at the Nottingham Climbing Centre on Wednesday. It was so much fun! The kids climbed with a group of kids and an instructor. They started out with bouldering, did some belaying, and got lowered from a bridge by a rope. They both said their favorite part was [...]
We went for a nice walk on the estate surrounding Calke Abbey with some friends on Wednesday. It was a beautiful autumn day and the photos turned out really nice. I hope you enjoy them too.
We spent quite a while balancing on the fallen chestnut logs here. I’ve always wondered what the [...]
