Caley bouldering

It was a beautiful evening; sunny, clear, but still cool and with a slight breeze. These are good conditions for bouldering, where the aim is to climb short 'problems' on cliffs and boulders, using a crash mat to land on when you fall. 20 minutes north of Leeds, outside the town of Otley, is  Caley - a popular bouldering venue that has lots of problems described in guidebooks. After finishing work I headed to Caley for the evening.

Oak tree, Caley

Caley is a wooded hillside that has gritstone boulders and small cliffs scattered across it. In the woods there were foxgloves and bilberries covering the ground (along with the ubiquitous bracken), and the trees were predominantly birch and oak, with a few other species mixed in. Some of the oaks, like the one in this photo, had the space to grow broad, spreading canopies that give an ancient woodland feel.

Flapjack boulder, Caley

Among the trees I found my first boulder. It was The Flapjack, which was a good boulder to get started on; it had some easy problems - in the font 3+-5+ range, and it was not very high, so I would not fall far. Judging by the chalk marks, plenty of people have had the same idea.

Cream eggs boulders, Caley

Next, The Cream Eggs. This is a pair of steeper boulders with smooth sides and sharp corners that provide some challenging problems. I repeatedly fell off the chalky corner that has my bag underneath in the photo above, eventually admitting defeat. The corner has a grade of font 6a+.

The Chicken Run boulder, Caley

 Breaking from the snack theme, this boulder is The Chicken Run. It had some short, fun problems that I finished the evening on.The problem that goes up the corner of The Chicken Run is one of the few easier problems at Caley that has been given a name - it is called Cold Turkey - and has a grade of font 5+.

Almscliff

Nursing sore fingers and ready for dinner, I set off home. I emerged from the woodland to blue skies and views across the valley. The small hill on horizon is Almscliff, a famous Yorkshire climbing and bouldering venue.