Our own Brexit

We're exiting Britain, but for fun and adventure only!

It's seemed ages coming but we're off on our Euro Road Trip with the kids, bikes, climbing gear and a canoe. All squeezed into and loaded on our wonderful momo.

Off to get the ferry from Hull, via a playpark :-)

Ski Touring at Glenshee

Winter keeps coming and going this year and the Lakes hasn't really seen any winter conditions at all.  So with that in mind me and Stu headed to Glenshee in Scotland with hopes high and enthusiasm brimming over!

After a half day of piste skiing in fog (still fun) and having to sit out a day of horrendous rain, our patience was paid off by blue skies and good snow.

Stu skinning back up what we had just skied down near Cairn an Turic

There is a tonne of snow on the tops,

It's tricky to make out but there are 3 avalanches on the far slope. All caused by cornices breaking off in the warm weather we reckon.

Scotland isn't all fog and midges!

Looking down towards the Braemar road

Stu styling in new boots!

A good time was had by all and yet again reminded me that with enough flexibility and enthusiasm there are some amazing adventures to be had!

Zip world trip and some amazing Mines in North Wales

This is amazing!  Our mate rich runs it and kindly let us have a go this weekend!  It should be on everyones bucket list.

Not content with one adventure in the day, we headed to an amazing abandonned slate mine.  This is reputed to be the biggest slate mine in the world...it's huge!

The entrance adit

Ali and maz

This 'staircase' heads  into a huge chamber about 30m deep and just vast!

We then found a plank walkway with rope to clip into...theres a 20m drop below them, pretty exciting stuff.  All this is new and has been put in by 'Go Below' a company running mine trips.

Maz grinning despite the exposure

This incline was enormous and ran for at least 200m vertically.

Rich, Ali and Maz looking at the remains of an old railway bridge.  The drop is about 20m past rich.

As this was an exploratory visit and we were following our noses and being sensible we eventually turned back and retraced our steps...we will be back!

After work adventures

I had a brilliant after work staff trip with some fellow instructors from Derwent Hill Outdoor Centre tonight.  We suited and harnessed up and headed to the Graphite Mine in Borrowdale for a through Abseil trip.

Its recently had a bit of a revamp with new bolts in places and we had a good old explore of the upper levels, managing to link up some things that i had an inkling might link.  Really, really good trip and great of the centre to loan us the minibus and some kit to do it.

In one way and out the other...

This is becoming a bit of a habit...a monday night habit it seems!

We found ourselves back at Nenthead Mines tonight with a more adventurous trip in mind.  A through trip into Smallcleugh mine, down whats called Prouds Sump (shaft) and then out of Rampgill mine.

Some impressive walling near a horse gin in Smallcleugh

Mark heading down Prouds Sump 1st shaft

Andy and Mark in Prouds Flats looking at the amazing artefacts still there. 

Go on Andy it'll be reet!

In a large worked out vein, you  can see the height of the roof.

There were copious crystals on the roof here.

The remains of some old ore wagons

Mark checking out some impressive Galena

This is a circular platform built to work up into a vein from.

Mark inspecting an explosives box.

It's pretty big down there

At the end of the flats there's a really cool chamber full of crystals

You then head down another shaft and end up coming out of an ore shoot.

The rock really changes here and becomes shale (scary shale!) 

It got deep, but never to that critical depth if you know what i mean!?

This was a side passage off of Rampgill Hangingshaw level that we were now in.  The floor was covered in calcite.

Whisky bottle corner

And for something that isn't a cave it has some impressive cave features!

So we made it!  And a brilliant trip it was too.  Unfortunately we saw a lot of future trips along side passages on the way out...we will be back!