Memories of England - Higgar Tor

-Day 21 of 31-

I was flipping through some pictures on my computer today and came across the photos below.  This brough back good memories of an amazing day with Alan back in May 2010 in England's Peak District.  And since I dropped Alan's Christmas present off to Santa Claus today, I figured I'd post this.

We had climbed all day at Millstone and decided to find this little crag called Higgar Tor.   On the front cover of the area guidebook is a photo of this block and I was adamant that we check it out.  Alan was in no position to argue, as I was the one driving our little 5-speed, 4-door Ford Focus with the wheel on the right side of the car.  He could only sit in the passenger seat, cover his eyes every time a car passed by on the left and mutter something about how this just didn't seem right and that death was surely waiting for us around the next bend.


We found this little outcrop with just enough of the day left to knock out this route called "The File".  It's earned that name.  The crack that splits this chunk of gritstone will definitely do some damage to your hands if you're not taped up...as we learned.  It was a beautiful line and the setting couldn't have been more spectacular.  The air was warm that evening with a light breeze and you could hear the sheep out in the fields, incessantly "baah-ing"...and I mean incessantly.  From our vantage point you could see miles and miles of sheepfolds, rolling over the hills and into the small villages and towns of the Burbage Valley in Derbyshire (although Higgar Tor is just barely inside South Yorkshire).

So you might ask, "How did you take these pics?"  Well, just as I finished topping out Alan told me that there was a gentleman just across the way from us who had come out that evening to take some pictures of the sunset with the blocks in the foreground.  He was not expecting to come across climbers but when he saw us he asked Alan if he could take some photos.  Of course Alan agreed.  Once we got down we met up with him, gave him an email address, and here are two of the better shots.

A great day of climbing in the beautiful English countryside.