Having felt ill most of Friday and part of Saturday some fresh air was needed. Steve H and his daughter Lizzie came by with lunch to cheer me up and we decided a river stroll and park might be a nice end to the day, possibly bagging some geocaches en route. Once a suitable distance away from the car the heavens decided to open. There was no rain forecast for the afternoon so I'd taken the unwise approach of leaving my waterproof trousers in the car (having carried them for miles and miles lately without having to use them it was a little bit annoying!) Despite the rain we pressed on finding the woods and trees gave fairly good shelter.
Our walk started at Snuff Mills - a riverside location about a 10 minute drive from my house. It's a walk we've often done as it can be started from our house in Horfield (passing through Stoke Park en route). Steve H had just acquired the outdoor climbing guide for the Avon Gorge which mentioned a crag in Snuff Mills. This was something I was intrigued to see as I'd never seen anything like that round there. UK Climbing has a little bit to say about it: http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=1545
Lizzie enjoyed messing round on the rock and Steve looked at possible places you could place protection. The rock was pretty crumbly and I'm not sure I'd trust it. I liked the look of the shape of it and wouldn't mid giving it go with a top rope on it.What amazed me was I'd never once noticed it - it's tucked away on the side of the river we normally cross over at. There's also another crag further down (Ivy covered according to the guide) which I wouldn't mind having a look at. Even with no plans to climb it it's always good to check out new things in places you think you know really well. Lizzie's enthusiasm for the walk and the area was catching despite the torrential rain, she had us climbing up over all kinds of things and again I went to bits of the woods I'd not seen before. Steve also enjoyed a bit of a work out hanging off the rocks. According to UK climbing the rock there is Pennant Sandstone which I'd not heard of before.
Further info about Snuff Mills and surround area can be found here
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