For Emma.

"I get by with a little help from my friends."

John Lennon

In fact I get by with a huge amount of help from my friends and sometimes they need some too.

This post is for my wonderful friend Emma, who is relatively new to the world of motherhood and like anything new she is trying to find her feet and juggle many balls all at once. 

Emma, this post is not intended to make you cry, it is too reminisce about in either your wakeful or sleep time dreams. It is to promise you that when the time is right, all be it next year or ten years down the line, we will have another trip. It may not be as long and we hopefully won't be so unclean, but we will go back and crush as best we can and if we can't we will sit and have coffee and chat about it.

These photos are from our amazing 3 month trip in France and Spain in 2007 (they are in a very random order).

Good times.

Emma, Font.

Tickle.

Benidorm. Pose.

Ferry home.

Rainbow stripes.

Weirdo.

Font beach.

Concentrate Caroline!

Gnomes.

The best chef ever.

Lollipops.

Lounging.

Driving.

Shadow dancing.

Peace x

Photographs by Caroline Harvey, Emma Diffley and the self timer.

P.S Emma if you have copies of all my trip photos can I have them on a disc please, as I seem to have lost all but a few! Boo Hoo.

A time to celebrate.

The 3 amigos

I have very mixed emotions at the moment as the 22nd of May (tomorrow or today depending on which time zone you are in) is the day that my very good friends Emma and Diff get married.

Diff proposed last Summer and the date was set for May, so I knew I would not be around. The possibility of breaking up my trip was always there but I knew that if I came home with 3 months to go I would not want to go back and finish what I started. Are these selfish decisions? Maybe but I know Emma understands my reasons and I thank her for that. Sometimes I feel you have to follow a path to the end in order for a new one to start and that is what I felt I had to do with this one.

I am extremely fortunate to have some of the most amazingly supportive and loving friends that anyone could ever ask for, so it is painful for me not to be there for them in return.

Anyway, before I get too sentimental I would just like to wish Emma and Diff all the happiness in the world. I hope you have a fabulous day and although I am sad not to be with you I am so happy that you found each other. I look forward to celebrating your 3 month anniversary when I get home.

I will be celebrating your nuptials in downtown Knoxville...

xxx

Girls (briefly) on Grit

Flow stone in the cave

Emma and I headed down to the Peak District at the weekend for a wee spot of bouldering on grit. We were meeting up with an old University friend of Emma's who was coming to 1) escape from London for the weekend and 2) have her first experience bouldering outside.

We left Edinburgh early Friday afternoon in the hope of missing any evening traffic. We were going quite well until we started to hit the M6 and it all started getting busy and was very, very wet. It was not until we starting listening to the radio that we discovered that the English schools had just split up for the Summer holidays and everyone and their Granny was heading South, hoping for sunshine.

Many sets of road works and traffic jams later we arrived at Stockport train station to collect Tamsyn. The poor girl had had to wait a while for us in a cafe as her speedy train from London only took a couple of hours.

Despite the forecast, spirits were high and we were all looking forward to a good first day. We woke up to rain, lots and lots of rain! Not good for climbing at all, but we packed the car and headed out for the day anyway. First stop was at the Blue John caverns, somewhere Emma had been wanting to see for a while, at least it would be dry, just like our tour guide sense of humour.

Fallen rock

Blue John stone

Plant life

As we left the caverns the sky was beginning to brighten so we drove to the Stanage Plantation, at least we could have a look if nothing else.

It dried enough for us to do some easy problems and give Tamsyn that great first bouldering outdoor experience. We then moved on to Burbage South to find some more easy routes. Sadly because of our late start we did not have too much time there as we were going to Sheffield to meet another old Uni mate. All good though as we treated to a very tasty curry for dinner.

View at the plantation

Tamsyn on grit

Pretty good for a first timer

Sunday, it would be dry and sunny. It had to be!

No Sunday was wet too. Never to be defeated we headed out once it had cleared and hoped for some dry rock at Cratcliffe, and joy o joy we found some. Well for about 5 mins we found some and then the heavens opened once again. We hid in a cave until we got washed out of there too.

There was just no way it was going to dry in the time we had left so we had to scuttle back to the car feeling slightly disappointed once again. We headed into Bakewell for a cup of tea before having to drive home again. Needless to say it was sunny and dry the whole drive home.

View from our cave

Rain

More rain

Big puddles

All photos by Caroline Harvey

Last One Ticked

Yesterday was a momentous day for two reasons. 

Reason one. I was invited to walk with Tony while he completed his very last munro, Beinn Na Lap. That means this was his 284th munro. Amazing achievement, I think I have done about 6.

It was quite a long day but well worth it and the weather was extremely kind to us. Emma and Diff picked me up at 8:15 am and we set off for Crianlarrich. We had to get there for 10:20 or we would miss the train, so there were a few anxious moments when we got stuck behind caravans, lorries and Christian carrying mini buses. Thankfully we made it with about 5 mins to spare.

At Crianlarrich train Station we met with Tony and some of his friends and family, from there we got the train, which runs on the West Highland Railway line, to Corrour station. This is a very scenic train ride which takes about an hour. Arriving at Corrour, you are already 400m above sea level which only leaves a 540m to walk. 

The walk itself does not take too long, we lingered at the top long enough to have some food and drink some pink fizz, but it was blowing an absolute hoolie and quite chilly, so we headed down back into the sunshine after about half an hour.

We then rested and got liquid refreshments at the station house and waited for the next, only and last train at 6:25.

Loch Ossain

Tony, Emma and Diff taking a breather

Stuart and Tony

Jess striding out on her first munro

She did have fun, honest.

Slow and steady does it

Celebratory drinks for Tony

The cairn at the top

Beinn Na Lap

Pretty things, as usual

Corrour train station

What this sign should say is beware of the three trains that pass this way on a Saturday. I think if you got hit by a train here you would be extremely unlucky.

I loved the view plus the reflections from the train on the way home.

Momentous day, reason two.

I got a gluten free fish supper! Yay.

The Real Food Cafe in Tyndrum serves gluten free fish and chips. I have not had a fish supper in nearly 11 years, so was very excited by the prospect. It did not disappoint, truly delicious and extremely satisfying. The only thing missing was some chippie sauce, but hey you can't have everything.

Yumm

All photographs by Caroline Harvey

Smoke gets in your eyes

Essential BBQ equipment, the brolly

It is exactly a year yesterday since Emma and Diff moved into their new home. To celebrate they decided at long last to have a house warming party. 

As always as soon as you mention the BBQ words the weather decides to not be very June like and heavy rain was forecast. However the small showers that came down were not enough to put us off, and eventually all came good and the fires did not go out.

Smokin!

Bong and Diff were chief cooks and did a great job. As far as I know all who attended are still alive and well.

Ah the banter

Mmm sausages

Looking good Mr D

Bong fashioning his sausage turning utensils

Is that an extra finger or a sausage?

Bong and his big meaty sausage. Ooh er missus!

I very much enjoyed my first BBQ of the year and the Pimms punch. Thanks for a great evening guys and heres to many more happy years together. xx

All photographs by Caroline Harvey