Back Bowden was the venue for the second outdoor Quickdraw outing of the year, a couple of hours drive down the A1 and another twenty minutes to find the crag if you have never been there before.

We were blessed with the weather, a beautiful sunny day beckoned for a more mature gathering of Daniel, Niamb, Louise, Steph, Ella, Cammy, Emma, Lachlan and Kiara. Our instructor guides were Buz and Ellie who did a superb job as always.The location was stunning, the crag is sheltered from the wind, so it was a fairly chilled affair, lounging around crushing boulder problems now and again but just generally basking in a "schools out for summer" ambience. Around lunch time some of the group departed to try other close-by venues, as they disappeared into the distance with their boulder mats attached I could not help but recall the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Lachlan had a strap on shell at one time - he really liked them - and I pondered as to whether there was some mysterious connection.

A trad route was climbed by Steph, it looked pretty tricky to me but she coped admirably and Niamb performed a die-no (I'm not sure how you spell it but this way seems apt) which was beyond belief. Twice. Towards the end of the day Buz opened a rock gym in a cave which was popular albeit there was a dispute over what actually consitutes a full pull-up; he was talking later of hanging up his Scarpas and donning a Fred Flinstone outfit in a plastic replica cave in an industrial unit somewhere but I think the heat had perhaps affected him. And some of the parents too.

We retired from the crag fairly late on: another fantastic day out in a stunning location with everyone most cheerful and happy.

Ongoing thanks to Dorothy and Alan.