Pembrokeshire

Question: Where can you climb outdoors, on real rock, within a mile of a city?

Answer: St David's, of course. The smallest city in Britain.

What could be better? Waking in your tent, and then watching the early morning mist clear to be replaced by hot sun, and the promise of a perfect day. Walk out of the camp site and 100 metres along the cliff path to the top of the crag. Spend the day climbing on warm, friendly rock, and then wander along to the nearest sandy beach for a swim, before strolling along for a sociable evening in the pub.

This idyllic setting was Porthclais, a mile from St David's. Admittedly, it did take a long time to get there, and although there was plenty of space in which to camp, the facilities weren't great, 2 showers in the Ladies and 1 in the Men's, for four fields worth of tents. BUT, the weather was lovely, the climbing brilliant, and the company excellent.

We packed quite a lot into our three days, but only scratched the surface of the climbing in the area. As well as Porthclais, we climbed at Porth y ffynon, ten minutes walk away, and Craig Coetan, reached from Whitesands Bay. There are all grades of routes, and we would have liked to have stayed longer and explored further.

This was a small, select group,only 6 SOC members. I think I can speak for us all in saying that we had a really good time. For anyone thinking of going to this area of Pembroke to climb, but put off by the distance, give it a try if you can.

So, thanks go to Carl and Hattie for organising this meet. If I've done a good enough selling job, next time there may be a few more punters!

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	Swaledale Outdoor Club

Pembrokeshire

Helen Tait