There is no doubt that Langscar’s ‘attraction’ of easy access is countered somewhat by its potential for a ‘fatal’ outcome as boulders large and small hailed down on us from above. Nonetheless, adorned with hard hats (except for Keith whose head is hard enough anyway) we tackled V Groovy (S) and Crown of Thorns (VS **) before deciding that a top rope was the only sensible option if we were going to continue.

Numb Fingers (VS 4b) probably deserves a *, while The Tower (F6b) and Lurcher (F6c) proved wildly overambitious.

While Boris Johnson was delivering his rebuke of the Chequers Plan and with gusts approaching 30 mph, ‘Br’exit was inevitable and reentry to Langscar was negotiated for next Wednesday. Returning to Woodcutters enabled a few more ticks to be had which included Are Yew In (5b), Are Yew Out and Dodgy Brexit (6a+*). Two remainers had belated Birthday Surprise (5b) and Ben Hur (6a**) was defeated before Three Steps to Heaven (5c**) heralded an early departure to The Talbot.

I little bit of wind and rain was not going to stop the dynamic duo ( The Double ‘A’s) from getting onto the rock this weekend, albeit another visit to Giggleswick. Slippery slopers gave an additional dimension to Three Steps to Heaven (5c**), Centerpiece (6a*) and Debbie Direct (6a+**). To the left of Woodcutter’s Buttress are a number of recently added lines that remain unnamed (5c/6a*). The Main Area offered up First Plaice (5) and the now bolted Moribund (6a+*) and as the mist swept in from the west, we got to the third bolt on September Flake (6a+***) before progress was brought to an abrupt and wet end and the maillon was deployed.

This little and innocuous looking buttress packs a bit of a punch with each of the routes, Buddy Red Cat (5); Rat Poison (6a*); Atomic Kitten (6a*); Over the Garden Wall(5+), Crazy Paver (6a+*) and The Constant Gardner (6a**) providing a sting in their tail.

Getting established on Alan’s Crack is tough at the best of times, but after the morning’s deluge, the ominous green bloom repelled our advances and we retreated around the corner to Fag Slab Variant (VS**), which turned out to be no less a challenge and a test of gear placement and belayer attention.

Pig Traverse (HS**) has its moments, but with bomber gear on the crux and warm sun working its magic, we managed to stay attached to the rock and provided a great finale to an exciting if challenging afternoon.