Bowles Rocks.. Tunbridge Wells..

With a great deal going on over the weekend, the details of the climbing trip must have been lost in translation.

Under the assumption that we were going indoors... 5 minutes down the road i was prepped and ready to go, minus the right head gear mind you. So after you a few minutes deliberating i thought a beanie was suitable. Functional, Fashionable and Free (it was a gift).

Walking to my drive i instantly realised that a beanie was the right choice, all other members of the expedition team were sporting a vibrant range of wintery head gear and it seemed that the plan was coming together quite smoothly. Hannibal would be proud.

Making the brief trip to Rochford to pick up Sperm or Mr Schubert to you and me, we ventured on.

But then..... then it hit me. A question floated in the air for a while.
A small collection of words compiled together to trigger a response often initiating debate thus resulting in a logical answer

The question i hear you ask?...

"we going 127 or A13?"

This question surely sounds mandatory... what road do we take.. left? or right? it has to be done. Optimise the route, make the journey that little bit easier and so on.

BUT.. i know for a fact that Clements Hall 'indoor climbing centre' is not near any arterial, quite the opposite infact. It sits secluded in amongst the B roads and bridleways that criss-cross through Hockley and  Hawkwell.

So i enquire "Surely its easier to go the back roads......."

An empty silence fills the car for a brief moment and then it becomes apparent.

"Mike. We're not going Clements Hall"

"So where are we going then....?"

"Kent"

A Brucey Bonus as it were.. The sun was out , the sky was blue, the perfect day for natural climbing.

But Alex and Lynne, were arriving at mine within the hour and i had requested their presence at Clements Hall after their arrival. Quite the conundrum seeing that within with the hour we would be in another county and over 50 miles away. At first it all seemed quite disastrous and only solvable with the cancellation of my trip to sunny Kent, but after great deliberation and realising it was a unique opportunity. It seemed logical to keep on trucking.

Onward!!

... A127 it is then.. the pulsing artery fuelling Southend with bustling traffic from London and its "Greater" regions. We push forward and away from the heart of South East Essex venturing into the Green, Hilly Depths of Kent, onwards to Tunbridge Wells.

And the rest they say is history...
but this history has been documented.