Lorton Gully, Grassmoor

Today John, Nick and I found ourselves in Lorton Gully, Grassmoor, which is a superb Grade 3, three star gully scramble with a real mountain ambiance despite only being minutes above the road at Lanthwaite Green. We had really dry conditions but still managed to find a few extremely slippery holds. It would certainly be entertaining in spate! In the amphitheatre directly above the tricky section Nick proudly produced his brand new Jetboil stove and brewed us all a cuppa. Top man! We continued up the regular scramble following the left hand branch, which conveniently ends on the North West Ridge path to Grassmoor. We resisted the temptation to continue to the summit and opted for the direct descent of the NW Ridge (itself a decent scrambly path to round off the day) to the car, and the fastest route to the Royal Oak in Braithwaite. A very wise decision as it turned out because we just beat the rain and enjoyed some much deserved liquid refreshment thanks to Messrs Jennings!