Craig y Forwen, Castle Inn, Famau run

Crag: Craig y Forwen, Llanddulas
Routes: Route 66 (VS 4c, 4b: led p.2)
Crag: Castle Inn, Llysfaen
Routes: Route 1 (f5: led), Route 2 (f6a: led)
Climbing was first banned on this tremendous crag a year or two before I started in 1988 or so. As my local crag, it was obviously a huge loss. Twenty years on, and the prospect of access seemed back on the cards last year before the barely credible fact emerged that the awkward landowner didn't own the central section after all. Anyway, we'd researched the access situation carefully and understood that some of the routes on the edge of the cliff were legitimate. Parked according to BMC guidance and headed down to the crag, a seminal moment after all these years. Vic led the first pitch of Route 66. Obviously recently cleaned, but still felt like not many people had done the route for a couple of decades. Good climbing though, with a short corner followed by a nice traverse to a steepish arete up to the belay ledge. Good gear, enjoyable throughout. I led on through the rather dirty but easy-angled corner to the top. Eager for more, for obvious reasons, I led the easy first pitch up the corner of Sangfroid, a classic HVS (still a legitimate climb, supposedly). Vic was half way up the steep flake on the second pitch when an aggressive shout came from below the trees. There followed a torrent of abuse - you are trespassing, get off the cliffs, and worse. We stayed silent and eventually both lowered off without confrontation, it being rather unpleasant to climb with an unseen lunatic shouting below the crag. This section of cliff is supposedly fine to climb on - the better routes on the main cliff still barred, for whatever reason - so it really seems unacceptable for this to happen, particularly as we were unobtrusive to the point of being virtually silent. No idea who was hurling the abuse, but to have the prospect of access to the crag dangled and then taken away just seems ridiculous. We retreated without conflict to Castle Inn, where we both led the two old favourites (the f6a and the arete, must have done them at least 10 times) before torrential melting hail drove us off. Then drove to Cadole in tropical monsoon conditions for a long run (9m+?) up a humid and misty Famau via the Cilcain reservoirs and down the normal ascent route. Rehydrated at the Collie.