Peak '40@40' climbs

Crag: Windgather, Western Peak
Routes: Rib and Slab (M:Sol), Buttress Two Gully (M:sol), Leg Stump (D:sol), Middle and Leg (D:sol), Centre (HVD:sol), Broken Cracks (D:sol), High Buttress Arete (D:sol), High Buttress Arete Direct (HVD), Corner Crack (VD:sol), Toe Nail (VD:sol), The Corner (D:sol), The Corner Middle Buttress (M:sol), Wall Climb (HVD:sol), Chockstone Chimney (D:sol), Small Wall (S 4b:sol), The Staircase (M:sol), Red Nose Route (D:sol), Bay Wall (S:sol), Aged Crack (S 4a:sol), Face Route 2 (D:sol), Face Route 1 (HVD:sol), Overhanging Arete (VD:sol), Groove (M:sol), Left Triplet Crack (M:sol), Discontinuous Rib (M:sol), Side Face (S 4a:sol), First's Arete (VD:sol)
Crag: Castle Naze, Western Peak
Routes: Double Crack (VD:sol), The Arete (HS 4b:sol), Crack 1 (D:sol), Crack 2 (D:sol), Crack 3 (D:sol), Pinnacle Crack (VD:sol), Pinnacle Arete (VD:sol), Sheltered Crack (VD:sol), Slanting Crack* (S:sol), V Chimney (D:sol), South Buttress (D:sol), Boomerang (M:sol), Overhanging Chimney (HVD:sol)
I had a vague idea to do 40 climbs in a day as the easiest method of marking my 40th year. The other planned options - 40 competitive races and 40 peaks in a day - are a tad more challenging, but still on the schedule. However, not being a gritstone 'native' I hadn't realised quite how quickly you can bag a large number of easy routes, having always concentrated on proper climbing whenever I'd visited the region in the past. Actually, 40 is a straightforward target, perhaps 100 routes would have been more meaningful as a 'challenge'. Windgather, the easiest crag in the Peak above a very pleasant valley on the edge of Cheshire, was an obvious starting point. It was early morning, with a cold breeze and no sunshine, so chilly fingers ensued. But I still enjoyed the rapid movement over these very simple routes, particularly the charming and well positioned High Buttress Arete, for which the sun came out as I moved round the arete onto the upper wall. I also enjoyed the juggy Aged Crack, and other fun routes scattered across the buttresses, particularly First's Arete, Wall Climb and the misnamed Chockstone Chimney. I found that I had bagged well over 20 routes in less than 90 minutes, and drove over to Castle Naze for a break. I'd never been to this venue before, unlike Windgather, and thought the proper longer routes look well worth a future visit. Not an option today, though. Instead, numerous short routes around the Pinnacle, and further right, allowed me to reach 40 routes quite easily - about 2.5 hours in total. As a result, I had enough time to go to work, then do the full run up Moel Famau later on.