Castle Inn climbing

Peak/Crag: Castle Inn Quarry
Routes: School Mam (f6a:led), Route 1 (f5:sec), Route 2 (f6a:sec), Lili Marlene (f5+:led), Alone With The Moon (f5:sec), Right-hand Variant (f6a:sec), Open Legs (f6b:led), Finale (f5:sec), More Than This (f6a:sec)
A huge contrast with our last visit in February when we climbed 20 routes but the temperature never rose above -2c!. I've been climbing here for 22 years and have done the routes on the main face around 15 times, but it remains the closest thing to a French-style bolted limestone crag in Wales. We only had a couple of hours spare, so I kicked off with the overgraded School Mam, the newer direct line, which goes up small positive holds to gain a steepish crack which leads to a very juggy final wall which is far easier than it looks from below. Mick then led Route 1, which remains (by some margin) my most frequently climbed route: always entertaining and now with even more bolts. Route 2, even with its polish, remains another soft touch in my view, but I always enjoy the technical moves up the little nobules and the tiny pinch-grip stalactite on the flowstone. We moved further to the left, where I led the awkward line of Lili Marlene before seconding Mick up a couple of other short routes. I then led the short but intricate 6b to its left. I did this cleanly and quickly, but again feel that it is probably a tad overgraded. Small holds, and tiny ripples for the feet, allow for moves diagonally right to gain a superb sharp edge and easier climbing. The 6a arete left of Finale was also despatched cleanly and efficiently: a valuable short session in advance of next months Alps trip.