El Chorro and the Caminito del Rey, Spain

Got back on Saturday from a great trip in southern Spain. Had a bit of a scare on arriving in Malaga - rain, heavy, torrential rain! Thankfully the clouds disappeared and we were left with glorious sunshine for the remainder of the trip!

It took a few days to get used to the climbing there - probably a combination of the long, steep walk-ins, the searing heat, the evening Rioja, 30m+ routes and a staple diet of chocolate biscuits and chorizo!

Eventually we did actually manage to get some decent routes done though, Jon bagging 4 or more 7a/+ routes, and me with an extra day, and extra layer of skin on my fingertips could have bagged my first 7b sport climb, next time!

On such a long trip you need a rest day, and what better way to recover than following a 90 year old crumbling footpath embedded (just!) into the walls of a 400ft deep gorge? Enter, the Caminito del Rey. Via ferrata all the way (mostly), although I wouldn't like to test the wires! A great day out nonetheless. (For a 3D guided tour, visit www.caminitodelrey.com).

What better way to escape the British winter blues?!