Gouther Crag, Swindale

Another foray back onto the rock today, with an old friend who's also recovering from,well, life.
An inspired choice, Gouther offers a real sense of a big mountain crag, but is a 20 minute amble from the car.
It is also home a route that has long been on my wish list, the bold and delicate One Step Beyond (E4 6a). Whilst this is currently beyond me, we climbed some easier classics on the tall wall looking across at it and I could feel it's pull, I sat on the midway stance and tried to visualise it's moves, for the first time in a while I felt motivated  to train for a goal.
The climbs we did do were all worth their stars, but were slightly spoilt by the viciousness of the midges, some of the worst I've experienced in the  Lakes. I was grateful to lead all the first pitches and climb into the breeze.
Sadly it was only when we started to climb I realised I'd left little camera in the car, so today's choice of Blip was rather easy. 900 blips done and still forgetting camera!