I remember when I lived in Essex (I was 20 when I moved away), Dick and I used to be desperate to climb sometimes. Essex is not a good place for someone who likes mountains. The nearest place to climb was Harrison's Rocks and the other sandstone outcrops down on the Sussex/Kent border. Apparently there was also some sort of chalk pit in Cambridgeshire which deprived Uni students used, though we never visited it. We went to Harrison's quite a bit, but it is somewhat esoteric. We had to persevere before we began to enjoy climbing on this dusty, damp and slippery outcrop. We used to frequent this pub because it had a large retaining wall holding up its beer garden. If you look at the link you should be able to see a way to get onto Google Streetview to look at both the beer garden and its wall. The wall, of course, we used for bouldering. We were that desperate! We also climbed the outsides of several multi-storey car parks in Ilford. I looked on Google Streetview for the only one I can positively remember where it is and it has now been replaced by a big building which is not a multi-storey car park. In early 1980 we made plans to scale the outside of a huge block of flats in Walthamstow, also now knocked down, but we had to give up on that idea as we needed help from a resident who got a bit nervous about the possibility of him getting evicted if the local council found out. Anyway... we have a different problem here in Swansea. Loose sea-cliffs and, if we are prepared to travel a short distance, grubby dis-used sandstone quarries are all that are on offer. Brecon Beacons? Well, they are mostly grassy slopes some of steeper sections of which are broken by crumbly and loose sandstone. Looks like we'll head up to Dolgellau and Cader Idris this weekend. Forecast predicts cold! P.S. The page for that pub... the blurb on that page says, Situated in a conservation area, you will be transported to a 'little switzerland'. Switzerland? Conservation area? What nonsense!