[tomtom]

MrsTT looks forward to her summer hols.

She works hard and her idea of unwinding is whiling away the days on holiday sat in the sun by the beach / pool reading a book... nice bit of food and wine in the evening.. the odd cultural tour is also perfectly acceptable.. few days in a city etc..

I can handle the above for about 1-2 days then I go bonkers. I'm also not a huge heat liker... and would love to go somewhere where there is the opportunity to do a bit of bloddering. Not every day - but 2,3 or 4 times would suffice in a couple of weeks. So, its trying to find somewhere to go on Hols which keeps MrsTT happy, but also has somewhere where I can do what I would like to do... I'm not necessarily after the best climbing place in the world (etc..) but somewhere where I can stretch out and blodder for a couple of days would suit... Probably be Aug/Sept time...

Last year - partly due to a wedding and where her Brother lives, we spent a week in Normandy and a week in Brittany - which was ace. Got out and explored some great beaches with whopping great pink granite boulders on. 

Any suggestions? long haul is a possibility so it neednt be Europe based....

Muchos gracias,
TT

[slackline]

Sardinia would tick most of those boxes, although I'm not sure if the bouldering is in proximity to the beaches.

[tomtom]

Sardinia would tick most of those boxes, although I'm not sure if the bouldering is in proximity to the beaches.

Yup thats a good idea - and I thought about that a bit - though I think the time of year we'd be going is right in the middle of the Italian summer holiday season. I forsee expense and crowds... 

[AB]

Might be a long shot but if you're prepared to go for the long haul then check out ko tao near ko samui in thailand. I was at koh phangan in May (next island along) and found some really good boulders just off the beach. Did a quick google and found: http://info.rockrun.com/articles/koh-tao-thailand.html. Also check out ton sai or railay also in thailand, i went there with a non climbing friend at the same time and he had a really good time chilling out while i was out climbing and its really easy to find someone to climb with if you decide to do routes, not very busy in the summer either.

[slackline]

  @ tomtom on a rope 

(would no doubt burn me off anyway!)

[SA Chris]

Cornwall not exotic enough?

Would suggest Cape Town, but while temps might be good for bouldering, it might not have optimal temps for lying on beach weather. And therein lies the rub; hot enough for beach usually means hot and sweaty on the boulders.

[tomtom]

Cornwall not exotic enough?

Would suggest Cape Town, but while temps might be good for bouldering, it might not have optimal temps for lying on beach weather. And therein lies the rub; hot enough for beach usually means hot and sweaty on the boulders.

SA's an intresting one... I'd like to go.. but MrsTT may well baulk at the temps - what are they like in say Aug/Sept or even July for that matter..?

Yes, you're right about the temps. Brittany last year was ace as it was (just about) warm enough for beach shizzle, but not too hot to boulder (I'm not after doing anything shit hot - I cant! - just to keep in shape/ keep amused/ explore etc..)

[SA Chris]

Cold and Damp. You may get lucky and get mostly dry days, but there are frequent fronts coming up from the Antarctic, which bring a couple of days of pissing rain at a time, and even when it is dry it won't be sunbathing temps.

by September it's warming up a bit, but fronts will still be passing through. Need to realistically leave till Late October to get best of good weather.

[magpie]

Mallorca for DWS?  September would be ideal for that.

[Paul B]

Mallorca for DWS?  September would be ideal for that.

Not a good idea for a lone wolf although I'm sure at Cala Barques you'd find someone to climb with.

[T_B]

Cornwall not exotic enough?

Would suggest Cape Town, but while temps might be good for bouldering, it might not have optimal temps for lying on beach weather. And therein lies the rub; hot enough for beach usually means hot and sweaty on the boulders.

SA's an intresting one... I'd like to go.. but MrsTT may well baulk at the temps - what are they like in say Aug/Sept or even July for that matter..?

August 2010 was unseasonably warm. We were there the first 3 weeks and had one day or rain. It was hot at Rocklands most of the time (though OK in the shade, with a breeze), and shorts weather (though not really sunbathing) in Cape Town and down on the Peninsula. Never saw Table Mountain in cloud. Lucky us. I don't think that's the norm. But as somewhere to holiday, it ticks a lot of boxes - great food/wine. Super friendly ppl. Rocklands hasn't got masses going on if you aint pulling down tho.

We spent the last week of August in Mallorca, which was very hot. I DWSed at Cala Barques and Diablo. Had good conditions just one day (gopping most of the time, as too humid). There were enough ppl at both venues to rock up on your own, though when I first arrived at Diablo I was the only person there and fully bricked myself. September would be the ideal time.

[tomtom]

Not a good idea for a lone wolf

I've always thought of myself as more of a misplaced border collie.. 

August 2010 was unseasonably warm. We were there the first 3 weeks and had one day or rain. It was hot at Rocklands most of the time (though OK in the shade, with a breeze), and shorts weather (though not really sunbathing) in Cape Town and down on the Peninsula. Never saw Table Mountain in cloud. Lucky us. I don't think that's the norm. But as somewhere to holiday, it ticks a lot of boxes - great food/wine. Super friendly ppl. Rocklands hasn't got masses going on if you aint pulling down tho.

We spent the last week of August in Mallorca, which was very hot. I DWSed at Cala Barques and Diablo. Had good conditions just one day (gopping most of the time, as too humid). There were enough ppl at both venues to rock up on your own, though when I first arrived at Diablo I was the only person there and fully bricked myself. September would be the ideal time.

Its a tricky one - it'd be daft to head to SA on the hope the weather was better than average - albeit with plenty else to do there.. Never been DWS - and not sure its my thing (I am a wuss+).. I could pack a harness and boots and see what actions going... I guess I like bouldering as you can just rack up and do your thing on your own or with anyone else (amenable) thats there..
Islands can work for the sun but not too hot combo.. we toyed with going to the Azores a couple of years ago.. go knows if theres any climbing there! (suspect its all too new rock wise)

Good ideas.. keep em coming 

[magpie]

There's some bouldering on Mallorca, or what about somewhere in Portugal?  You could surf there as well as boulder if you fancied it?

[tomtom]

Hmm. Portugals an idea excellent...

[SA Chris]

Cornwall not exotic enough?

Would suggest Cape Town, but while temps might be good for bouldering, it might not have optimal temps for lying on beach weather. And therein lies the rub; hot enough for beach usually means hot and sweaty on the boulders.

SA's an intresting one... I'd like to go.. but MrsTT may well baulk at the temps - what are they like in say Aug/Sept or even July for that matter..?

August 2010 was unseasonably warm. We were there the first 3 weeks and had one day or rain. It was hot at Rocklands most of the time (though OK in the shade, with a breeze), and shorts weather (though not really sunbathing) in Cape Town and down on the Peninsula. Never saw Table Mountain in cloud. Lucky us. I don't think that's the norm. But as somewhere to holiday, it ticks a lot of boxes - great food/wine. Super friendly ppl. Rocklands hasn't got masses going on if you aint pulling down tho.

You got lucky. I've seen pics of icicles hanging off the rocks at Wolfberg at that time of year. Rocklands gets better weather than CT, and the nearest beach to Rocklands is Lamberts Bay, which is a pretty bleak and desolate place, with baltic water of interst to surfers only. Eland's Bay is slightly nicer, but not much.

[tomtom]

Oz is not out of the question in terms of scope... Sept would not be ideal beach temps (I've been in July) but bright and not that cold... (thinking usual SE corner etc..)...

[SA Chris]

Do you want bouldering on the coast, or just near?

If near, then you could go to Sintra and combine it with Lisbon culture and the beaches nearby? Will be pretty warm though.

http://bouldersintra.wordpress.com/

http://articles.climbnewcastle.com/sintra.html