Jordan

I’m Jordan, one of the Native speakers in Czarny Las. I come from a small town in East Anglia, a region in the southeast of England. I spent most of my childhood in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, but since finishing my studies at Coventry University, I’ve traveled to many places and worked abroad.

I had originally planned to volunteer in Ukraine and Georgia this summer. However, because of the Coronavirus, I spent most of the year in the UK. All was not lost though, as I ended up traveling around the UK to take part in one of my favourite pastimes, rock climbing. I was surprised at how much was on my doorstep and found many beautiful places closer to home.

One of the closest climbing spots to my home, is the southern sandstone belt in Kent, southeast England. this is a collection of sandstone cliffs and towers that a spread over the southeast. The area is very picturesque and beautiful, but the stone is extremely soft, so you have to be careful when climbing not to damage the rock.

Later in the summer, we ventured to the Peak District National Park, a rugged, rocky region in the North of England. The area is home to one of my favourite climbing spots, Horseshoe quarry. It is an abandoned limestone quarry, that offers many long, and interesting routes.

One of the last trips of the summer, was a trip to the beautiful Snowdonia region in North Wales. The region is one of the most mountainous and remote parts of the UK. We decided to visit the Llanberis Slate quarry, one of the biggest abandoned slate quarries in the country.

There was lots to see and explore at the quarry, including tunnels, abandoned machinery and stairways carved into the slate.

Although it was one of the most interesting places I’ve climbed, it was also the most dangerous. The slate was extremely jagged and often loose, and to make matters worse the safety bolts that you attach the rope to, were few and far between.