I'm not long back from my road trip round the North East States. A trip which was both my honeymoon and first taste of America. I wish I was still there to tell you the truth. 

3 weeks, 3 areas and 1600 miles of driving. A wonderful journey but not long enough to truly get to grips with any one area. The 28 degree heat didn't help matters, and to some extent the enormous choice of stunning routes didn't help either.  

I have written more extensively about each of the areas we visited on my personal blog. Rumney was my personal favourite, a kind of blown-up, world class version of Dunkeld, my boyhood home crag. The Red River Gorge was everything everyone says it is. The weather there was particularly disappointing as the style suited me well. Had we gone a few weeks later in the year I may well have had more to report in terms of big ticks. The New River Gorge is less well known this side of the Atlantic.  The grades there are HARD and the style takes a bit of getting used to if like me you aren't well versed in the art of vertical sandstone. The saving grace to the tick list in the New was the stunning Summersville Lake and its amazing Coliseum buttress.  The only major route I didn't do there, an 8c, has me inspired for a return to West Virginia.

Below are some photos that give a flavour for the trip. You can read more about each are via the links above.

All photos except that of B.C (kindly taken by Brad from D.C.) are by Helen Cassidy.