The Congrelle, Guernsey's finest DWS Venue

In the late 90s and mid naughties, on one of his many visits to Guernsey, Martin Crocker made a number of first ascents in the Congrelle. These were serious routes not only because of their difficulty and protection but also because they require a spring tide to access the start of the route.

A few years on and Little Chris, Nathan and myself thought it would be possible to DWS some of these lines. We picked the biggest tide we could (a 10m spring) and despite the horizontal drizzle and big rollers coming into the Congrelle we gave it a shot. We never expected to climb any of the routes, it was more of a proof of concept exercise but I managed to get to the very top of Eels on Wheels only to peal off and take the ride all the way from the top of the route.

A few months later with the weather on our Chris and myself gave it another go and yet again I found myself taking another full length fall this time because a hold broke. The next time there was a tide big enough we were down there again, this time on mass! Eels on Wheels saw two ascents by Wilko and myself in addition to many splash downs! Some low level traverses saw some action as well as The Christian.

And the best thing is we've only scratched the surface!