Rock Climbing at Fontainebleau

After over a year of planning and preparing we’ve finally set off on our adventure and our first stop is of course France!

Setting off we didn’t have any concrete idea of a route to travel, only that we need to be in Portugal for a festival we’ve booked in July. At first this felt a bit daunting as we weren’t even sure what direction we’d go from the ferry but then Rick, an old school friend, got in touch on Facebook to say he’d be at Fontainebleau the week of us leaving. It’s great how we can let our journey find its own route!

After five hours of driving from Calais (3 and a half if you can afford the toll roads!) we arrived in the town just in time to make the shops. We stocked up on food and drink and headed into the forest to look for a place to sleep. We’d had a quick look into wild camping spots before we left just in case but once we got there we found loads of quiet car parks and laybys to stop in.

The next day we met up with Rick and his friends to head deeper in to the forest for some climbing on its famous boulders. It was amazing how there were so many people from all around the world enjoying the boulders and forest, from hardcore climbers to kids building dens and parents hanging out in hammocks.

All you need for a climbing trip to Fontainebleau is:

• Pair of climbing shoes (thanks for lending us your spare pair Rick!)
• Chalk bag
• Bouldering mat (can be hired locally)
• Guide book (the book of choice seemed to be by David Atchison Jones, can also be bought locally)

After a day of climbing and cycling we decided to join Rick and his friends on their campsite which was just a short cycle ride from the boulders called La Musardière. The campsite was perfect with really nice facilities and relaxed pitches meaning we could park up our van next to our friends tents and with the pitches being nestled in amongst the trees we were also able to try out our hammock for the first time which was a great success! 😀