Salisbury Crags: Climbing in the Haar

In this episode, Annie and Jenny continue their exploration of the women found in the margins of the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal. It’s Edinburgh in the early 1900s, and a climbing expedition up the Salisbury Crags is derailed when the public notice that there are women climbing alongside the men. Determined, the women keep climbing, but are forced to the edges of the day.

This is the beginnings of The Scottish Ladies Climbing Club, founded by Jane Inglis Clark. Jane was the definition of trailblazing and believed that everyone, regardless of gender, deserved to explore the outdoors.

The geologic significance of the Salisbury Crags as well as the ancient mythology swirling around Arthur’s seat are uncovered in this trip to Auld Reekie.

This is the second episode of our new series, Radical Mountain Women, funded by the Royal Society of Literature, and is inspired by the writing of the Scottish Mountaineering Journal. Some of the music you heard in this episode was beautifully played by Nicky Murray and Chloe Rodgers.

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References:

Karen Stockham, ‘It went down into the very form and fabric of myself: Women’s Mountaineering Life-Writing 1808-1960,’ PhD Thesis, University of Exeter, 2012

National Library of Scotland, ‘Aiming High: About Jane Inglis Clark,’ https://reveal.nls.uk/aiming-high/about-jane-inglis-clark/

William Inglis Clark, ‘Some Climbs on the Salisbury Crags,’ Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal, Vol.6, Edinburgh, 1900