RIDE AND CLIMB WITH EUGENIE LEE

Like all great escapes, Eugenie Lee’s first Brompton Bear Grylls adventure began with pizza. Not just any pizza, though.

“I met up with my friends at Porter Pizza in Sharrow. It’s absolutely the best pizza in Sheffield,” the 23-year-old model and climber tells us.

“After that, we went back to my house to collect Yakult – my cat – and pack our bike bags to head out for a camping trip in the Peak District with our Brompton BGs.”

For the 23-year-old climber and model, a ride to the Peak District from her Sheffield home isn’t just another expedition. It’s a return to the place that kickstarted her love for the outdoors.

“Stanage Edge is the first crag I ever climbed,” she says. “Shortly after joining the British Junior climbing team, they took us out there for a meet. It was actually my first real outdoor experience.”

A lot has happened in Eugenie’s climbing career since joining the British Juniors at age 13. In 10 years, she’s racked up huge competition climbs at UK, European, and international levels; graced the covers of some of our favourite outdoor magazines; featured in shoots and video ads for global adventure brands; and amassed an Instagram community of nearly 15K with her epic climbing and adventure content, and passionate empowerment of female bouldering.

Pictures of her cat, Yakult, are a nice bonus, too.

“After setting up our tents and folding down our bikes, we played chess, snacked, and watched Yakult eat every bug in sight. The next morning we cycled all over the Peak District, then rode back to the station and headed for home, with my BG neatly folded up beside me on the train.”

Eugenie’s Sheffield home is more than a gateway to the most famous outdoor climbing in the country. It’s where you’ll find some of the UK’s best indoor climbing gyms, too. Finding a way to move through the Peak District as well as the city streets, in as sustainable a way as possible, is essential to the competition climber’s busy training schedule.

“I’d always rather take a bike than an Uber,” she says. “The BG is perfect for zipping around the city. It’s time we all paid more attention to our carbon footprint. I love the outdoors, and I would love to keep on enjoying the outdoors, too.”

Brompton x Bear Grylls

Keen to bag a few crags of your own? Here’s Eugenie’s best climbing spots in the UK, all easily reached by train and bike:

Stanage Edge, Peak District

“It is, without doubt, one of the UK’s most iconic crags. There’s a long edge stretching out for as far as the eye can see, with options for bouldering and trad at all grades. Climb here towards the end of the day and you might catch the amazing sunset - just leave yourself a good half hour to cycle back to Hathersage station for your train home.”

Burbage, Peak District

“I just love it. It’s one of Sheffield’s closest crags – so close that the beer garden at the Norfolk Arms actually looks out over the city. It’s also right next to Lady Canning’s Plantation MTB Trail, so if you fancy giving your fingers a rest, you can take your Brompton BG for a whizz there. My cat, Yakult, really enjoys a walk there, too.”

Shoreditch Park Boulder, London

“I grew up in Hackney, so most of my childhood climbing was indoors. I didn’t get many opportunities to train outdoors, but this was an exception. It isn’t just a huge lump of granite; it’s a sculpture by John Frankland. It makes up half of a project called Boulder and is specifically meant to be climbed. So cool.”

Mabley Green Boulder, London

“This is the second part of Frankland’s project, close to Homerton and Hackney Wick stations, and not far from Victoria Park. As well as an artist, he’s a keen climber. It’s like the opposite of those ‘do not step on the grass’ signs you see in a lot of posh parks.”

City Bloc, Leeds

“How could I not mention my favourite climbing centre in the UK? It’s where I train with my team, Precision. It takes ten minutes to ride there from the train station. If you’re a London climber and want to hit somewhere out of the capital, this’d be a perfect day trip.”

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