A tale of mental strength in a physical field. We sat down with climber Charlie Woodburn to find out why he eventually swapped the bustling London lifestyle for the beauty of the Lake District.
The 51 year old has had his fair share of obstacles. An expert trad, boulderer and sport climber with years under his belt. Despite working success, his world has had a habit of falling apart.
From Bridget Jones to James Bond, working as a member of the ‘Area Unit’, Charlie uses ‘gyro-stabilisers’ on helicopters and drones to film some of the biggest blockbusters in recent history.
During his childhood he frequently moved around and changed schools. His one constant was climbing. Bringing him joy since the age of seven, the now experienced outdoorsman has worked with the Arc’teryx Academy and DMM Wales.
It has not always been plain sailing…
A diagnosis of Ankylosing spondylitis (a form of arthritis) at the age of 17 has created a lifelong battle of aches and pains for Charlie.
He said: “I spent a lot of my life essentially in survival mode trying to find a cure. I’ve spent time in a wheelchair, with walking sticks, on crutches, in and out of hospital, on steroid drips trying to get the inflammation down. At times it has been really shit.”
And a ‘perfect storm’ beginning in 2015 saw him step away from the sport that he had dedicated his life to.
“My wife and I lost our daughter, she was stillborn. That was an extremely traumatic period,” he added.
“During this time, there was the emotional side of my daughter, and my mum died the following year, very, very suddenly.
“I went through some difficult physical things with infections, and my escape was always to go climbing.”
Despite physical challenges, Charlie continued to climb until one fateful day saw his high risk routes ‘bite him in the ass’.
“In 2017, I tried an E10 route and I fell off it. I was lucky because I didn’t break anything. I did give myself a severe concussion and I didn’t know what post-concussion syndrome was at the time,” Charlie told Nine to Alive.
“My brain had been struggling emotionally and then I had this physical trauma as well. It put me into what I now know was a state of fight or flight. Everything felt overwhelming, and I stopped climbing for quite a while where I didn’t have the gumption for anything.
“I was pushing myself deeper and deeper into wanting to do harder and harder climbs or scarier climbs as a way of masking what was going on underneath.”
This proved to be a defining moment in his life. He was forced away from climbing, something he began with his father whilst living in London as a youngster.
Early Life
His youth was a difficult period which saw Charlie constantly on the move, experiencing a number of different schools.
He said: “I went to boarding school when I was 13, which I hated, but I was used to being uprooted and moving around. I went to nine different schools, from comprehensive system to private system and back again, and I went to a specialist dyslexic school too where I got expelled.”
His overpowering love for the outdoors took up his focus, as his father drove him on day-trips and weekends to the ‘Peak District’.
The problematic relationship with education continued. After attending university in Sheffield for a year he dropped out. With his main takeaway the city’s great climbing and bouldering scene.
Once again he returned to the capital. This time becoming a runner working in the film industry, still attempting to balance the London lifestyle with some time out in nature.
“In my 20s and early 30s living in London and having this sort of dual life of being a city boy, working in the media. London is London. It has so many amazing things going on and I got involved with all of it,” Charlie said.
On weekends and in-between jobs, Charlie would get in a car and drive off to Scotland or North Wales, staying with friends to get his nature fix.
“My friends in London or people I worked with were just like you’re doing what? You’re just going out to the middle of nowhere, like why, ‘you know that sounds really boring’. And equally, all my friends who lived in Pembrokeshire or Cornwall, would be like ‘how on earth you can live in London is beyond me. It’s just madness’.”
Unfortunately, health problems persisted for Charlie. He suffered a collapsed lung twice in the late 90s and 2000s. After complicated operations he was told he wouldn’t climb again for a very long time; Charlie, however, had different ideas. Within six months he was back climbing again.
Bristol came calling…
He spent 12 years working his way up in the film industry, and opted for a different challenge. Falling in love with ‘trad climbing’ and the sea cliff spots in Bristol. This was not his only romance however, as in 2005, he met his now wife Gilly Mcarthur.
This led to the outdoorsman downing tools and moving to Bristol full-time. Charlie immersed himself in the South West scene, climbing in North Devon, Torbay, Dorset, Cornwall, Cheddar and Avon. He highlighted Pembrokeshire as one of his favourite places describing it as a ‘magical place’ to climb.
This move was a catalyst in ‘downsizing’. Always a city-dweller, Charlie was used to balancing escaping the city during his downtime.
He was able to enjoy the ‘magical’ outdoor spots surrounding Bristol for many years until the heartbreaking loss of their daughter made them leave the city behind for good.
Charlie said:“It was a contributing factor to why we left Bristol. We had been talking about moving anyway, but in order to move on, we needed to physically move on as well.
“There were some pretty painful memories in that house, so we just decided to run away.”
“We have since found peace in a way that we can understand. As a result of that, we’ve learned to understand what’s important in life and to hold on to what’s good as strongly as you can.”
Combined with the loss of his mother, the grief created a newfound mental challenge for Charlie. Little did he know, his ego was about to strike his escape, his happy place; climbing.
“There are many things in life that seem good and then they go sour. But climbing was always there and it was wonderful. This did change for several years in 2017,” he told Nine to Alive.
“In everything we do there’s an ego aspect but when that becomes the dominant factor, that’s when things get unhealthy.
“I was beginning to sort of maybe push too much in that direction and I was climbing to see what other people would say, more than actually enjoying the moment. It was a consequence of my brain being in an absolute mess through two or three years of trauma. I was climbing for all the wrong reasons.”
The fall joined the long list of difficulties which changed his life perspective for good. With maturity the appeal of ‘partying’ and the ‘culture’ was swapped for a ‘gentler’, ‘quieter’, lifestyle.
A process fast-forwarded when he met his wife. Charlie believed this began a ‘slow evolution’ edging towards a rural, quieter lifestyle to achieve the work-life balance that we all desire.
He said: “Even though Bristol’s a city, you could get out of it really quickly and easily and a lot of people I was hanging out with were more outdoorsy orientated. Moving from Bristol to Kendal was the final step.”
They now reside in the Lake District. Living in Kendal, on their doorstep is a plethora of outdoor adventures and beautiful spots for any nature enthusiast. Thankfully, Charlie has still been able to maintain his film career; commuting back and forth between the Lake District and his filming locations across the country.
Overcoming Arthritis…
A struggle for many years, particularly with his physically demanding climbing career, his arthritis would have been ever present if it was not for incredible perseverance.
“When I was 17, I had inflamed knees and I couldn’t walk and they gave me the anti-inflammatories to take; pretty strong ones, and then after a while they gave me stronger ones and then stronger ones. It progressed to my spine and I was always told I would need physio twice a week and this will never go away,” said Charlie.
Rheumatologists said that his only hope was to ‘slow it down’ and that he would be taking medication for ‘the rest of his life’. Charlie knew he had to take matters into his own hands if he wanted to live without aches and pains. Trying everything he possibly could.
After ‘endless’ experiments with diets and different concoctions of drugs doctors told him to continue doing what he was doing, ‘off the record’, as long as it was working for him.
Charlie added: “Now I don’t take any medication for my Arthritis which I consider myself not to have anymore. I haven’t done it for years and I’m not in any pain, I have full mobility and I do what I want. It’s fantastic.”
The inspiring outdoorsmen currently takes his trade to the Arc’teryx Academy teaching the next generation of climbers through masterclasses and technique.
His wife Gilly, is a fellow outdoor enthusiast and an ambassador for mindfulness. The experienced wild swimmer has created Blue Mind Swim, a Lake District swimming group for men’s mental health.
An influence that has rubbed off on Charlie and a huge factor in why he has returned to the rock face.
He said: “The only times I’ve really experienced deep, deep flow states are when I’m climbing; where you’re just in the moment seeing holds and gear placements and assessing what’s going to work and what isn’t in terms of how much stamina you’ve got in the moment.
“Do I go up, do I go down? Do I place a piece of gear now? How dangerous is it? Am I confident? Is this rock solid? Where’s the next rest point? You’re making all these decisions in the moment in this flow state and when it clicks and you pull it off, it’s mind-blowingly good.”
To achieve this balance now at the age of 51, Charlie does not take as many jobs as he used to. He acknowledges his new priorities and finds happiness in the basics; travelling around the world in their converted van, with Gilly and their cat.
As for climbing, there is certainly no date for retirement…
“I still love it, 35 years after starting it. The physical side, the adventurous side, it has taught me many different things. I have got to travel all over the world and go to places that aren’t necessarily just tourist spots on the tourist trail. You get to go to places and see people and cultures that no one else normally goes to. But most of all it has taught me self-reliance, resilience and problem-solving.”
A story of overcoming tragedy and physical boundaries. His persistence and perseverance when the chips are down is incredible.
As for any readers experiencing similar difficulties whether it be in their relationship with themselves or the outdoors he had one message.
“Everything in life is just balance. Enjoy yourself and have a glass of wine, but also, don’t drink two bottles of wine. Make your life as comfortable as possible and bring gratitude and push yourself hard, but not too hard, and I think in my experience, that’s the basis of life. It’s about appreciating what you have and striving for the best, but don’t take life too seriously.”
