Classes
Induction first. Everything else is optional.
Two courses, four coached sessions a week and a squad. None of them assume you have touched rock before.
Getting on the wall
From the front door to leading
Four stages. Most people take a year over them, some take a month, and plenty stop at the first.
Safety induction
Forty minutes with a member of staff. Falling, matting, spotting, the circuit colours and where not to stand. Free, compulsory, and it never expires.
Boulder on your own
Card in the door, shoes on, climb. No partner, no rope, nothing to book. This is where nearly everyone stays for the first few months.
Belay check
Fifteen minutes on the floor and one climb, to show you can hold a fall and lower somebody safely. Pass it and top rope opens up. Fail it and we book you onto rope skills, which is not a judgement.
Lead check
Clipping, rope work, a lead fall onto the rope and catching one. Done after the six-week lead course, or straight away if you already lead elsewhere.
Coached sessions
What is on, and when
Coached sessions run whether two people turn up or twelve. Book by the Sunday before.
Weekday mornings
Quiet hall, full staff, mostly shift workers and people going on to an office.
06:00
Doors
Boulder hall and auto-belays. Rope wall opens at 07:00 when a second member of staff arrives.
07:00
Before work
Coached
Fifty minutes of technique on the boulder wall, Tuesday and Thursday. Footwork, body position, no hangboarding.
10:30
Over sixties
Coached
Wednesday. Top rope and low circuits, long warm-up, a coffee afterwards that runs longer than the session.
Weekday evenings
The busy end of the day. Expect a queue on the popular problems between 18:00 and 20:00.
18:00
Learn to boulder
Six-week course
Monday. Same group of eight for six weeks, from first session to climbing a Font 4 circuit unaided.
18:30
Rope skills
Four-week course
Wednesday. Belaying, knots, lowering, communication. Ends with the belay check.
19:00
Lead course
Six-week course
Thursday. Clipping order, rope drag, falling practice and the lead check at the end.
20:00
Reset
Tuesday and Thursday. A third of the boulder hall is taped off and stripped. New problems are up by opening the next morning.
Weekend
Family hours until early afternoon, then the competition wall.
09:00
Under fourteens
Coached
Saturday. Two hours, harnesses provided, an adult on site but not on the wall.
11:00
Open induction
Saturday and Sunday. Turn up, no booking, run on the hour until 13:00.
13:00
Squad
Coached
Sunday. Competition wall, invitation only, for climbers working at Font 6c and above.
15:00
Open competition wall
Sunday. Anyone leading 6c or above can use it once squad finishes.
Courses
What you can book
Safety induction
Forty minutes. Compulsory before your first climb, free, and it covers the boulder hall and the auto-belays.
Free
Learn to boulder
Six Monday evenings, eight people, one coach. From the first pull off the floor to a Font 4 circuit.
From 00
Rope skills
Four Wednesday evenings. Figure of eight, belay device, lowering, calls. Ends with the belay check.
From 00
Lead course
Six Thursday evenings for climbers already top roping. Clipping, rope drag, taking falls and catching them.
From 00
One to one coaching
An hour with a coach on whatever is stopping you: heel hooks, fear of falling, a plateau at Font 6a.
From 00
Youth squad
Sunday afternoons on the competition wall, eleven to eighteen, by invitation from a coach.
From 00
Before you book
What gets asked at the desk
I have never climbed. Where do I start?
The induction, then the boulder hall. If you want somebody with you for the first weeks, book Learn to boulder as well.
Do I need a partner?
Not for bouldering, and not for the eight auto-belay lines. Top rope and lead need two people, one of whom has passed the belay check.
I climb elsewhere. Do I still need the induction?
Yes, because it covers this building. It takes ten minutes instead of forty if you can belay, and you can do the belay check the same visit.
What do I need to bring?
Clothes you can move in and socks. Shoes and a chalk bag are hired at the desk; harnesses are provided on every course.
How hard is Font 3?
The easiest circuit we set. Large holds, upright wall, and there are forty of them on the ground floor.
Is there an age limit?
Eight and over on the boulder wall with an adult present. Fourteen and over to climb unaccompanied.
Inductions run on the hour every weekend
Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 to 13:00, no booking. Weekday inductions are booked by message.