Redpoint Birmingham Climbing Centre — Attraction in Birmingham

I learned to climb here 15 years ago, then went off to uni and returned about 5 years later. Spent a while top roping with no incident. Then got lessons in lead climbing at the centre. Our lead instructor told us that we were ready to lead climbing unsupervised. The first time we lead climbed unsupervised a member of staff watched us on security cameras and after we'd climbed a bit told us that a complaint has been made about my belay technique. I asked what I was doing wrong and he wouldn't tell me or give me any specifics, so we did another route and then he came back again and said if he saw me belaying in the way I was I'd be kicked out and banned.

But offered no guidance as to what I was doing wrong. My climbing partner didn't know what I was doing wrong either and we had learned to climb at the same time, our lead climbing instructor employed by Red Point had been happy with what we were doing and we were regulars at the centre. I was reduced to tears by the staff members attitude, if he had told me what I was doing wrong I'd have been able to correct it or I'd have booked another lesson to further improve my technique. I never returned to Red Point again and it completely ruined my confidence in my climbing ability.

About 5 years later I now know what I was doing wrong. I was belaying using the hand over hand technique that I had been taught and my lead climbing instructor never told me that this method wasn't appropriate for lead climbing, and the staff member who tried to kick me out never bothered to explain what I was doing and why it was inappropriate. We were two young female climbers who wanted to learn it's not like we were unapproachable! A simple correction and sensitive explanation of the technique we should have been using and a suggestion that we should get additional lessons would have sufficed instead of shouting at us, threatening to kick us out/ban us and reducing me tears. I also think that the instructor who told us that we were ready to lead climb unsupervised should have been spoken to, as he didn't pick up on my belay technique and/or if he did he didn't notice that it was not appropriate for...

Lovely staff 👍

But I'm afraid that is where the good points end. So, where to begin..

Firstly, you can't take your own chalk with you. The staffs reason for this is to "keep the place tidy so they don't have to hoover as much." - unfortunately this has resulted in the most greasy slimy holds I have ever encountered, for which I can only compare to the "climbing wall" in my kids primary school. The amount of people climbing without any chalk at all due to this rule ruins the holds for everyone. Imo a poor choice to save them a little tidying up 👎

Second, the routes. Starting with the holds themselves - if we ignore the point above, it's still not a great start. The quality of holds used here are the cheapest available on the market. Period. The route setting - poorly thought out with little to no concepts / ideas to them ahead of setting. Feels like they were set by someone who doesn't climb as they have no flow and feel like they force you to use bad technique in order to complete.

Third, a worrying safety point witnessed while at the centre. Without going into detail, there was an... Incident, involving a father and child in which a staff member failed to step in and ensure the safety of both them and others around them, after noticing the incident develop. A worrying sign to be sure.

Ideas for improvement!

All of the walls and holds need replacing, and this time not on a budget! Also let's get some guest setters in to help demonstrate the process of setting a route to the existing route setters 👍

So... Climbing involves using chalk. Things get chalk on them. You will have to clean up every day. GET OVER IT!

Final thoughts... I won't be returning for anything short of a compete refurbishment and probably a change of management / ownership given the current mindset towards climbing that they currently have. I feel a little sad for anyone who's first climbing experience is here 😕. A poor example of what an amazing sport like...

We went with our 3 kids on the evening of the 26th and the main reason we went was because it was open late. We arrived and were greeted very nicely by the man at reception.

The woman who was the kids' instructor came out to greet us and was really welcoming and polite.

She helped the kids get in to their gear and communicated to us where they were going and that we could come up or stay downstairs.

The instructor was absolutely brilliant with the kids! Very caring and encouraging, especially to my 5 year old.

When she took them downstairs, she again told us that we could watch from the balcony or come down and watch from the windows, communication skills again were fantastic. It's these small acts which really made the whole experience exceed our expectations.

She chatted with all the kids and made them feel at ease, gave lots of non verbal cues to us to let us know the kids were fine and doing well.

When the session was over, we said good bye and the kids would not stop talking about it the entire car journey back and even now, a few days later.

I would definitely recommend going here, especially with kids! We were visiting family in Birmingham and will definitely return next time we are in the area!

We have been doing lots of days out with the kids before school starts again and this one was definitely the best...