Folkestone 51 - skatepark, climbing wall & boxing gym — Attraction in Folkestone and Hythe District

(updated)

The building is very impressive, and the staff are helpful and friendly.

Climbing:

Unfortunately, the bouldering facilities just aren’t up to scratch and the lack of a membership option only makes matters worse.

Ok… so the high walls are very impressive, but I feel as though they’ve really missed a trick with the tiny bouldering area.

If you’ve climbed at Chimera in Canterbury, then know that f51’s bouldering area is about 1/4 of the size (if that). This is an issue considering Chimera is a comparatively small bouldering centre in the first place.

The small bouldering room becomes crowded very easily and unless routes are going to be changed very often, it is going to become stale pretty fast.

Despite it's small size it's great to have an option in Folkestone - and now with a membership options it's decent value.

Skatepark:

Having not skated for 12+ years I was excited to give it another go. I used to focus on mini's and half pipes so naturally found myself at home on the 3rd floor (flow). This is an excellent bowl which offers interesting lines for pros and easier ones for beginners. There is no 'in' ramp so you'll want to learn to drop in pretty quick.

The bowls on the first floor are equally impressive as they are intimidating. I look forward to using these when I've regained some lost confidence and have invested in some safety gear. These bowls are concrete which is a slightly less forgiving landing than the wooden bowl upstairs.

The middle floor is the street section... this really isn't my bag, but I look forward to giving it a go at some point.

I initially reviewed the centre 2 star based on the climbing. Since then they've implemented membership/ off-peak options which make it much better value. I still think the bouldering room is small and I won't be using it very often but I'm glad the option is there.

Memberships: at present you can sign up for £30 p/m which includes three 2 hour sessions a week. That's 24 hours skateboarding a month for only £1.25 an hour - you really cannot quibble at that.

Local schools can also join the Shred club, which enables pupils to sign up for £1a month.

I am really pleased to be upgrading my star rating and to be using this place as much as I...

Firstly, this is purely a review of the skatepark as I can't speak for the climbing centre or any of the other facilities. So where do I even start , the 1st concept I saw of a 3 story skatepark back in 2020 had me overly excited to say the least. How have they built a huge 3 story skatepark with so little in it? Let me explain , The 1st floor is 2 huge concrete bowls which you have to be an 80s pro to be able to skate, it was pretty empty throughout the 4 hours of session time during my visit so I'd imagine this is why. The 2nd floor is one big pump track /bowl. Which is actually pretty good but it's 1 person in there each time , the locals all hogged it and kept snaking us, taking like 5 minutes a turn. I can't tell you how many turns I missed after patiently waiting for each local to have their slay. Then the 3rd floor is a street area and a very badly designed one at that.with 2 lines at the most, it could have been alright but populated with scooter kids , no etiquette whatsoever.no marshall in sight, literally turned into a free for all.🤷‍♂️ my advice if your heading this way is to go to revolution in Broadstairs, that is what a skatepark looks like. This is pretentious and absolutely lacking in...

Had a lovely time here since it opened. Staff are so friendly and really helpful. From manager to coach all are brilliant. I love the atmosphere and this is an ideal place for not just skills but social as well.

Their staff Chris help me a lot yesterday with my skateboarding when he saw me struggling with pumping. We had our first session with Matt today and my daughter loves him so much. He is very professional at coaching and he is so nice and encouraging. We learned pumping, turning, tricks including jumping and turn 180 degree on board in just one lesson. My daughter never did skateboarding before and now she is confident to practice by herself in the centre. Looking forward to another session this Friday!

I've been to a lot of sports centre before especially most climbing centres in England. I must say F51 so far is the most friendly centre I've been. Definitely recommend it...