Climbing District | Bermondsey — Arch Climbing Wall — Attraction in London

This was pretty good. It was my first time going rock climbing and I went with some friends. This review is purley based on what I saw on the Sunday I went there, so I'm not too sure about the situation on other days.

Pros: 1- The staff are pretty helpful 2- The layout was good 3- Comes with a small but cosy gym which you can use to warm up before climbing 4- Other climbers are nice (When I went) 5- A wide range of routes for different levels of climbers

Cons: 1- Its location is a bit strange (Strange doesn't mean bad) 2- If it's your first time coming (without friends) then it may be a bit confusing to find the little poster on the wall which explains the difficulties and levels of rocks 3- Bring little padlocks, the lockers don't have padlocks so you gotta bring your own

Tip: Bring water -to drink- and chalk (the funny liquid one which dries in your hand) for better grip. And don't be suprised when your forearms hurt the next day. Oh and also- your clothes will get chalky so don't wear anything you don't want to get dirty (Can you really say dirty? I mean the chalk gives the clothes a crumbly white coating- so it's not really dirty but reverse dirty I guess?). The chalk is everywhere by the way, on the spongy mats too.

Happy...

As mentioned below, they've just merged with Stronghold. This means members still need to scan a QR code, watch a video (or skip) - as if new to the Centre - which I was so no problem. Might be good for established members to be made aware before they arrive as they might find the process clunky/annoying. You then have to verify your email before it appears on their system so they can book you in.

Shoe hire £4

Children under 9 must now be supervised by a non-climbing adult. If you want to climb with your 7-9 year old you will have to bring another adult prepared not to climb. I enjoyed supervising my grandson, being able to video him climbing alongside his dad, so not a problem for us. I will bring small padlocks next time as the lockers don't work without them and I had a work laptop with me. I loved seeing my grandson using gym equipment alongside other adults, but it did take all my attention to keep him safe and not annoy them! Also a bit worried about a link to chalk dust sent by my son later. (An earlier reviewer said they didn't see many brushes). My grandson found and used at least four different brushes - grazing his knuckle - ouch - when for some reason he decided to brush...

Came here last Friday early evening, first time since it moved from the nearby location (biscuit factory). I do a lot of indoor bouldering all over the place but I was blown away by the standard of the facility. The layout is the best I've experienced in London by far.

The route setting is very good with a lot of variety.

They have an amazingly large strength and conditioning area (given its inside a climbing centre)

They have many toilets and water dispensers.

They have a traverse circuit and a circular circuit (up across down across etc) each with 4 different easy to very hard routes on there. Rope swing from end to start of traverse is a nice playful touch.

What people are saying about it getting busy is true but I only noticed it on the way out at 7pmish, when I went out there was a big queue outside, it looked like a queue for a night club!

I can see why people would queue for it though. Congratulations on creating such an amazing place, pushing the standards...