The Castle Climbing Centre — Attraction in London

I have been climbing here since the late 90's. Always was my place to practice and have my thoughts to myself on a rainy day and now in its expanded glory accommodates many other aspiring climbers from all over the world. Undoubtedly a long time staple of London climbing practice. This centre held the title of best climbing centre in Europe for many years. It has something for everyone from plethora of bouldering walls including a vast and challenging cave "upside down" bouldering wall. An immense amount of of roped climbing, top rope, auto belay and amazing lead rope walls on several floors all set by some of the world's best route setters. If you are handicapped the castle caters for and greets with open arms disabled participants.

Incorporated on a small mezzanine level is a weights and cardio gym. There's a vegan café and it's associated supply garden to sit outside and chill with a coffee between climbs on the three outdoor bouldering blocks. There's a climbing gear shop and all the staff at castle are knowledgeable about climbing.

Climbing being foremost a social activity you will meet all kinds of ilk and may just be tempted by invites to travel to climbing destinations all over the world with your new climbing compadres as I have done in many years of climbing. There's an organised climbing excursion via Castle to Catalunya every season. You'll find climbing festivals and competitions take place at castle if you're feeling competitive. And if you want to discuss the finer points of technique or continue a hot date there's the Brownswood pub literally a stones throw away serving up british favourites and more.

FYI its called The Castle as it is a grade two listed folly formerly housing the gigantic Victorian pump machinery to supply North London its water supply from the reservoirs behind it. That being said there's also a reservoir boating/canoeing centre adjacent.

If for whatever purpose you're moving to London or even for a short break you won't find a better community to join and gleen information from the ins and outs of living and working in the capital and just plain...

WARNING! Where do you begin? This place, as big as it is, feels cramped given it’s one of the most popular climbing centers in London. They’ve decided to keep every little small space separate, at the climber’s risk sometimes. Indeed, when busy they allow dangerous behaviors such as lead climbing on routes that are no more than 3 feet from each other, and on either side of a corner. This means that falling climbers can fall on others quite easily, and in fact I’ve seen this almost happen. People also crowd mats to the point bouldering climbers can fall on them. Another issue is there is no map of the place, and it’s a MAZE. At least 8 different rooms linked by narrow corridors and stairwell, and only a few pieces of signage. Another ALARMING point is they do not disinfect their rental shoes, nor do they check they are replaced correctly. Just careless for customers... disinfecting shoes would barely take 20min at the end of the day at a miniscule cost (use a spray!!)

They are overwhelmed by the number of people on week-ends, need a difficulty color code for routes (everywhere else does), since it’s mostly impossible to know the difficulty of a route without trying the route. The place could use a lot of renovations: humidity, holes in mats, and new holds which aren’t worn out (to the point that they are clearly more slippery) are real issues there, for example! Finally, unfortunately, the Castle is full of people like me who would rather it be less full, so they can enjoy a peaceful climbing experience! People there looked stressed, and generally UNHAPPY CLIMBERS.

Overall, I DO NOT RECOMMEND this place ON GROUNDS OF SAFETY ISSUES, MAINTENANCE AND CLEANLINESS! Castle staff, please step up...

This is an excellent climbing centre/gym. There are lots of bouldering (indoor and outdoor), top roping, auto-belay, traversing and lead routes, with many suitable for beginners (I can’t comment on the rigour of the routes for more advanced climbers as I’m fairly new to climbing). They offer good introductory courses and some more advanced ones. There’s a great cafe and shop, including hire of equipment at reasonable rates.

The setting is stunning and unique for a climbing centre, being a Victorian pumping station that was designed to look like a castle. Prices are reasonable (for London at least), including carnet discounts, memberships and concessionary rates (including Blue Light Card).

The centre is LGBT+ welcoming and has some gender neutral facilities. There are yoga mats, two rowing machines and a stationary bike for those who want to use these facilities to warm up/cool down.

Additional amenities include changing facilities, lockers of various sizes and types (£1/1€ coin and padlock), phone charging lockers, a library and break-out space and water bottle refill stations and there’s a great community garden (only accessible to users of the centre I think).

If you’re still being Covid-conscious or you’re otherwise more vulnerable to infections then there’s a state of the art ventilation system - I’ve measured the CO2 levels using an Aranet 4 and, even when the centre is relatively busy, CO2 is in the 500-700ppm range. The centre gets very busy, but there are also quieter times on weekends before 12pm and weekdays before around 6pm.

Apologies for the slightly stream of consciousness review, but I cannot recommend The Castle more highly and hopefully some of...