During my first work trip to London last year, I decided to spend some of my evenings after work and go bouldering to try and stick to my typical climbing schedule. It turned out to be a good way to spend the evenings, when most tourist attractions were closed, and explore the city more than my usual inclinations. At Vauxhall West, after I signed the usual sign-your-first-born-away terms and conditions sheet, I was given a little keychain card. This was a bit surprising, since I was only there for the day and would likely never be back. But when I was given another one at The Castle Climbing Centre, it became a neat souvenir for me to keep. So this time, when I came back, I decided to try to see what the variety of gyms around London were like.
Made up of three relatively small sections. They have some routes with wooden holds that are meant to be evergreen - so you can always come back to rate yourself on the same routes. Pretty neat concept. Probably not the biggest section of difficult routes, but fun for my level.
The gym with the best reputation around London and for good reason. It’s a super interesting gym - built in an old pumping station that looks like a castle. You can top rope inside the castle turrets and get lost in the narrow, winding staircases. If it’s not significantly further than the other gyms, this is the one I would recommend checking out, just to have climbed in a castle.
A pretty nice gym. Three sections. Front with a couple varied problems. Middle section with mostly flat walls. Back section with a good variety. Lots of routes with flexibility, balancing technical problems.
One big area. Routes of varying difficulty and style. Had a couple of really entertaining routes. No keychain card unfortunately.
Closed for renovation when I tried to visit. A bit further out from the city center. About a 50 minutes trip in total. Should have checked the website earlier. Came back and wandered around Buckingham Palace and the Wellington Arch instead.
In Cambridge. Two smallish sections. Not much overhang. Lots of flexibility, balancing technical problems. Fun staff. Really nice to have in Cambridge. 15 minute walk from train station.
Super interesting. No supervision. No liability waiver. Long narrow hallway. A even mix of problems. Had chalk. Routes are rated pretty tough.
Mostly toprope / lead climbing - by the looks of it, a really nice facility for rope climbing. There are some bouldering sections, including a nice overhang section which tends to be a bit rarer in London gyms I’ve noticed.
A bit further out from central London, but still relatively convenient to the tube station. A lovely bouldering place, with a very nice variety of walls and routes - from roofs to overhangs to more balance based walls.