It doesn't look like much when you walk in, but don't let that fool you. This place is massive!…read moreIt's bouldering only FYI. First thing you do when you walk is check-in and you'll see the first boulder. It's built with wood so it's slick, but the rest of the gym is much better and textured. Upstairs there's loads of lockers, feel free to bring your own lock. There's an entire built in table that goes down quite a ways with stools and outlets so you can study there or downstairs by their little shop/cafe. As you walk in more you'll see the training area, with a great board, loads of campus boards, bars and other essentials ya need. There's a slab wall, on the other side has a traverse area and next to it is a circuit wall. As you go further there's more variety, loads of overhanging, slab, and good features. Their system is on the V grade and by colour. Overall a pretty cool place to check out! Not too far of a walk from the Bermondsey station.

This is the best bouldering gym I've ever been to…read more This place just opened three months ago, and according to its website has "over 11 000 square feet of bouldering, dozens of circuits offering hundreds of climbs" and "is one of the biggest climbing facilities in the UK." Which I definitely believe - I've been to 20 or so climbing gyms in the US, Canada, and the UK, and this is definitely the biggest bouldering gym I've ever seen. The staff's friendly, the prices are normal, and the facility is just so friggin' enormous, I still can't get over it. They lay their routes out according to color, so basically there are eight or so colors of holds, and all the routes set within each color fall within a certain range of difficulty (e.g. V1-V2). Each color has 30 or so routes associated with it, so you're looking at 240 total bouldering problems right there (assuming that I remember the number of colors correctly). 240 bouldering problems! That's fucking insane! The gym I go to in san francisco has, like, *maybe* sixty! And that 240 figure isn't even counting the ~30 bouldering-comp problems The Arch had up when I visited! They've also got plenty of other training gear - a bunch of hangboards, a moon board, a training board, just all sorts of crazy stuff. If you like bouldering, you have got to go here. This place is the best.

I was really sad that I came here on my last day in London and not my first!!! I prob would've gone…read morea few more times, but alas such is life. This place is really cool with so many rooms and climbing routes. There were plenty of top rope, lead, auto belays, and boulders. There is climbing indoor and outdoors, really the playground of my dreams. There's even a cafe and food here, honestly I would never leave this place. And the best part is it's so affordable even for the one time visitor. The con is it's some what far from Central London and that deterred me from going the first time. For any climber visiting London, this is a must!!!

I mean... it's a castle. One with its innards ripped out and replaced by variegated cell walls…read moredotted with multi-coloured hand- and footholds. Does it -get- much cooler than this for a rock climbing gym? The three floors of top roping, lead climbing, and bouldering merely comprise a fraction of what this mega-centre has to offer. They now have a more traditional gym space, walls of lockers (remember to bring a pound coin to use them), a kit shop, and a cute little café on the top floor. On top of offering an awe-inspiring venue, the staff I've encountered have been absolutely lovely. Even when they spot something going less-than-right, they come by to gently offer words of wisdom rather than scathing criticism. Plus, as manual as the check-in process here is*, the front desk employees keep things moving right along. I thought that climbing was going to be one of those things that I might have to give up for good after I moved away from NoVA and my beloved Sportrock Gym there, but I've discovered a whole new level of climbing gym brilliance at the Castle. --- * My former climbing gym had a swipe card system which automated the check-in process completely. Whilst it's not a hassle, it would reduce the work required of the front desk staff here nominally.

Of the 3 gyms we hit, this was our favorite for a number of reasons. It's a non-profit that tries…read moreto promote climbing for kids, so the day pass for a kid was the lowest, but their early morning entry (7-9am) for absolutely anyone is even lower, at only 5 GBP. The bouldering area was maybe not as large as some others, but the "secret garden" area (half outdoors) with competition climbs having very large holds made it unique and was my kid's favorite area in the gym. Their community was also welcoming and encouraging and chatted with us. It's also a lovely walk along a canal through a park from either nearby bus stop to get there.

MECW is my local and I come at least 3 times a week most weeks but don't ask if I've gotten any…read morebetter at climbing as I spend a lot of my time watching some real pros absolutely killing some of the routes in the Monkey House (the place where all the ceiling climbs happen.) So alright it probably isn't as big as The Arch and it's not as polished, branded or as... hipster but there's definitely a charm to this place which I didn't find at The Arch. Not to mention there is a little top rope for those who are that way inclined and there's a secret (shhhh) beginner's room past the top rope section where you newbies can go if you feel dissuaded rather than inspired by the muscular machines in the main rooms. There are classes available and every Thursday evening a member of staff is on hand to give you tips on improving technique. It's very busy at peak times, this means weekday evenings after 5 and weekends. I try to come around lunchtime on weekdays and avoid the weekends. A monthly membership costs £45 or £40 concession. There is a shop on site, owned and operated by the wonderful Rock On, an independent climbing specialist. They stock a variety of gear and are more than happy to assist you in getting the right pair of shoes. Day access does not differentiate between peak and off peak access like The Arch so you pay £7 for the day and that's all day. Locker rental is 50p which is refundable but goes towards charity if you don't want the refund. The one criticism I have is that their opening hours could be longer. They could open earlier on weekdays and close a little later, especially in the summer. Keep in mind that their main rival, The Arch, opens at 6am and doesn't close until 10pm. There is parking on site but it is limited at peak times. Plenty of bicycle racks though and easily accessed via Mile End tube.

One of just three ice walls in the UK, tucked away at the back of (my favourite) outdoor shop Ellis…read moreBrigham, is the Vertical Chill Ice Climbing Wall. Two storeys high and kept at -5°C, the wall is open to everyone: from complete beginners to seasoned professionals who want to practise their ice pick skills at little closer to home than the the Alps Kitted out in warm jacket, trousers, boots, ice axes, crampons and helmet, in I go to the Vertical Chill. Tom, my instructor, goes through all the basic skills and techniques before sending me up the ice wall. It is tough, and physically demanding, but brilliant fun: a heady mix of adrenalin and excitement. You might be ten minutes from Trafalgar Square but it feels like you're scaling a distant glacier. It happens that I rock climb as a hobby, so the rope work and heights weren't an issue for me. But those with a spot of vertigo should think twice before parting with your £50 for the hour-long lesson - two storeys might be higher than you think! Overall though it is a great experience, and another one of London's unexpected attractions!

The staff come in two kinds , nice and brusk and add a bit of cliquey with the regulars to that ,…read morepool and mens changing rooms are dirty and the poolstaff side need to be more pro active in sorting out swimmers who are in the wrong lane usually slower swimmers, prime example was today when I was there ,me and two other swimmers swam past one bloke who was going slow, I've complained about this on numerous occasions and promised that something will be done (clearly BS)and guess what two pool attendants were by the pool this morning and did sweet FA , maybe it will take an accident or a lawsuit after an accident for them to sort it

Excellent facilities and very nice staff. Gave this place a run out this morning on a…read morerecommendation by a friend and it's a great gym/leisure centre. I've now cancelled my very expensive membership with LA fitness and joined here for a lot less plus it's a rolling contact that I can cancel anytime! There seem to be a lot of negative reviews about the swimming facilities here which I have to say I haven't tried but the gym is great. Lots of equipment and lots of space. Perfect!

Had a go at Rock Climbing for the first time last week. Had the chance to do something with Tanja…read more(my wife) while the children Tim (4) and Jamie (15 months) were off our hands for 2 hours. Well what do you do with 2 spare hours. Living in MK there are many things you can try your hands at. We had to book a week ahead to get the time we wanted and once there we were introduced to our instructor (Austen). As soon as he attached our line we were off. Not having done this before I did not know what to expect. Let's just say we had GREAT fun. In 30 minutes we both managed to get up to the top 5 times. If you use your legs to push your arms do not get too sore, but I did get a bit of a sweat on. The hardest thing for me was the first time I had to descend from the top. 13 metres up and having to let go. After a couple of goes I was really enjoying the drop. Will we go again? Definately.