Here’s the thing about climbing in a castle: the walls aren’t flat. They’re curved, bumpy, and built from brick—which means routes twist in ways you’d never find in a sterlie warehouse gym. You’ll be grappling a corner one minute, then chimneying up a narrow shaft the next. It keeps your brain as engaged as your fingers.
The main hall soars about 18 metres high—tall enough to make your palms sweat even before you leave the ground. And because the building is Grade II listed, they can’t drill into the original brickwork. So everything is bolted onto massive steel frames. It feels solid, but also a little bit mad, like climbing inside a steampunk contraption.
The vibe: friendly, scruffy, and utterly unpretentious
I’ve been to climbing gyms that felt like nightclubs—dim lights, loud music, and people who take themselves very seriously. The Castle is the opposite. The carpet in the café is permanently damp, the lockers are from the 1980s, and the staff wear hoodies that look like they’ve been climbed in. It’s glorious.
You’ll see first-timers trembling on a V0 while a grizzled regular mentors them between sips of tea. Nobody judges you for falling off. Actually, hold on—everyone falls off. The centre encourages a “try anything” mentality, which is refreshing when your ego is attached to a rope.
The café serves proper coffee (thank goodness) and vegan cakes that are suspiciously good. Sit by the window and you can watch climbers scuttling up the old water tower’s outdoor walls—a surreal sight against the London skyline.
THE CASTLE CLIMBING CENTRE - 42 Photos & 34 Reviews - Green Lanes
