UKC

Maybe they'll fix the carpark now.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4228540.stm

PeterM

In reply to PeterM:

Wish they would lower the price to climb, the place is a rip off!!

In reply to alex_balman:

Do you think?

In reply to Rid Skwerr:

It wouldn't be so bad if the facilities were finished and you could actually use it all i.e. the boulders that have been taped off for ever.

PeterM

In reply to Rid Skwerr:

Yes, although generally being more into trad stuff I find most climbing Centres expensive. Also think some of the grades are a bit on the easy side!!

In reply to alex_balman:

So why is Benny Beg your favourite crag?

Ratho isn't cheap but I reckon it's good value - but then I'm not worried about the taped-off boulders - I like the chance to lead plenty of very long (by indoor standards) routes without having to queue too much.

In reply to Rid Skwerr:
Don't get me wrong. I use the place regularly, but for the money it is still lacking somewhat.

PeterM

In reply to PeterM:

Might mean that they sort out a decent bus service too.

In reply to Rid Skwerr:

Learned to climb there before it was bolted!! Fond memories and fun days!!

In reply to alex_balman:

How do you feel about the retro-bolting then?
I've never been. Not sure I'm missing much.

In reply to Rid Skwerr:
"Ratho isn't cheap but I reckon it's good value"

I went a couple of weeks ago.

I payed something like £10 annual fee + £7 climb + £3.50ish for coffee and cake.

i.e. £45 spend (if you include a bit of petrol from Glasgow) for me and GF.

Enjoyed the climbing on a wet Sunday but it doesn't really work out as "good value" for the annual vist of a Glasgow punter.

Perhap more people would turn up if the £10 annual thing was scrapped...

In reply to alex_balman:

There are two bolted routes outside at Ratho so I'm not sure what you're on about or where you got that idea from.

Agreed that £11.00 is too much for a non member. I was going to invite some of pals down to visit the place when the weather craps out but I know if I tell them it'll cost them 11 quid to get in they'll all suddenly have something more important to do.

It's difficult to see how public transport can be improved. You couldn't run a regular bus service from Newbridge up a road that no one else uses and expect to make any money out of it. The other option may be to improve access from the canal and light the tow path from the Bridge Inn. An improved bus service to ratho village would then benefit both the centre and the local community.

In reply to Rid Skwerr:

I dont actualy mind, I know most people are against it but since the crag has been bolted local schools are using it to introduce kids to climbing, the crag has a friendly atmosphere and makes for a good few hours climbing. also remember getting in a few days there last year in December!!

Happy days!! :0)

Good on Scott Muir!!!

In reply to Removed User:

"£11.00 is too much for a non member"

Looks like I was shafted... £11 is better than £17 if you're only going once a year!

In reply to JLS:

I imagine the admission prices will be restructured.
It's a bit unfair adding your coffee and cake.
I suspect the £10 or whatever is supposed to be an incentive to go more than once a year. 3 or 4 visits and you're looking at about half as much per visit as your £45.
One of the things I like is that most of the time there is actual climbing time rather than queueing time.

In reply to alex_balman:

But it doesn't really introduce kids to climbing any more than an indoor wall, does it? Just bolt-clipping. Completely unrepresentative.

In reply to Rid Skwerr:

"I've never been. Not sure I'm missing much."

Benny Beg is excellent, unless you hate bolts with a passion and/or regularly climb harder than E1.

In reply to Rid Skwerr:

"One of the things I like is that most of the time there is actual climbing time rather than queueing time."

Well that might not always be the case if you go around encouraging people to quadruple there attendance!

In reply to JLS:

A bit off topic here but Im working in Aberdeen at the moment, Tried to go to the new wall at the RGU and was turned back due to the fact you needed to do an induction which they only do on a Thursday at 5.30 and it is booked up for 3 weeks!!

So I went down tho the beach gym to try my luck, cost me £3.20 to get in and had a good 2 hours boldering.. good value or what!!

In reply to alex_balman:

For bouldering I prefer AR2 to Ratho.
Alien beats Ratho music-wise as well.

In reply to Rid Skwerr:

I think it has something for the local kids, Im not saying that the kids will become rock stars but I certanly wished that I went out climbing instead of being forced to do cross country running around a playing field!!

It is a insignificant crag not even mentioned in the SMC guide but fore some people it is where all the fun started!!

In reply to PeterM:

See: http://cpol.edinburgh.gov.uk/getdoc_ext.asp?DocID=70227

In reply to DAB: SO what was the council's decision on the 15th? I can't seem to find that anywhere on their web site.

"It should also be noted that the Company did not go into Receivership because of poor trading or because the initial Business Plan projections were not being met, but because the Shareholder was unable to provide any further equity to complete the building." This is contrary to what some people on this forum were saying at the time.

"The building is a unique, award winning design..." Does anyone know what awards it has won? Google isn't being very forthcoming.

The lease with BWB for the bridge over the canal sounds a bit dodgy though. I also note that the plan appears to include scaling back the gym and leasing the freed-up space. Anyone care to speculate whether, a few years down the line, they might not choose to do the same with the climbing arena if the income forecast isn't being met?

In reply to alex_balman:

I was up in Aberdeen at the weekend. Went to the Beach bouldering wall for the first time in years. I'd forgotten how hard, fingery and steep it is. I must have been fit when I used to go 3 times a week. It's a shame some of the marked problems are getting harder to find as the marks wear off.
I wish Ratho all the best but I always felt it was a mad idea to roof a quarry. Like building a footbridge to the moon.

In reply to Martin W: The man from Del Monte said yes.

In reply to graeme alderson: The man from "Del Monte" (a profit-making company) said no. The man from Edinburgh Council (municipal socialism) said yes. If it is really likely that Ratho will run at profit, how come there were no commercial buyers?

In reply to Martin W:


From what I remember, people were saying that the building cost went way over budget. That is not the same as "Poor trading or because the initial Business Plan projections were not being met".

Did anyone notice that in the Council minutes, one set of estimates came in at £3M, another at £6M and they agreed at, guess what, £4.5M. Get the feeling this is not an exact science?

In reply to Stefan Lloyd:


A number of people on this thread http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=77960 suggested that the revenue projections were over-optimistic.


Yes, it doesn't fill one with confidence, does it? I doubt I'd be persuaded to shell out possibly getting for £10M of other people's money on that basis of that report.

Anyone know whether Deep Blue Scuba are eventually going to get their teaching pool at the end of all this?

In reply to Rid Skwerr:

snip < I suspect the £10 or whatever is supposed to be an incentive to go more than once a year. >

But it's a disincentive to the casual visitor. If I've gone to the Highlands for the weekend but the weather turns vile I might be tempted to leave early and break the journey back to Manchester by stopping at Ratho, but not if its going to cost that much for a one-off visit.

Or is it a deliberate policy to keep passing Englishmen away?