The Castle Climbing Centre

I think this wall is a little expensive at £11.50 a go, however it is by far my favourite wall. There is loads to do, a good spread of grades and a variety of angled walls. I find all the staff pleasant and friendly, unlike my experience of the Westway. The only real downside is the lack of parking
Big Steve - 12/Dec/09

I like this place a lot, and I strongly recommend you to give it a try if you have never been there. If you are looking for a partner to do some ropes in there you might want to visit this page, it is suppose to create a way for people to hook up for climbing: http://castleclimbingcalendar.googlepages.com/home
dobrek - 08/Jul/07

Been looking for a wall just come down to London from Birmingham for a 8 month work placement. Been looking around the internet. Castle seems to get a thumbs up from this reviewer. http://www.squatmagazine.com/article.php?articleId=14 I think i will check it out now. Or should i try Westway first?
Debs Debs - 18/Sep/06

Ok, so it does pong a bit, it's a former Victorian Water-Pumping station..................what do you expect?? But lets face it, when you are sweating through a problem (and there are many...good ones too!) do you really stop and sniff...or do you concentrate on stopping your leg from shaking???....ahh..thought so! :P
Jay - 04/Sep/06

more expensive @ £9:50, registration £4.....but a nice lot of bouldering and a warm up traverse wall, interesting walls, lots of lockers and a caff. bit dirty (ahh, bless!) & the staff seem a bit overwhelmed/sulky. can get a bit crowded on the walls, but bouldering seems to be OK: has even got sofa's. Pongs bigtime. I blame people sweating.
thin bob - 17/Mar/06

I found the atmosphere to be very friendly and the price compares well to any other London based activities! It is worth going for the monthly direct debit option if you are going to climb here regularly. The new boulders look very exciting too, I'll try to get some pictures on here when they are finished.
soveda - 05/Jul/05

Great place to climb. It's not expensive if you get a pass, and although it can get pretty busy there's always stuff to climb. Weekends are pretty quiet - only problem is that the courses are pretty pricey. they do a free instructor-led session three times a week though.
Hugo - 12/Nov/04

Just completed a starter course. It was fun and well run. Lots of follow up support to help you get into the sport. Free and frendly casual training events through out the week. Can be packed at peak times but always routes avalible. £32 a month seems good value in London terms. Recomended for anyone looking to try out climbing.
stuart - 12/Nov/04

as my experience goes would not recommend for beginners course. i was very disappointed and dismayed that on the first day for beginners at the Castle the instructor failed to mention anything about warming-up/stretching, the ommision of which i consider very unprofessional and irresponsible practice.
yvonne - 01/Jul/04

This is one of the worst climbing centers imaginable - for £8.50 [membership rate] you recieve surly treatment from the staff; a foul stench in most areas of the building and disgusting conditions throughout. There is also a overpriced cafe. Avoid.
Nick - 11/May/04

A great building too - with a tower which I have seen used for internal abseiling once? Coffee bar snorts out steam and espresso all the time in the upper room, as you would expect in Stoke Newington.
Tom CBury - 18/Oct/03

"Babe city, they're everywhere, top totty"?. You arse.
Alex - 05/Jul/03

Quite simply the best dedicated centre that I have climbed at. Very good facilities, well marked and realistically graded routes, fantastic traverse wall and at £25 a month direct debit, awesome value as well. A bit busy at peak times but they have recently added a whole new section of lead and top roped climbs and there is more room to expand
Ben - 03/Jan/03

Babe city, they're everywhere, top totty. The walls are good, the grades I'd say are a little harder than the Westway. The staff are really nice especially Dave the Jock, very helpfull. Nora makes a wicked cap and the feel of the place is good. However, those pesky belay police really are assholes.
John - 12/Nov/02