UKC

Could anyone tell me what climbing walls are in and around East Anglia at the moment. I am moving back to Colchester next week and I have had a quick look on the net but apart from Stowmarket or Cambridge it seems pretty vacant. Are there any walls I have over looked?

Thanks

In reply to poison_pixie:

Harlow?

In reply to poison_pixie:
Stowmarket is a good one because of the bouldering room. They regularly put new routes in and there are plenty of staff and friendly climbers.
The only other one I know is in Ipswich ipswich-m-c.co.uk but its pretty poor. No top ropes as far as I can recall and its in the corner of a big hall where rowdy basketball is usually going on in the same space.
We turned up a few times when it was meant to be open and it was closed so don't rely on their website. Its worth calling them before you go.
We also turned up one Sunday at 1pm having read that it was open until 3pm. The receptionist told us that it would be closing at 2pm and the place only remained open if enough people were using it.

In reply to poison_pixie:

Harlow, Cambridge and Bury are pretty much equal distance. Cambridge is bouldering only (and often crowded), Harlow is predominantly Toprope/lead (with a small bouldering area) and Stowmarket is a bit between - nowhere near as good for leading as Harlow or bouldering as Cambridge.

To be honest, your quickest and best option is probably Mile End.

In reply to GrahamD: Thanks for all the information! I went to the Stowmarket wall over Xmas and was quite happy with the bouldering area, albeit it a little bit small and quite far from me (36 miles). I was just wondering what the wall in Bury is like as I live about 15 miles outside Colchester towards Sudbury/Halstead way so this seems more attractive if its any good. I mainly boulder, so Cambridge also sounds really good but again quite a distance (30 miles).

Thanks again for all your replies

In reply to GrahamD:

I second Mile End. They are putting up more walls in September.

In reply to poison_pixie:

Having been stranded in east anglia for a few months lat year, def go with Mile End! Stowmarket was a godsend (i was in lowestoft) but mile end is worth the travel from you!

In reply to combatrock:

definitely mile end..

In reply to poison_pixie: Got to agree, mile end is well worth the journey. I know there is also a new climbing centre opening in Norwich September time. Could be good for some variety!

In reply to 1step2far:

Mile End is not really such a journey from Colchester

In reply to poison_pixie:

Colchester has a wall at the uni. Not sure about what state it is now or whether it is still open to casual climbing since havent lived there for some years.

http://www.essex.ac.uk/sport/indoor/climbingwall.shtm

In reply to dissonance:

Don't bother. The bouldering room has no mats and is tiny.
The walls are mouse-roped and you have to top rope them as there were no wall bolts. After top roping two, I discovered that neither of the anchors were locked off. I reported this and the guy just shrugged his shoulders and said, 'it really isn't that important!' (funnily enough he was running a climbing first aid course in the other room)

The place is filthy and needs a bucket of hot soapy water. I tried brushing some of the crap off but it was thick grease which made everything very slippy.
A guy was telling us that the routes never get re-set and yet they are charging top money to get in this place and they charge on an hourly rate.

In reply to poison_pixie:
I'm currently Living in Witham in the same area, and to be honest, you're best just accepting that there's nothing around there and making the trip into London.
I drive to the Castle quite often, only takes 50mins and I find this time a nice way of chilling out, listening to music and getting ready to climb. It's also a nice way to relax after your session!
Mile End is also a good option though from experience the journey by road actually takes longer than the castle due to the route and traffic...
Good Luck

In reply to poison_pixie: What about Stow-Market? That is a good and popular gym with good bouldering and decent sports climbs that get re-routed on a regular basis by people who know what they are doing.

Then there is Ipswich climbing club who use a wall in a school gym every Wednesday evening. I'm not sure what that's like but it may be worth a try.
Actually I may go and try that one out and report back.