UKC

I've often wondered if anyone has tried to set up climbs on water towers, many of them seem ideal being concrete. I presume the water companies may have issues about access but wonder if that is not insurmountable? It would seem to me to be a reasonably cheap way of setting up indoorclimbing in an outdoor setting in England's flatlands?

There used to be a local abseil off a local water tower event near us, Scouts or some such, for charity. So the obstacles must in principle be surmountable.

If on your own, I guess you'd just have to bolt it in the dark

If its an in-service water tower for a local water company there will be no access to the site allowed, as a water tower is a potable water service reservoir. Most companies are in the process of decommissioning these assets and replacing them with booster pumps, so might be a good use for them in the future.

Wouldn't they leak if you start drilling holes in them?

Not if the climbing is only restricted to winter ascents.

That would nicely replicate realistic British climbing conditions.

They've put climbing holds on concrete anti-aircraft gun towers from WWII in Vienna.  The water tower idea would be quite similar.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g190454-d6782471-r395576737-F...

They have the same in Berlin - 

https://www.climbing.com/places/urban-jungle-gyms-5-abandoned-structures-tu...

There are some other WW2 relics put to climbing use in this piece. 

On the water tower idea, there's a wall on a water tower in Hungary here - 

https://thespaces.com/this-hungarian-water-tower-is-offering-a-new-kind-of-...

Didn't someone, somewhere blot and old cooling tower?

Kletterturm Leipzig is in an old water tower, it was a good place.

https://www.kletterturm.info/

It was tall enough to have several levels of lead climbing but on one side the routes were from ground floor to top in the interior. You could borrow an extra long rope for that - very heavy when you're knackered after 15 clips. It was weird being high up from ground level but at floor level for upper levels.

I was there in winter, I think there are routes on the exterior for the summer.

Not been there for 15+ years.

John Redhead climbed one - is that what you're thinking of ? No bolts involved.

I might have thought it was a good idea, I used to drive through Sheffield a lot, and thought it would be great to have a wall up the cooling towers there.