General

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I am new to the area and I can climb, but have lost my regular climbing partner – what can I do?
Check out our noticeboards at the centre; people regularly advertise for climbing partners.

I am new to the area and would like to start climbing, but don’t know anyone who shares my interest – what can I do?
We run a course called Climb On on a Monday and Tuesday evening. This is a good opportunity to link up with like-minded individuals. Click here for more info:

I’ve never climbed before – can I just turn up and have a go or do I need instruction?
No- you will need some form of instruction. Have a look at the “I want to learn to climb” pages. Note all instruction must be booked in advance.

Someone I know is coming to climb – do I have to pay to spectate?
No: simply sit back and enjoy the action!

I am a competent climber and want to introduce a friend – do they need to book instruction or can I teach them?
Not necessarily. You can teach your friend to climb on your own. If you want to teach them to belay, you will need a third person. Have a look at the bottom of the Entry Prices page for more details:

What refreshment facilities do you have?
We have a range of vending machines and normally have crisps, chocolate, cans, tea, coffee and flapjack available.

What times are you open?
Have a look at this page:

Where are you?
Have a look at this page:

I’ve heard you need to be a competent climber to use The Rockface without instruction. What is the definition of a “competent climber”?
For the purposes of climbing at The Rockface, a competent climber is defined as someone who can:

• Put on a sit harness correctly.
• Tie into a sit harness with a fig of 8.
• Belay correctly using a belay device.

If you can do all of the above, then you can use the Rockface unsupervised, subject to agreeing to our conditions of use.

How many lessons will I need to become competent?
We recommend a course of four one-hour lessons, known as First Moves. Click here for more info

Do you have a car park?
We have our own car park as well as limited on-street parking. We are also situated next to Millennium Point, which has an 800 space car park. There is a charge for using this car park however concessions are available in the evenings.

What do I wear to climb in – do I need special clothing?
No – you can simply wear comfortable loose fitting clothing and trainers to start with. You may find after a while you would like to try specialist climbing shoes – these are available in all climbing shops and are also advertised regularly on one of the noticeboards in the centre.

Do you have changing facilities.
We have changing rooms and showers. We have a limited no of lockable lockers (£1 – returnable) available as well as a large no. of storage boxes in the main hall.

What age can children start climbing from?
In most of our classes we start children from the age of 6, however we can start younger in Family Sessions. The key factor is whether they will fit into a harness – give us a call if you would like more details.

If I am only coming to The Rockface once, do I have to join?
Yes - all recreational climbers at The Rockface need to register but we don;t make a charge for this - that's right, no annual membershiop fee! We will keep all your details on file, which means that if you don’t visit us for a number of years, you will still be able to use your old membership number. You won’t need to fill out any more forms. Click the link below to see our Entry Prices:

I am interested in climbing outdoors - what do you offer?
All the courses we offer, and the nature of our wall are all specific to the indoor climbing wall environment. This is very different to climbing outside. We therefore reccomend that anyone wishing to take up outdoor climbing should take appropriate instruction with a company such as Midland Mountains prior to doing so.