The Castle’s new outdoor boulders are now open. With an extension to the northernmost boulder and the replacement of the central featured boulder with a brand new design, there’s loads of new and exciting problems to try out.
All use the new colour code system, graded using the American V system as follows:
White with red spots – VB
Grey – V0-V1
Green – V1-V2
Blue – V3-V4
Pink – V5-V6
Other colours – see tag on initial hand-hold
The Castle’s new central boulder
But please remember – if you’re going to have a go, be sure to bring your water bottle, a hat and some sunblock, as it gets pretty warm out there during the summer!
In order to climb independently at The Castle Climbing Centre in north London, under 18s are required to take an in-house assessment. For obvious reasons, the test is pretty stringent, to make sure that the respective under 18 is competent and understands fully the issues surrounding safe bouldering and top-roping. For 14 and 15 year olds, there is an supplementary lead-climbing component to the assessment.
In the past, Geckos instructors taught lead-climbing within the regular kids’ club sessions, but over the last 18 months the necessities of social-distancing have limited the opportunities to do so. We have just started running a dedicated lead-climbing course on Sunday afternoons for 4 older kids and hope to offer this to more kids when we can. However, spaces are limited.
Lead-climbing upstairs at The Castle
Lead-climbing courses
Geckos run lead-climbing courses for under 18s during school holidays. Please contact us is this is something your are interested in. N.B. The child should be aged 13 or above and experienced in top-roped climbing. The level of their climbing is not the main concern, but they should be confident on a route graded 4+ or 5.
The Castle’s assessment
Anyone taking the over 14 assessment should be able to boulder confidently and understand the potential risks, both for themselves and for bystanders. They would need to know how to put on a sit harness, tie in with an appropriate knot and belay safely. However, the major component of the test involves lead-climbing and lead-belaying. A brief summary of what is involved follows, below. Clearly this only provides an overview and is in no way to be seen as an alternative to being properly taught and building up sufficient experience. It is best seen as a resource to return to in order to reinforce what’s been covered on one of our lead-climbing courses.
The climber
The climbing aspect requires an understanding of when and how to clip the lead rope into the quickdraws correctly and the potential pitfalls to avoid. The following video introduces the basics:
The belayer
Lead belaying is much more complicated and difficult than belaying a top-roped climber and requires a great deal of practice to master. Here’s another quick introduction:
The physics
It is important for all to understand that part and parcel of lead climbing is falling; knowing how to do it safely while climbing and how to catch the climber properly while belaying. Both require some understanding of basic physics. There’s a fairly dry explanation of the physics of falling and the forces involved for both the climber and the rope on this manufacturer’s website. However the issues are presented rather more engagingly on this video by a climbing dude. It covers everything well enough, even if the presenter seems to be under the impression that Sir Isaac Newton lived in ancient Greece.
The garden is based on the principles of permaculture design. We reuse and recycle materials as much as possible, compost waste, use organic growing techniques and have created habitats to support wildlife and promote biodiversity. The fruit, vegetables and herbs grown in the garden are used in the centre’s café.
Please take some time to wander around; you can find out more about the different areas of our garden by reading the information boards.
Use of the Garden
Please be aware that other people may be using the garden to relax and enjoy some tranquillity.
Please respect the plants, insects and animals.
It is your responsibility to monitor the safety of your group and make sure that they are aware of the hazards.
Please take into consideration
The garden is a working garden; please keep to the paths, do not pick or eat anything, either in the beds or other in areas of the garden.
There are trip hazards, there may be construction materials stored here and occasionally there is work taking place.
Children and animals to be supervised at all times. Dogs, in particular, must be kept on a lead at all times and away from the growing beds. Please don’t allow dogs to foul in our garden- but if it does happen, please pick up and dispose the poo immediately.
There is a bee hive located between the Engine House (Café) and Boiler House (ground level) entrances. Do not disturb the bees.
There is a small pond in the SE corner of the garden- take special care in this area with small children.
Do not climb the trees.
Visitors who haven’t checked in to climb at reception are not permitted to climb in the centre or on the outdoor boulders. Children who are attending a group climbing session are only permitted to climb during the session under their instructor’s supervision.
Do not drink from the taps- some of these are untreated rainwater used for irrigation.
Please dispose of all rubbish and used dishes in the centre. If you have a large amount of recyclable material please ask reception or a duty manager who will be able to provide you with a large bag for the recyclables to go in.
There are a variety of plants in the garden, including some that sting or can make you ill- don’t touch anything you are unsure of.
Staff regularly monitor this area. Please report any incidents, problems or concerns to the Duty Manager.
There are men’s and women’s changing rooms with toilets inside the building (the women’s and an accessible toilet with baby changing facilities are on ground floor, the men’s is on the mezzanine floor).
There are water fountains in the centre.
If there is an incident or you require first aid please go to reception and they will contact the Duty Manager.
