Here is where to go speed climbing in the UK
Published on 2024-01-31
Introduction
With speed climbing set to get its own Olympic medal this year, there has never been a better time to try the sport. The sub-5 second world record times are impressive even if you’ve never touched a speed hold. However, the moment you do, it becomes even more incredible that it’s possible to get up that wall in less than 5 seconds.
Accessibility of speed walls is a big factor in the sports growth. For the talent pool to grow, we need greater access to walls. There’s not very many of them, and if they do exist they can be a bit tricky to find. I can’t do much about the first point, but when it comes to finding them I can try to help. Until now, a google search for “Where to speed climb in the UK” or “Where to speed climb in London” did not turn up any immediately useful results, and certainly not a definitive list. Hopefully this can help to rectify the issue!
If you know of any other places in the UK to speed climb, please do let me know!
Notes
Not all of the locations listed are the full-length speed wall, and not all of them have timers. Most of them stop around 10 meters, or are missing a few of the last holds. While not ideal, this is far better than nothing and they are still really fun to train on.
The only IFSC certified speed wall in the UK is at EICA Ratho in Edinburgh.
The only place to speed climb in London is at Parthian Wandsworth (shout out to them for being Londons first permanent speed wall!). APRIL 2024 EDIT: The speed wall at Parthian Wandsworth no longer appears to be permanent. It has been taken down…if you are interested in having it up please do reach out to them.
Disclaimer
I gave my best effort to ensure the accuracy of this information, but you may wish to double check with the walls before travelling long distances.