The Climbing Academy’s spirit was born a long time ago, amidst frozen blue ice caves deep in the mountains of Northern Italy and is the brainchild of Paul Twomey and Rich Emerson. Finally, after two years of perseverance, this once far off dream is now a reality - in the form of the biggest bouldering cave in the south west!

The Academy is located just off the St Phillip’s Causeway (just behind Temple Meads) and was getting its finishing touches when I visited. What surrounded me was a vast climbing surface spreading over 2600 square feet, three and a half meters tall, complete with 240 different routes. But it wasn’t only the sheer size of the place which impressed, through its creatively moulded walls the Academy prides itself on having achieved a more natural climbing surface.

Our city’s new wall has been masterminded and built by climbers, catering for both climbers and non-climbers of all ages and abilities - don’t be put off if you’ve never tried climbing before or think you don’t have a head for heights as the beauty of bouldering embraces the lack of need for ropes or equipment but is a creative and adventurous way to keep your body strong and healthy.

Keen to provide routes for novice climbers and also routes consisting of tiny wrinkles in the surface to keep pinchers of the elite happy, the Academy provides a range of routes colour coded by difficulty, with 40 routes per colour, all of which will be changed regularly to keep you on your toes! Also, just for fun, these routes polka dot their way over various originally named walls including Phat 45, Compound Corner, The Escalator and The Roof of Eternity!

The Climbing Academy also prides itself on providing climbers with facilities of the highest standard and in addition to the climbing space, there is a top-quality café (with free wifi), showers, treatment room and a large car-park. Eager to do their bit for the environment as well, they aim to be a carbon-neutral company ASAP.

Bristol has been in need of another climbing facility for ages now and I can’t wait to throw some shapes up on the walls of what is a bright, colourful and modern, high-quality bouldering haven - or is that heaven..?!

The Climbing Academy would like to thank Bristol Law Firm, Clarke Willmott and Ellis Brigham.

www.theclimbingacademy.co.uk

Fran McElhone

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!WIN! - Induction Course at The Climbing Academy

Thanks to the lovely people at The Climbing Academy, Suit Yourself Magazine has 10 induction courses, worth £15, up for grabs! An induction course includes membership to The Climbing Academy and on completion will allow you to use the bouldering centre at any time in the future, unsupervised!

You’ll be rocking in no time! Woop!

All you have to do to enter is enter your name and email below:

www.theclimbingacademy.co.uk