No - you do not need to have climbed before and we have many members who join with no experience. However, you do need to pass a safety test in order to climb at indoor walls, which includes tying-in and belaying. You can complete one of the local wall’s Learn to Climb courses. More info on these can be found on our Climbing Courses advice page.

We are definitely both! But there is absolutely no obligation for all members to participate heavily in either aspect if they don’t wish to. Along with our usual indoor wall meets with standard top-rope climbing, many of our members’ disciplines elsewhere are Trad and Sport climbing. Many members enjoy alpine mountaineering, scrambling, winter climbing and hiking - it’s a big variety of all levels.

Club fees are £38.00 for an annual membership. This also includes affiliated club membership to the BMC. You can find full info on joining on our Joining Page.

Throughout the year, we run a few trips that are dedicated for hiking or mountaineering. These are normally at the beginning or the end of the year. Many of our members are keen climbers, so many of our trips are to areas with good climbing - but where there is good climbing you can bet you’ll also find great hiking! Take a look at our Club Calendar to see what we have planned.

Unfortunately living in the UK means the weather doesn’t always play ball on our club trips. However, unless a weather warning is issues, the trip will usually still go ahead. We’ll always strive to make the most of what we have available- whether that’s a soggy scramble, a muddy hike or a more chilled day at an indoor climbing wall, we’ll make it work.

Absolutely! Likewise, we would like to meet you before you join, so we always encourage prospective new joiners to come along to one our our Tuesday or Thursday indoor wall meets to say hello and ask any questions. If you would like to find out more and come and meet us, please see our Contact page information where you can reach out and speak to our Chairman about coming down to one of our meets.

Our main walls are Rock Hub Climbing Wall located in Basildon, as well as The Lock Climbing Wall, located in Harlow. We meet at Rock Hub every Tuesday evening and The Lock every Thursday evening. Both these walls also offer Learn to Climb courses too. However, many of our members climb reguarly at other walls, including The Reach Climbing Wall in Woolwich, The Castle Climbing Centre in Woodbury Down and various Bouldering centres.

We encourage all members to have their own harness, climbing shoes and basic, ATC-style belay device (with a carabiner) as standard if they will be climbing regualrly with us and have passed their Learn to Climb course. However, the climbing walls are able to provide a harness and shoes at a charge for you. Please reach out to the committee if you have any questions about this.

We crucially endorse the BMC’s Participation Statement regarding risk – see image in footer of this page. All members agree to take part in club activities voluntarily and shall be responsible for their own actions and involvement. You also sign an acknowledgement of this when signing up to the club.

Members are responsible for assessing their own fitness to participate in any club activities, taking into account any medical conditions, and must complete a self-declaration of fitness. Members are asked to inform the committee or relevant individuals of any important medical information as appropriate, and to carry any necessary medication with them at all times. Medical conditions can also be disclosed on the club joining form when signing up.

We accept members of all ages; however, all individuals under the age of 18must be accompanied by a parent/guardian club member at all club activities. Junior memberships are £32. If your child is interested in learning to climb we recommend the NICAS programme which is run at many climbing walls.

See this here: Club Constitution & Disciplinary Procedure

You can also find this at the bottom of the footer and linked across various pages on the website.