Please note: To be able to supervise a child at the Castle you need to sign up as a registered unsupervised climber, able to belay and tie in safely. Bouldering only climbers cannot supervise novices or children for safety reasons. For more detail, see below.
To climb unsupervised with children at the Castle, the supervising adult needs to be a registered unsupervised climber (this means you're able to belay and tie in safely - please note, Bouldering only climbers cannot supervise novices). If not, you'll need to check into one of our range of instructed sessions.
Bringing children (U18s) into the Centre, you have two options, depending on your level of experience:
- Experienced roped climbers
- Bouldering only/non-experienced climbers
1. Experienced Climbers
Kids (U18s) can climb under the supervision of an experienced adult (over 18) roped climber.
Adult roped climbers must be registered with us, and able to:
- Put on a harness
- Tie in using a figure eight or bowline knot
- Belay someone safely, using a belay device
You can register online before you visit the centre. You can also register your novices online to save time once you arrive at The Castle. Bouldering only climbers cannot supervise novices.
An experienced adult climber can supervise up to 2 novices. There is no minimum age for the novices you can supervise.
2. Bouldering Only & Non-Experienced Climbers
If you are not an experienced climber or if you're a bouldering only member please don't turn up with your children expecting to climb.
To bring your children climbing you will need to book onto a course in advance. This includes climbers that need to refresh their skills:
- Our Family Taster sessions are a perfect way to enjoy the experience of climbing with your kids (age 7+) under the expert care of one of our instructors. Tasters sessions last 1.5 hours and will introduce you to both roped climbing and bouldering. (Completing this course does not allow you to climb independently with your child you will need to complete one of intro courses)
- If you don't want to climb but would like to bring your kids along we also offer Kids Taster Sessions for children aged 9 to 15. Again it is a 1.5 hours session including roped climbing and bouldering.
- Another option is to book yourself on to one of our Introductory Courses. These courses focus on the saftey skills you need to be able to climb independently in the centre.
Bouldering only climbers cannot supervise novices.
