Glasgow Climbing Centre

Visiting a friend I had the chance to visit the Glasgow Climbing Centre a few times. Although the staff is friendly and there are plenty of auto-belay routes regularly renewed, I won't miss coming here. Being a converted church Glasgow Climbing Centre is quite dark inside, there are plenty of pillars in unsuitable places, and the bouldering room is cramped. The music is also on low volume and it's never been really well attended (especially downstairs it was spooky quiet), so it was hard to get in a good climbing groove there with a sense of community. What upset me the most is when my, granted, quite inexperienced friend climbed a steep beginner's boulder (pink 5+ in the photo) and fell normally close to the top, he hit his head on a very closely located pillar that's unprotected and even has holds. He bled profusely but luckily was fine. The staff was helpful and friendly, oddly experienced dealing with incidents (a la "We do this almost every other day") and not at all concerned about the threat of injury by leaving a pillar unprotected so close to the routes finish. Never did they even suggest that another look may be taken at this setup to keep the fall zone cleared from obstacles. We've had many discussions since (albeit not with the staff) and most are either surprised and shocked that this accident was made possible. My friend could have died if he had fallen only a bit closer to the column and opened his head on one of the holds. I'm not an experienced climber myself but neither have I seen such a threat in a bouldering section before, nor do I plan on supporting any gym that shows such little care to minimize risk for injury or death.

This place is awesome! As a visiting climber I was able to quickly get access and had a wonderful time. Plenty of auto belays at various skill levels to allow visitors without a friend to enjoy climbing without needing an additional person. Worth the trek out from Glasgow and thoroughly enjoyable. There’s a beautiful cafe next to a ginormous stained glass window that creates wonderful ambiance in the building. The climbing centre is built in an wonderfully renovated church.

Was last here 11 years ago! Great place to learn, who'd have thought an old church would be such a good place to build an indoor climbing centre. They provide abseiling from the steeple, climbing walls in the main part, and bouldering in the basement. There's also a great cafe on-site, where decent snacks, meals, and hot & cold drinks are available, including plenty of vegan options. The staff are friendly, helpful, and quite chilled, so any worries about being intimidated are soon dispersed. You can hire kit (harness, shoes) for a few quid. If you haven't claimed before, make sure you take an introductory course. The basics are very easy to learn and you'll be climbing in no time. Why not 5-star? Well, I have a disabled wife who uses a wheelchair, who would've been happy to come along and use the cafe while my daughter, my friends, and I climbed but it's not accessible. The entrance is up a flight of stairs (old church, remember) with no ramp, and then the cafe is at the top of a spiral staircase, with the toilets located on the ground floor. There's no lift up to the cafe, which is a shame as you get a great view of the climbing walls (I believe the cafe is located in the area where the choir and organ would have been). I recognise that as a climbing centre there isn't much of a reason for them to cater to disabled people, but that doesn't mean it should restrict disabled people from accompanying their friends and family. Maybe it's something they can think about for the future... Overall, we had a great time - time that passed very quickly! For my daughter and I, entrance fee and hire of kit came to £34 in total. We were in from 7pm until 10pm.

The atmospheric climbing location. This is a superb place for learning and very kid friendly. The constant chilled beats in the background eases you in. Need to have completed a course to take in up to 2 non members to climb. Great variety of technically challenging walls. This is a busy place and rightly so. The staff are superb and offer help. There are changing rooms, toilets and a shower. There is a shop for your climbing needs. In the basement there is bouldering floor which is also challenging with good mats. The balcony cafe has a good mix to offer from toasties, sandwiches and salads. Usually soup as well as some curry. Vegan and veggies are covered. Staff friendly.

Visiting a friend I had the chance to visit the Glasgow Climbing Centre a few times. Although the staff is friendly and there are plenty of auto-belay routes regularly renewed, I won't miss coming here. Being a converted church Glasgow Climbing Centre is quite dark inside, there are plenty of pillars in unsuitable places, and the bouldering room is cramped. The music is also on low volume and it's never been really well attended (especially downstairs it was spooky quiet), so it was hard to get in a good climbing groove there with a sense of community. What upset me the most is when my, granted, quite inexperienced friend climbed a steep beginner's boulder (pink 5+ in the photo) and fell normally close to the top, he hit his head on a very closely located pillar that's unprotected and even has holds. He bled profusely but luckily was fine. The staff was helpful and friendly, oddly experienced dealing with incidents (a la "We do this almost every other day") and not at all concerned about the threat of injury by leaving a pillar unprotected so close to the routes finish. Never did they even suggest that another look may be taken at this setup to keep the fall zone cleared from obstacles. We've had many discussions since (albeit not with the staff) and most are either surprised and shocked that this accident was made possible. My friend could have died if he had fallen only a bit closer to the column and opened his head on one of the holds. I'm not an experienced climber myself but neither have I seen such a threat in a bouldering section before, nor do I plan on supporting any gym that shows such little care to minimize risk for injury or death.