Climbing Walls in Cambridge

Bouldering in Cambridge

Rainbow Rocket North opened in 2025 on the Beadle Trading Estate off Ditton Walk, a short walk from Cambridge North station. It has several freestanding boulders, long perimeter walls, a steep overhang and a competition wall, plus Kilter, Moon and Tension boards and a mezzanine weights area. It also hosts rounds and the grand final of the Red Rocket bouldering league.

The original Rainbow Rocket Central, on the Clifton Road Industrial Estate near Cambridge station, has a cave, a competition wall and a large low-ball area, but it closes for good on 15 November 2026: the building is due to be demolished for a new station entrance being built by East West Rail. Memberships and punch cards carry over to the North centre, and the company says it is looking for new premises nearby.

Kelsey Kerridge, the Cambridge Climbing Centre inside the sports centre by Parker's Piece, is mainly a bouldering wall: around 200 m² of Entre-Prises panels with a 40° overhanging barrel and an arch, and a newer 96 m² extension with big volumes and a 30° spray wall logged on the Stökt app. It's open from 9am to 11pm every day. It doesn't hire shoes or harnesses, so bring your own.

Roped climbing

The Perse Sports Centre on Long Road, The Perse School's new pool and sports centre, has a 10.5-metre wall that it bills as the highest in Cambridge: 11 roped lines with more than 30 routes, four auto-belays, two speed lanes and over 50 m² of bouldering with a spray wall. Climbers aged 14 and over can use the public Open Climb sessions once they've passed an induction (£16.50), which checks existing skills rather than teaching them. Weekend sessions can be taken by private bookings, so book ahead. Kelsey Kerridge also has four top-rope anchors. For bigger lead walls, Climb Hitchin is about 38 km away and The Lock in Harlow about 47 km.

Prices and passes

In October 2026 a peak-time adult visit at Kelsey Kerridge cost £8.55 (£7.50 off-peak), a three-hour Open Climb at The Perse £12.50, and a day at Rainbow Rocket £15.50, with an £8.50 student rate on Fridays before 4pm. A month's climbing costs around £37.50 at Kelsey Kerridge on a 12-month direct debit, plus a joining fee, and £75 at Rainbow Rocket, whose memberships cover both of its centres. Rainbow Rocket's 10-visit card is £125, and Kelsey Kerridge sells ten sessions for the price of nine.

Beginners and children

Rainbow Rocket runs a one-hour Introduction to Climbing for over-16s, family tasters and, at the North centre, NICAS levels 1 to 3 in term time. Kelsey Kerridge's registration and induction are free and need no booking, and a registered climber can supervise up to two under-16s or novices. The Perse runs coach-led tasters, Learn to Climb and lead courses for all ages from 4, and its Climbing Academy has weekly NICAS lessons and a competition squad.

Clubs and an outdoor wall in the making

The Cambridge University Mountaineering Club, founded in 1905, is one of the oldest climbing clubs in Britain, with weekday outings to the walls and weekend trips outdoors. A community group, the Cambridge Arch Project, is working on plans for a freestanding outdoor roped wall at least 15 metres high; in 2024 its preferred site was Coldham's Common.

Outdoor climbing from Cambridge

Climbing on real rock means a trip out of the county. The Peak District's gritstone edges are the classic destination: Stanage alone has about 1,900 routes, according to the BMC. To the south, the sandstone outcrops on the Kent and Sussex border, such as the BMC-owned Harrison's Rocks, are climbed on top-ropes or solo rather than with leader-placed gear, to protect the soft rock. See also climbing in London, Norwich and the rest of the United Kingdom.