The Reach Climbing Wall Reviews Summary

Category: Rock climbing gym London

Address: Unit 6, Mellish Industrial Estate, Harrington Way, London SE18 5NR, United Kingdom

Phone: +442088559598

Rating: 4.7
based on 160 reviews.

Climbing Facilities

Pros:

  • "Excellent climbing wall with great facilities."
  • "Caters for all: young or old, single or groups, beginner or experienced."
  • "Such a fantastic facility, lots of climbing and bouldering options."
  • "Massive site, got plenty of options for bouldering, lead climbing, bottom roping and a number of auto-belay routes too."
  • "Great climbing place with plenty of space to toprope, lead and boulder."
  • "One of the biggest climbing centred in London. 10 auto belay devices, acres of top roping, plenty of lead climbing and enough bouldering to satisfy a squadron of twenty somethings who've just won a pallet of red bull."
  • "The variety of different steepness of wall, the open space, the fact that you will never have to queue to climb because of the many routes in there."

Cons:

  • "The only thing that bother me there is fairly small (maybe just awkward) training room that if there is more than 3 people feels overcrowded."
  • "Has some easy walls but feel that it is quite a big jump to the intermediate walls."
  • "165 people at max capacity currently feels over crowded in the current covid situation."
  • "Good Rock Climbing course for beginners (THE BASIC SKILLS COURSE), but unfortunately I found my instructor to use a lot of sexist / derogative language towards female climbers."
  • "Bouldering is good for experienced climbers but not as good as other bouldering centres for beginners or early climbers."
  • "The only downside is that they completely lack the development of children’s climbing."
  • "The place is geared up for rope climbing rather than bouldering."

Accessibility & Location

Pros:

  • "Plenty of free parking. Also does parties and lessons. Well worth a visit!"
  • "Parking is plentiful on the Sunday nights we go."
  • "Plenty of parking and now with CrossRail down the road on Woolwich, national rail at Woolwich Dockyard and Jubilee line at North Greenwich along with plenty of buses nearby, this should be a destination for any London climber."
  • "Free parking is available on site!"
  • "The Elizabeth line has now made the centre more accessible for those of us north of the river."
  • "A bit of a reach from Brighton but well worth the drive, with plenty of parking space nearby."
  • "The Reach is good for rope climbing, frequent lessons and great number of auto belays (12!)."

Cons:

  • "It is so difficult to get to The Reach with public transport so you need a car to get there really."
  • "Although it is a bit far from downtown, it is worth going."
  • "A bit of a pain to get to for me since I live in North London, but it's always worth it since this place is virtually empty compared to the other climbing gyms in London."
  • "Lots of space for climbing compared to those in Central London. However, it is not easy to get to."
  • "Actual climbing walls look good, but have to say it's really hard to find and my experience of the staff was that they were arrogant and rude."
  • "Parking is easy on weeknights but its in a complex which runs out of parking on occasion."
  • "Loved this family friendly place, would take my eleven year old and we'd auto belay together now he's not even allowed sit somewhere & watch me climb?"

Staff & Instructors

Pros:

  • "Our instructor Graham was fantastic, he was incredibly knowledgeable."
  • "But what really makes this place amazing, is the atmosphere the ultra friendly and helpful staff have managed to create."
  • "The staff is very professional, knowledgeable and they clearly love teaching."
  • "Friendly and knowledgeable staff and expert instructors."
  • "The two members of staff who looked after the kids were great - they took the time to make sure that everybody was enjoying themselves."
  • "Staff are friendly and are hot on safety."
  • "The staff are amazing very, very friendly and seem like they genuinely care about you."

Cons:

  • "So, the climbing itself is great, can’t really fault it, but star rating is brought down by service in the cafe."
  • "The coffee shop on the other hand is a disaster, the coffee so so but they take forever to make it."
  • "The store never works. And the staff doesn't have a key for it! This is ridiculous service."
  • "Shame about a really officious staff member who rather put us off."
  • "utterly rubbish and unprofessional did not return calls about important safety details."
  • "Didn't actually have a chance to experience the centre as the receptionist was 'too busy'... !!"
  • "I was asked by what I can only describe as a bull dog chewing a wasp to move away from the mats out of view of my children."

Cafe & Amenities

Pros:

  • "Cafe is amazing, but again I feel sorry for the lady that works there as she has no help when it gets busy."
  • "There is a little artisan cafe inside where you can get simple but delicious meals to keep you going through your climb."
  • "The food is belissimo, great to recharge on in-between climbs."
  • "The cafe is great; reasonably priced, decent portions and good coffee."
  • "Good selection of food in the cafe too."
  • "Topping it off is the Rosie Lee cafe with a wide selection of meaty, veggie and vegan dishes at fair prices."
  • "The cafe has a fabulous selection of food and very delicious cakes."

Cons:

  • "165 people at max capacity currently feels over crowded in the current covid situation."
  • "Weekends can get very busy, with many group classes and long waiting times for lunch/coffee."
  • "Service in the cafe is glacially slow. Really nice food and coffee but you have to queue for so long."
  • "Didn't like the cafe at all very expensive small portions for example sausage roll was £2.50 for a sausage roll that's about 7cm long."
  • "The cafe may not be the best, still need to understand if ppl there work for charity or actually get paid :("
  • "Made us wait over an hour for auto belay session. After chasing the staff, we were told it is cancelled because the staff member doesn't want to do it."
  • "Only toilets not at highest standards but probably over 1000 people use them every day."

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