Inclusive Rock Climbing in the Lake District

About

Yes, you can: Users of Mobility aids, Users of Wheelchairs non-essential, (essential chair users we have options), Unsure or low confidence walkers, All people with visual impairments, People with Auditory impairments, People with learning difficulties, People with autism, People with additional medical needs, Older people up to 103 years old.

Inclusive Rock Climbing in the Lake District

The sport of rock climbing was essentially born here, and the Lake District has a rich heritage of climbing throughout the fells.

We have developed a range of venues that make it easier to access rock climbing for people with additional needs. Strangely it is often not the getting up the rock that is the challenge for many - we have some great systems to help with that. The challenge for many is getting to the actual rock face in the first place.

We have a range of approachable rock faces suited to a variety of needs spread across the Lake District. Right from venues where a wheelchair user can roll right up and climb straight from the chair to places ideal for people with visual impairments. Whether you are looking for a hard athletic, challenging climb or an easy one; We have a venue well suited to your needs.

How we make rock climbing accessible:

We use comfortable padded harnesses, and we have supportive seating harnesses for those with low leg power.

For those with limited strength, we have a pull-up system which reduces the effort of lifting your body.

We have climb alongside systems allowing an instructor to climb alongside guiding, giving encouragement and assisting on the way up (or down).

We have tiny radios that can go on the back of harnesses to make it easy to hear guidance from the ground team. We can plug headsets into these for a hearing boost.

We meet at several bases including Langdale, Grange over sands, Ingleton, Giggleswick and Warton. For some users, we meet at the indoor climbing walls of Ingleton or Kendal.

To find out more about the activity visit our activity listing (link VLDactivity listing)