Oakwood Climbing Centre

“Oh my god I took my niece, son, and last but not least Dougie (my brothers dog) to this climbing/bouldering centre on the say so of my 11yrs old niece who said that it great last time she and her mum went! So first impressions when I got there was wow so impressed this looks great place and the car park was nice and busy so thought that was a great start (Also just say there is plenty car parking spaces even when busy) Anyway I digress on walking through the door I was met by a very helpful young gentleman called Eli that was to become one of the reasons that I would definitely go back to this centre! Professional, helpful and when I was later served by him in the coffee shop after booking us all in, handing us over to one of his other colleagues to run through a safety protocol who was also very helpful and courteous and sadly I didn’t ask his name! Sorry back to say about Eli who also when I was met by my son & niece saying oh Dad and Uncle Leigh saying oh can we stay for a little longer? Here, starts another Encounter with Ever helpful Eli, when I went to check in on Dougie who we had left in the car when we went for our fun! what was to be a fantastic and wonderful experience for my son(who was a first time bouldering/climber) for a total of 4.5 hrs which was also why I am also harping on this great place to take children that you want to see off computer games and out doing something that is fun and enjoyable and self confident building and lastly very reasonable cost effective way of making new friends and being genuinely more competitive, confident and more well balanced young person! Anyway I have digressed again from Eli who went onto say to me when I told him I needed to check in with Dougie who needed a wee for sure and as the centre is so big I was able to give him a walk before the ever helpful young man Eli suggested to bring Dougie in when I walked him hence further 4.5 hours we were all there!! Yes 4.5 hrs we were I want to say what I will call the best climbing centre I have been too! So that brings me onto another reason why I would carry on coming back again and again to this experience I will call it! Anyway your probably getting bored of this review that I am reviewing! I forgot how much I loved the climbing people I had met in the past experience I had some 15 years ago when I myself started on my experience with climbing!! There is some lovely people out their as I spoke to so many people that day out which as I have said it such good value for money as there was not cut off time that you could climb and as there was a lovely little cafe/refuel spot where I was served by the ever helpful young man Eli served me my great cappuccino and snickers bar to be refuelled!! For second wind watching my son growing in confidence! And my beautiful niece! Have the time of the life racing each other on climbs which by the way wasn’t my son (Quinn) was beaten by my niece (Cali) which was great to see my son build up further confidence in which I must stress was his first bouldering experience! So with all that said and harped on about!! Just go!! you won’t forget about it and especially the young man which is called Eli!! Which was a the most perfect, professional and all round nice young man! Anyway I digress again! As I need not say anymore other than thank you Oakwood for was a great 4.5 hrs!!”

“The fantastic staff were really friendly and helpful straight from checking in. There are a good variety of routes even at our low level (greens, yellows and some blues) The extension is great for kids, with a topping out wall that leads to a slide back down - great motivation for kids to keep completing routes! Although it seemed busy, there are so many walls to choose from so we never stopped, there was a friendly and laid back atmosphere with everyone climbing here and the balcony area is really good for having a breather, getting a drink and watching people attempting the competition wall. It’s a shame we don’t live closer or we’d be back here every week!”

“Visited earlier in the week and we all had an amazing time!! We spent 3h in the gym but easily could’ve stayed longer. Lots of variety in the climbs, has a training area, 2 top-out areas, a circuit area, gym area, and lots of different wall types. We are all beginner/intermediate climbers but still found a lot we could do :)”

“Ive been going here on and off for 5 years. The staff team is really nice, the prices are the best in the area. Entry here is £14, compared to £15 at The Climbing Hangar and £16 at Parthian Reading. Membership here is £48 per month, whereas at the hangar it is £32 per month. Its the setting that bothers me here. A lot of attention is given to the comp wall and the octa wall, however (and you can tell) that there is less care for the cave, the top out boulder, the ropes, the circuits, or the extension. This is a shame because its probably over 1/2 the gym. Furthermore, especially on the lower grades, most of the climbs are the same. They save the big and expensive holds for the higher grade climbs, and very few lower grades have them. There are a few, but not many. This is obviously great, if like me, you progress onto the further grades but I do feel bad at times that newer climbers dont get to use the nice macros and volumes. The opening hours are also quite dissapointing, 10am opening time is way too late, especially on a weekend, but its not too big of a deal. Oakwood is really good at hosting events like UV night and the mighty oak comp. If the centre wanted to improve, I would remove the ropes and only leave the autobelays in the extension area, and instead put more bouldering stuff in its place. I’m really glad they have put a cover over the outdoor boulder, this makes it more accessible all year round. The gym has an app called Griptonite which lets you log your climbs, view videos etc. I’ve been to lots of gyms with lots of different apps, I am glad they use Griptonite here, its by far the best. Another small note is the gym has no shop, I think a small shop selling shoes and a few chalk bags etc would do well. Newer climbers beware, the walls here are high which can be scary. Ive noticed setters put the crux high up aswell, which is not a good idea on the lower grades for obvious reasons. Other than the small drawbacks, it really is the best climbing gym in the area, and Wokingham is lucky to have this place.”