1 / 2Onyx Climbing Wall
📍 Blackburn, North West
Dedicated bouldering centre in Blackburn with 150+ problems across two rooms, weekly route setting, and youth programmes. Routes mirror outdoor climbing styles — V0 through V8+. Ages 7+, indoor, cafe and parking on site.
ONYX Climbing Wall is a real little gem! I have never seen a climbing gym set as versatile, earthy and as natural as this one is! The vibes are great and the staff that run the place (Ian and Gill) are the real gems behind it all! My little boy is just starting out his ONYX journey and he highly rates it too! It was at ONYX that he was able to bag his first ever v8 at just 10 years old! He says the milkshakes are good too!
🏆 Family Action Verdict
Best for families with children aged 8+ who have genuine interest in developing climbing skills. The V0–V2 range is accessible for strong beginners, and the natural route setting means skills transfer to outdoor climbing. Children who just want to play rather than climb will find it less engaging than a standard climbing wall.
ℹ️ What to Know Before You Go
💬 What Families Are Saying
View all reviews →103 Google reviews
Nina Moffett
2 years ago
“ONYX Climbing Wall is a real little gem! I have never seen a climbing gym set as versatile, earthy and as natural as this one is! The vibes are great and the staff that run the place (Ian and Gill) are the real gems behind it all! My little boy is just starting out his ONYX journey and he highly rates it too! It was at ONYX that he was able to bag his first ever v8 at just 10 years old! He says the milkshakes are good too!”
Jonathan Swanson
a year ago
“Absolutely lovely setting! If your an outdoor climber this place is an excellent place to train, good to see a gym not obsessed with dynamic toe hooks and stupid paddle moves! All the holds are sequenced with lovely moves and I never came across problems that I wouldn't find outdoors! The F7a+ to 7b+ stuff is so good! For all this to come from one setter is amazing stuff, I humbly request that they move to Glasgow please!”
Dave Etherington
3 months ago
“First visit, I'll be back. Perfect wall. All routes from V1 to V7 were "interesting". From someone with 43 years of worldwide climbing experience. Very friendly "northern folk." Another good wall to visit is Boulder Brighton if you are in the deep south.”
Sam D
2 years ago
“I really enjoyed the bouldering here and the coffee was good too. I found a lot of the problems require quite a bit of strength but I'm sure that would come quickly if you climbed here regularly.”
Reviews from Google
Overview
Onyx features over 150 bouldering problems set weekly across two rooms, graded from V0 to V8+. The earthy, natural aesthetic appeals to outdoor climbers training indoors. Warm-up areas include fingerboards and TRX rigs. A climbing shop, cafe with milkshakes and coffee, and structured youth programmes round out the offer. Owners Ian and Gill are hands-on and consistently praised.
