Durham Climbing Centre

06/09/2026

Yesterday we hosted the first round of the BMC Youth Climbing Series! 🧗‍♀️🔥

We had an excellent day, with so many young climbers getting stuck in and enjoying the boulders. It was great to see plenty of flashes and tops in the first round, getting competitors off to a brilliant start in this year’s series!

A huge thank you to everyone who competed, and to all of the volunteers and judges who helped make the day possible.

The Impact team delivered another solid set of boulders, with fantastic feedback from competitors and parents as always. Thank you!

And a very special thank you to our North East and Lakes BMC Area Youth Coordinator, Chris Bullock, who has given an incredible amount of time and dedication to the YCS over the last 16 years. From all the preparation behind the scenes to working with the BMC and pushing for positive change for youth climbing in our region, Chris has made a huge contribution.

Chris will be stepping down from the YCS after this year and will be very much missed, but we’re really pleased that he’ll still be running Rock Solid, which has become such a successful event in its own right.

Thank you, Chris, for everything you’ve done for youth climbing in our region. ❤️

Fancy giving the comp blocs a go? The full YCS set will be staying up until the next rotation, so come down and see how you get on! 💪


British Mountaineering Council

Impact Route Setting
Ian Dunn
Cailean Harker
Callum Hegarty
Rebecca Appleby

04/09/2026

YCS prep is well underway! 🔥

A big thanks to the Impact Route Setting team for putting together a mammoth set of boulders ready to challenge some of the best young climbers in the region this weekend.

We can’t wait to see everyone get stuck in!

Come down on Sunday and try the boulders for yourself! 💥🧗






YouthClimbingSeries DurhamClimbingCentre Bouldering

03/09/2026

Lovely to see Durham Climbing Centre featured in the local paper! 🧗‍♀️📰

We had a brilliant time welcoming the children from St Johns Hall Meadowfield for a fun-filled climbing session. Thanks for coming along!

In this weeks advertiser FunandFood Dcc Durham Climbing Centre

03/09/2026

🧗‍♀️ LADIES’ NIGHT TONIGHT

Thinking about coming but don’t have anyone to come with? Come on your own! 💛

Lots of people worry about turning up somewhere new alone, but you absolutely don’t need to know anyone. Ladies’ Night is relaxed, friendly and a great way to meet other women to climb with.

New faces and complete beginners are always welcome.

👣 TONIGHT: BASIC FOOTWORK

At 7pm we’ll be running a relaxed 10–15 minute skill workshop covering:

✨ Why & when to use the skill
✨ How to do it
✨ Simple drills to help you practise

There’s no minimum grade or experience needed. Join in with the workshop, climb with others, or just do your own thing and ask our coach for help whenever you need it.

THURSDAY COACHING FOR ADULTS
🌱 5pm • FREE Adult Taster - 30 mins
🧗 5.30–6.30pm • Beginner Coaching - 60 mins
💪 6.30–8pm • Ladies’ Night - 90 mins
💪 6.30-8pm Intermediate Coaching - 90 mins
👣 7pm • Ladies’ Night Skill Workshop

Coming alone? New to climbing? Never been to Ladies’ Night? You’ll be very welcome.

All coaching is FREE with normal centre entry.

01/09/2026

SEPTEMBER SETTING SCHEDULE

Here’s what’s coming up on our September setting schedule!

We’re psyched to welcome Cailean Harker back this week, heading up the Impact Route Setting for our YCS Youth Climbing Series comp set.

Cailean’s fresh from his San Simian deep-water solo ascent, definitely go and check that one out! Cailean Harker 👀

SETTING DATES
3rd & 4th – YCS Youth Comp Set
7th – Panels
21st – Cave
28th – Wave

The YCS blocs will stay up after Saturday’s competition, so everyone will get the chance to jump on the comp set and see how they get on.

Which September reset are you most excited for? 👇

31/08/2026

💪🏽 BANK HOLIDAY OPENING HOURS 10AM-10PM 💪🏽

A reminder that there’s no route setting today!

We’ve got a bumper two-day reset this Thursday & Friday ahead of the BMC Youth Climbing Series this weekend.

In the meantime, here’s some beta from on one of the problems from last week’s Slab reset 👀

30/08/2026

🧗 THE BMC YOUTH CLIMBING SERIES IS COMING TO DURHAM!

We’re pleased to announce that Durham Climbing Centre is hosting the opening round of the BMC Youth Climbing Series next weekend!

The Youth Climbing Series is a fantastic nationwide competition and one of the biggest youth climbing events of its kind. DCC has a long history of being involved with the YCS, and we’re excited to once again welcome talented young climbers from across the North East & Lakes region to compete.

🛠️ THE SET

Our brilliant Impact Route Setting team will be headed up by Cailean Harker alongside Callum Hegarty and Rebecca Appleby, with two full days of setting ahead of the competition.

Expect 20 brand-new competition boulders across the full grade range, designed to challenge the region’s young climbers.

And the good news for everyone else? 👀

The competition boulders will remain in rotation after the event until each zone is next reset, giving everyone the chance to come down and test themselves on the YCS set!

📅 A HEADS-UP FOR OUR CUSTOMERS

There will be some disruption and areas of the centre unavailable on Thursday and Friday while the team sets for the competition.

Saturday is also expected to be busier than usual as we welcome competitors, families and supporters to DCC.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation while we host this brilliant event. We can’t wait to kick off this year’s YCS! 🙌

Rock Stars Climbing Club

British Mountaineering Council

NICAS
ABC Walls

27/08/2026

🧗 DROP-IN CLIMBING

Our drop-in climbing sessions are open to adults and children of all ages.

No coaching and no structured session. Just book a session, hire some shoes and climb!

Perfect for families wanting to climb together or supervise children, adults trying bouldering for the first time, or anyone who simply fancies a climb.

👟 Climbing shoes available to hire
📲 Book your session online
👨‍👩‍👧 Children must be supervised at all times by a parent or responsible adult aged 18+

Book online and come climb!