Climbing walls are a bit like pubs. They are frequented at weekends and evenings by the twenty and thirty somethings trying to socialise and find like-minded souls in our great metropolis. And like pubs they each have their own character.

The crystal Palace wall is like a very small local boozer where everyone knows each other and a new face causes a gentle ripple of disquiet. Few people are familiar with Crystal Palace so in order to draw upon a more communal experience consider the West Way and the Castle. As the Mile End Wall (the original wall in London) has been hijacked by the beanie-headed boulderers (much in the same way that a pub can go gay) we can compare and contrast these remaining candidates.

The price of property being what it is in London the only way a wall will survive if it is publicly funded (ie WW) or it occupies a protected building that cannot be converted into commercial or residential property (ie Castle).

Maybe the different origins of these two wall is a cause of their different characters but they have definitely evolved with their own distinct traits. The West Way has a generally cleaner air to it, maybe because it is newer essentially inside a big tent. The Castle has a dustier, mustier, crustier and fustier feel to it that in a way seems to be appropriate to an old industrial facility. A telling difference exists with the catering. The West Way has a functional and efficient coffee stand with packaged sandwiches etc and a large cup of decent filter is promptly poured for a very reasonable £1. This is served amongst shiny new metal chairs and tables. The Castle has a much more extensive menu with one of those elaborate Italianate coffee machines that involve a lot of banging, hissing and steam and take an age to brew up. They also purvey a range of pasties, paninis and similar foodstuffs. In short they have set themselves up as a sort of Starbucks with prices to match. Unfortunately the similarity ends there as the tables and chairs look like they were looted from and Iraqi bus station after the invasion and jammed in amongst them is a an old sofa that would be considered a bit down-market for a Louisiana porch.

The climbing facilities are somewhat different too. The West Ways main forte is lead climbing whereas the Castle has a lot more bouldering and fewer long lead routes. This may well be demand driven because even when it is busy at the Castle there always seems to be a lead route free. This contrasts with the West Way where decent leading lines are snapped up instantly at busy times.

This leads us to the different demographics of the two. I may have a skewed view on this point because my visits to the West Way tend to be during the week whereas invariably my visits to the Castle are invariably at the weekend. However it still seems that there is a cultural difference that may be only partly due to their locations. Folk at the West Way tend to be types with more conventional jobs who turn up, boot up and get into a good solid leading session and after a dozen or so routes scoot back to their West London pad. Of course the Castle attracts coves of this ilk but it seems to have a lot more free-range-tofu-eating types. These spend an amazing amount of time warming up with Yoga-esque exercises (question: Do they practice climbing at their Yoga classes?) and then gradually ease into some climbing. They then do their extended warm down before riding back to their artists' commune in Hoxton for lentil surprise.

Thus the attitude of the Castler is more to do with a self-absorbed personal rock experience working boulder problems and achieving satisfaction from finally cracking a particular problem. The Westy type is more likely to be going for grades and is probably more competitive. Alternating leads with a partner often leads to an incipient rivalry anyway. This is welcome and familiar to the career orientated types at the West Way but less palatable to the holistic Castlers.

Of course these are huge generalisations but it cannot be denied that the characters of these two places do contrast and each one has its own particular strengths and weaknesses.

Iceman