Bouldering is a type of rock climbing. It is where you climb smaller walls or rocks without a rope. Instead, there are big crash pads under you in case you fall.

All three walls are open seven days a week. Monday to Friday, they all open at 10am and shut at 10pm. At the weekend, Canterbury opens at 8am until 6pm, while Chatham and Tunbridge Wells open at 9am until 6pm.

There are restricted opening hours for under 12’s - they can climb until 6pm in the week and 2pm at weekends.

Yes, absolutely. Everyone over the age of five can come and climb. We do have strict supervision ratios though. One adult can supervise two kids, but if the adult wants to climb they can only supervise one child. Everyone under the age of 16 needs to be supervised, and everyone under the age of 18 needs their waiver signed off by an adult.

You don’t need any previous climbing experience to supervise kids.

Yes, we run clubs across our three centres. Our Little Monkeys clubs are for 5-7 year olds, Rock Ninjas are for 8-11 year olds and Academy are for 12-16 year olds. To find out more about our kids clubs, please select which location you are closest to: Canterbury - Chatham – Tunbridge Wells.

Absolutely. Anyone over the age or 5 can give it a go but children do have to be supervised by a climbing adult on a 1:1 basis. - Please read our information on supervision here

Loose, comfy clothing is best - any sports clothes or baggy jeans or leggings.

Yes absolutely, the more the merrier. To save time we suggest you pre-register if you haven’t been before which you can do by clicking the link here. Other than that, turn up and have fun!

Yes! You can traverse to get started (climbing along rather than up) and when you feel more confident you can start to climb a little higher each go. You don’t have to get to the top, you can just practice one move at the bottom until you feel comfortable.

Primarily, routes are categorised by colour so stick to the easier colours (yellow, orange, purple) to get you going. Once you are a pro, you can look at the grading chart for each wall via the TopLogger app - we use the Fontainebleau grading system at Chimera.

Yes we do. Please click here for the Ukrainian and Russian translations of our rules.

This year we have added in 5 more blocs in each category at the low-to-intermediate end, making the comp even more accessible. If you climb regularly at Chimera Tunbridge Wells you can expect juniors climbs to start at around an orange level, and adults climbs to be set from purples upwards. The harder end of the qualifying climbs will be up to around 7b+/V8 level, with as many hard climbs as usual available to challenge our more experienced climbers.

Scoring will be done on paper for juniors and on the TopLogger app for adults.

Yes. In each category there will be a trophy for the winner and medals for 2nd and 3rd place.

We love our canine friends and while we welcome them coming along to the party in the evening we would advise against bringing dogs to the daytime competition as it will be very busy.

Yes, as long as your outfit is safe to climb in and doesn't have any elements (an ice surfboard, for example) that could be a danger to yourself or other climbers.

No. You will not be allowed on the walls if you have consumed alcohol.

Yes. Part of the car park will be out of action but there will still be limited parking on site as well as some free options nearby – just please be courteous to our neighbours. We are also only a short walk from High Brooms station and would encourage you to take public transport, walk or cycle to The Big Summer Party if you can.

Under 16's must be supervised by an adult on the mats unless that climber has been signed off by an instructor to climb unsupervised. We do have restricted climbing times for under-12's:
Weekdays, 10am to 6pm
Weekends, 9am to 2pm

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To be approved as an under-16 independent climber at Chimera, your child must be at least 12 years old and have visited the centre at least 10 times under supervision. This can be achieved through participation in Chimera's kids clubs or by attending free climbing sessions at Chimera. After meeting these requirements, the climber can be assessed during their kids club session by a senior coach or in a private session if they are not part of the kids clubs. During this assessment, the climber will be evaluated on their knowledge of the centre's rules, safety practices while climbing, and their general behaviour within the centre.

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Once your child has been assessed and approved for unsupervised climbing, they will be allowed to attend the centre on their own. However, this unsupervised status may be revoked if they are found to be behaving dangerously or disrespectfully toward other climbers or staff.