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.

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 below. 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, blocs 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.

We know Canterbury is home to a thriving student population, and we want to do our bit to make sure those students can get some much needed exercise in amidst their studies. We work in collaboration with the local student climbing clubs to organise student nights, we always have student entry prices at anytime of the day or night, and we also have plenty of offers available. If you are a student and you want to take up climbing, the best thing you can do is pop in and see us and we’ll talk you through all the options.

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.