THE HIGH LIFE

Reach for the sky - with the safety of a rope - at Scotland’s new indoor climbing centre

If you’ve got a head for heights, Scotland is now home to the world’s largest indoor climbing arena, at Ratho on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

Now re-opened after a major revamp, the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, as it’s now known, is built around the natural rock face of an old quarry with an awesome – or absolutely terrifying, depending on your point of view – 100ft high tower wall. There’s also a wall designated for high-speed competition climbing and the possibility of tackling an estimated 250 different climbing routes. As well as climbing, there is also the chance to tackle bouldering, abseiling, or the aerial assault course 100ft above the arena floor. 

And if you think this is just for the grown-ups, think again – the benefits of getting your kids into climbing include developing a sense of teamwork, self-confidence, trust, motivation and of course, increased levels of fitness. 

Rock climbing can help children cope with situations where they are under stress, or are afraid, and encourages both self-reliance and responsibility for others. Not a bad list of reasons to get the young ones involved.

The redesigned climbing centre at Ratho has also been designed to get children involved from an early age. 

Kids aged between eight and 12 can join the Rocksters, a club set up for younger climbers, where children can learn basic climbing skills along with others their age and get the benefit of the instructors’ expertise to learn all the skills necessary to become proficient and confident climbers.

Once the kids develop, they can join the Youth climbing club, which puts an emphasis not just on reaching new heights but on the social side of climbing too. 

And even the really young ones can get a feel for the action, with a specially set up play section known as Scrambles. Kids from around four-years-old to nine can swing, climb and slide in an adult-free zone. 

If all that sounds a bit stressful, and you’d rather keep your feet firmly on terra firma, there are other options to keep you occupied while the rest of the family test their nerves. There’s a gym, equipped with top-of-the-range cardio and strength equipment. And if even that sounds like too much work, why not try out the climbing centre’s spa, where you can relax with a Jacuzzi, steam room and sauna – whether you’ve tackled the rock face or not. The quarry’s wall even runs alongside the jacuzzi, bringing the outdoors into this haven for relaxation and giving you a chance to keep an eye on the action.

As with anything else you’re introducing your kids to, the whole emphasis has to be on the fun side of things, rather than the physical effort they’re going to have to put in, or about the issues of how safety conscious they have to be.

So to prompt their curiosity, and also give them a sense of achievement, you could start by tackling the climbing centre’s aerial assault course. It’s 100ft up in the arena, accessed by a spiral staircase, which then opens out with a twisted zip slide and then a series of increasingly formidable obstacles.

Or if your kids would rather start out by learning how to come down the fast way, rather than going up the slow way, you could introduce them to abseiling. Instructors will teach them how to descend cliff faces and buildings, controlling their speed down a 25m sheer cliff face. Once the adrenaline kicks in, they’ll be ready to tackle anything.