Star Stockist

The Castle Climbing Centre 

The Castle is an indoor climbing centre run by climbers, for climbers, in a former Victorian water pumping station.

It has climbing walls, instructors, a café, and a shop, as you’d expect. But it also takes pride in its green policies.  Steve Taylor, the centre’s founder, says they stem from an ‘environmental epiphany’ he had when a friend was arrested for protesting at a climate camp. Steve’s desire to know more led to a commitment to ‘green’ his business by: reducing its carbon footprint; tackling waste - recycling, composting and grey water; and stocking ethical products in the café and the shop.  It also led to an amazing urban growing project, after one of the climbers, Ida Fabrizio, asked Steve what his plans were for all the unused land around the centre. At just two years old the garden, managed by Ida and a small team of staff and volunteers, is already thriving: with veg plots, fruit gardens, beehives, a herb garden for fresh herbs, herbal teas, and salves made with the beeswax by Nick, a student medical horticulturalist and former volunteer.  Min, who formerly worked inside the centre, now tends the gardens; the cooks, Guisi and Jack, harvest fresh produce every week to be cooked in the new café kitchen; Leah in accounts grows sprouts on all available space around her desk; climbers have scrumped apples from local gardens to juice them for the community; and local residents volunteer and also grow on mini-allotments.

www.castle-climbing.co.uk

By Nadia Mackenzie

The Jellied Eel would like to thank The Castle Climbing Centre and its staff for their continued support.