Last Updated on 21 April 2026 by Colette
This post features gifted experiences
Summit Up is a brand new climbing centre in Oldham which finally opened at the end of September – Ben has been chomping at the bit to try it out for months now so was absolutely buzzing when I told him we were booked in to visit and try out Clip ‘N Climb at Summit Up this weekend!
Summit Up plays host to one of the largest Clip ‘n Climb arenas in the UK featuring 35 exciting challenges including the ‘Stairway to Heaven’, ‘Leap of Faith’ and 10 metre ‘Vertical Drop Slide’. (The Leap of Faith and Vertical Drop Slide are add ons to your main Clip ‘N Climb booking and are cheaper if you book online ahead of time.) As well as Clip ‘N Climb, the centre features traditional bouldering and roped climbing walls, ValoClimb (an exciting, interactive climbing game) and a soft play for the youngest climbers!
I was really interested to read that Summit Up is actually the trading subsidiary of “The Stoller Charitable Trust”, “whose purpose has been to provide opportunities to raise aspirations, support Oldham’s young people to reach the height of their ability and to provide a helping hand when it is most needed.” You can read more about this here.
Let’s get started with the answers to some frequently asked questions about Summit Up, Oldham and then I’ll let you know what we thought of it!
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What is Summit Up?
Summit Up is a new climbing centre for Oldham which plays host to one of the largest Clip N Climb arenas in the UK as well traditional bouldering and roped climbing walls, ValoClimb and a soft play. Summit Up has something for climbers of all ages and abilities.
Where is Summit Up?
Summit Up is in Oldham town centre on Egerton St. Use postcode OL1 3SE for your satnav or just search “Summit Up” on Google Maps which will get you to the right bit of town. The nearest tram stops to Summit Up are Oldham Central or Oldham Mumps and if you’re getting the bus, it’s about a ten minute walk from the bus station.
Parking for Summit Up
Although Summit Up itself doesn’t have parking for customers, it is right next to the Bradshaw Street car park which is an Oldham Council run car park and free for three hours on a Saturday and Sunday. Parking at Bradshaw Street car park can be paid for with cash or card. If this car park is full there is also the Rock Street car park down the road.
How much does Summit Up cost?
How much it costs to visit Summit Up depends very much on what you want to do – you can find a full list of Summit Up prices here but to give you an idea, a standard Clip ‘N Climb session is £12.95 and bouldering is £7 for children and £8 for adults. What I would say is that add ons like the leap of faith or the ValoClimb are cheaper if they are pre-booked online with a Clip ‘N Climb session.
What do you wear to Summit Up?
When it comes to deciding what to wear for your Summit Up adventure, think comfortable and close fitting but not restrictive. You mustn’t wear a hoodie or anything else that’s loose and could get caught or tangled on equipment. Chloe and Amy both wore leggings and a t-shirt, Ben wore trackie bottoms. When it comes to what shoes you should wear for a Clip ‘N Climb session at Summit Up, trainers are your best bet – you’re not allowed shoes which are open toed or lose so no flip flops or sandals – you’re also not allowed to wear rock shoes – save those for bouldering. All watches, earrings and other jewellery must be removed. There are small lockers to store your valuables at Summit Up but it’s far better to just take these things off before you go! You also need to make sure all hair is tied up – this was something we hadn’t considered before we visited so were grateful that the team on reception had spare hair bobbles we could use for Chloe!
What age is Summit Up suitable for?
At Summit Up, there is something for everyone with a soft play for children aged up to 8 years old, Clip ‘N Climb for children and adults aged 4 years and up (although there are “Climb ‘N Rhyme” sessions for children aged 2 to 4 years!) and the roped climbing and bouldering walls available for children and adults of any age – depending on competence. (Check the website for more details on this). Essentially there is something for the whole family at Summit Up!
When is Summit Up open?
Summit Up is open daily from 10am to 10pm on week days and 9am to 7pm on weekends.
How accessible is Summit Up?
The centre itself has a lift connecting all three floors as well as accessible WC and a shower, enabling wheelchair users to use the facilities however by it’s very nature, Summit Up is a climbing centre where the majority of the activiries on offer are very physical and will likely be unsuitable for visitors with mobility difficulties. I would advise calling ahead to chat to a member of staff at Summit Up to see if they can meet your specific needs.
Summit Up can get very busy with lots of excited people – the centre is quite noisy and there’s a lot going on so it has the potential to be quite overwhelming.
If you have more information to add to this based on your own experience of attending – let me know and I’ll add it in!
What we thought about our Clip ‘N Climb experience at Summit Up:
Our session was book for a busy Saturday afternoon – walking into the centre for the first time felt quite overwhelming as, as well as trying to manage signing in three over-excited kids, it was pretty noisy and there seemed to be a lot of people around however once we were in the briefing room and then the Clip ‘N Climb arena it felt far more settled and the numbers were absolutely fine – I think it was just that there were a couple of parties and lots of people milling around ready to start. I do think I’d try to avoid the middle of Saturday afternoon in future though! It is recommended that you arrive 5 – 10 minutes before your booked session to allow you to get checked in and pop to the toilet etc.
The staff on Reception were really friendly and chatted to the kids as they gave them their wristbands – because we had a few extras booked they needed three wristbands – one for Clip ‘N Climb, one for the Death Slide, one for Leap of Faith and then a printed ticket each to scan for the ValoClimb. Once we were through the gates we just had to wait for someone to come fetch us and lead us downstairs for our safety briefing. At this point the kids realised just how big the Clip ‘N Climb arena was – far taller than the Clip ‘N Climb we’d visited some 18 months previous – and got even more excited about what was to come.
The safety briefing took quite a while – mainly as there were so many children to get fitted into their harness – and the kids were worried that this was eating into their climbing time however that’s not the case. The climbing session is a full 55 minutes after the safety briefing. The safety briefing consists of watching an instructional video with demos of how to clip in and out of the challenges and how to move safely around the Clip ‘N Climb arena – no running, no walking across mats. When a challenge is free to climb the mat is held in an upright position, once you’ve clipped in the mat drops to the floor making it really clear for children which walls they can climb and where they can safely walk.
The safety harnesses for children are fitted by members of staff, adults are taught how to fit their own and then all the harnesses are double checked on the way out into the Clip ‘N Climb arena.
As a spectating adult, you have two choices – you can leave your children to it in the Clip ‘N Climb arena while you go and grab a hot drink from the cafe and settle into watch them from one of the many viewing tables at the side of the arena, or you can stay in the arena to help your climbers – you’ll be given a fetch high vis vest to wear. If you do plan to sit and relax while your kids are climbing, I do recommend going in with them for a few minutes first to check they are able to clip themselves in and out and that they are confident with getting up and down the walls – I found that both Amy and Chloe struggled to clip in and out so I ended up staying with them for the full 55 minutes to make sure they got the most of their time on the walls.
The 55 minute Clip ‘N Climb session is plenty long enough – by the end of the session all three kids were tired and sweaty, their arms were aching and they couldn’t be bothered to climb anymore! For this reason I would recommend doing the death slide quite early on in the session – Amy found her arms were just too tired to be able to hold on so didn’t get very far up the slide! Similarly if you have the Leap of Faith booked, I would crack on and do this while there is no queue – Ben got on and did it quite quickly so didn’t have to wait but the girls had to queue which eats into the time available for other challenges.
All the staff we encountered in the Clip ‘N Climb arena where really encouraging and supportive – we especially liked the gentleman who was manning the Leap of Faith – unfortunately I didn’t catch his name. He was really clear with his instructions – including that they mustn’t feel pressured to jump and that it was totally fine to just climb back down if they wanted to. Ben surprised me by hesitating on the platform (let’s be fair, it was 11 metres high and we were asking him to just leap off!) but was coaxed down by the member of staff managing the challenge and he absolutely loved it, Chloe got almost to the top of the ladder and then climbed back down (though to be honest I was impressed she had even queued up never mind climbed the ladder) and Amy? Well she flung herself off without a second thought! The Leap of Faith costs £2 per person when booked online with your Clip ‘N Climb session and Ben said it was well worth it – obviously the extras quickly stack up when you’re booking for three kids so I told Ben if he wanted to do the Leap of Faith again next time, he’d have to pay for it himself and he agreed willingly.
One of the things I really liked about the Clip ‘N Climb arena at Summit Up is just how big it is – even though it felt really busy, the kids always had access to a wall to climb without waiting or hanging around. The sheer height of the walls meant that Ben, who is generally pretty bold with these things, still felt challenged and Chloe, who is quite nervous of heights, didn’t make it to the top of any of the climbs – but this gives her something to work towards on her next visit!
My kids have long since outgrown soft play and Clip ‘N Climb feels like a great, more grown up alternative. It’s a fantastic indoor activity providing mental and physical challenge for children and adults alike. You can book your Clip ‘N Climb session at Summit Up online now priced at £12.95 per person (don’t forget add ons like the Leap of Faith are cheaper if you book them online at the same time).
Once their climbing session had finished, you can bet your bottom dollar the three of them were more than ready to sample the refreshments on offer at the South Ridge Cafe – both girls went straight for a slush (which seemed a good choice considering they were hot and thirsty!), whereas Ben and I chose chocolate cake and a fizzy drink. At the moment the cafe offers a range of baked goods, drinks, snacks and ice cream – I believe there will be a full menu of hot food available soon.
Before we left, we had a go on the ValoClimb – the world’s first interactive game platform for climbing walls. For £2 (if you pre book online), you get three minutes to play – challenges are projected onto the climbing wall and you have to hit certain points as quickly as you can, working to beat your fastest time and earn a place on the leader board. This was great fun and very physical!
The kids are super keen to return to Summit Up – both for Clip ‘N Climb and to have a go at bouldering too (you might remember Ben and Chloe had a bouldering session at The Climbing Hanger in Liverpool last summer and absolutely loved it so I’m thrilled we now have such a fantastic local alternative!)
Summit Up – our tips and tricks for making the most of your day
- Make sure you arrive 5 – 10 minutes before your session time to allow you to get booked in
- I recommend signing all the necessary waivers forms online beforehand to save time at Reception
- Wear flexible trainers – this isn’t an adventure for flip flops or hard soled shoes.
- Take your jewellery off beforehand – no earrings, watches or other jewellery are allowed.
- Remind your children, especially those that are a little nervous of heights, that they only have to go as high as they want to – nobody will make them do anything they don’t want to
- That said – push yourself, be brave – that’s where the fun happens!
- Go into the arena with your kids to check they can clip in and out and get up and down the walls before you disappear off for a coffee – you might find they need you to stay with them
- If you’ve booked the Death Slide, do this sooner rather than later when your arms are less tired!
- If your child is going to do the Leap of Faith, encourage them to do this earlier in the session when there is no queue
- Be prepared for tired sweaty children at the end of the session and either have drinks ready for when you leave or take advantage of the cafe.
Why not check out our suggestions of cool things to do with the kids in Manchester this summer or this list of family friendly things to do in Oldham
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