Keswick Climbing Wall offers rock and ice beside Castlerigg

Just outside Keswick, close to the ancient Castlerigg Stone Circle, a former farm building has become a playground for climbers of all ages. The Keswick Climbing Wall and Outdoor Activity Centre sits at Goosewell Farm, in one of the most atmospheric spots in the northern Lake District.

The centre opened on 20 September 2014, when it was known as the King Kong Climbing Centre, and it arrived with something new for the county: an indoor ice climbing wall, reported at the time as the first in Cumbria.

Ice climbing usually depends on cold winters and remote gullies, so an indoor ice wall gives climbers the chance to practise axe and crampon technique in a controlled setting, whatever the season. It is also an unusual experience for visitors who have never tried winter climbing, offering a safe and supervised introduction to a discipline normally reserved for experienced mountaineers. For many, swinging an ice axe for the first time is a highlight of their stay in Keswick.

For rock climbers there are more than 40 top-rope climbs, reaching as high as eight metres. Families who have visited describe a rainbow of sloping walls studded with overhangs inside the converted cow shed.

That mix makes the centre a good fit for beginners and families, as well as for more experienced climbers who want to keep their skills sharp between days out on the crags.

Its setting is part of the appeal. After a session indoors, visitors can walk up to Castlerigg, one of Britain's most dramatic stone circles, with views towards Skiddaw, Blencathra and the Helvellyn range.

For holidaymakers in Keswick, an indoor climbing session is a reliable option when the weather closes in, and an easy way to give children a taste of adventure before they take on the fells.

The centre has become a familiar part of Keswick's outdoor scene, offering an accessible first step into a sport that the Lake District helped to shape.

Session times, activities and booking details are available from the centre, and newcomers can arrange instructed sessions to get started safely.