BlocHaus Manchester

Wall design and build by BlocHaus

Matting Specifications: Grey carpet top, black PVC sidewalls.

Experience Manchester’s Climbing Heritage at BlocHaus

Located near the Peak District, Manchester boasts a rich climbing history that dates back to the origins of the sport in the UK. The city has long been a hub for climbers, many of whom have faced the challenge of routes first pioneered by local legend Joe Brown in the 1950s. Fast forward to today, and Manchester is home to BlocHaus, a state-of-the-art bouldering facility that opened in summer 2021.

Cutting-Edge Climbing at BlocHaus

BlocHaus is not just another climbing wall; it’s the brainchild of owner Richard Wainwright. This facility offers unique features designed to cater to climbers of all levels. Alongside traditional drop-off problems, BlocHaus boasts a top-out wall section—perfect for climbers preparing for outdoor adventures like those in Fontainebleau. Additionally, the wall features a towering, steep section with innovative sloping matting, ideal for those seeking longer power-endurance challenges or training for outdoor routes. Some problems on this ramp exceed the length of many Peak District sport routes!

BlocHaus is situated in the east of the city, an area served by a couple of existing climbing centres offering bouldering & routes, but with none being a dedicated bouldering facility it seems BlocHaus is filling a gaping hole in Manchester’s repertoire. The M67/A57 even offers easy access for Manchester climbers retreating from the Peak due to bad weather – a not unusual occurrence. But had things turned out differently BlocHaus might have found a home just over the Pennines in Huddersfield, as Richard elaborated to us when we caught up for a chat during final preparations for opening.

“I was living just this side of Huddersfield, and at the time Huddersfield didn’t have a bouldering centre….So it seemed a fairly obvious approach……but I hadn’t really realized how big a deal it was, with the shortage of suitable premises.“

Situated in the east of Manchester, BlocHaus fills a significant void in the city’s climbing scene. While other local centres offer both bouldering and route climbing, BlocHaus stands out as a dedicated bouldering facility. Its location near the M67/A57 provides convenient access for climbers who may need to retreat from the unpredictable Peak District weather—a common occurrence.

Interestingly, BlocHaus could have been located just over the Pennines in Huddersfield. Richard originally considered opening the facility there due to the town’s lack of a bouldering centre. However, the challenges of finding a suitable venue in Huddersfield—many buildings were either approaching the end of their life or earmarked for housing developments—led him to shift focus to Manchester. This decision proved fortuitous, as Manchester’s thriving climbing community provided a perfect fit.

“I suppose most towns must have a history where there would be some sort of industry that requires such-and-such building. And then something changes, and there’s empty units available. And I don’t think Huddersfield’s any different – certainly there’s units that aren’t being used for what they were originally used for.“

“But there’s buildings out there approaching the end of their life. So it’d be massive work to do anything with them. Then actually the people who own them probably don’t want somebody coming in who wants a long lease, because they probably want it to be a housing development. So it’s not as easy as I thought it was going to be. But I think when I started running the numbers for Manchester, it seemed like maybe I should have been looking over here all along. It’s quite a big market for climbing.“

At BlocHaus’ eventual home in the Openshaw area, despite being ostensibly a standard commercial unit (thankfully with plenty of natural light), the space does have a colourful recent history, having previously been used as a church. Perhaps it’s appropriate then that as a bouldering wall it once again has a chance to be a vibrant hub of a community.

Creating a space that was enjoyable to be in, that would provide all the challenges a boulderer might need to progress, and yet simultaneously ‘get out of the way’ and be as easy as possible to use was a motivating factor for Richard when designing the wall.

“We live in England, so if you’re gonna enjoy climbing, you probably should enjoy being able to go to the wall as well as being outside. [BlocHaus] is slightly different feeling, just nicer to navigate, to achieve what you went there to do; you don’t want anything holding you back and even if it’s just just how a place makes you feel….I guess a lot a lot of European and North American walls must have caught my eye.“

“I had a bit of a reality check at one point where I thought, well, I can’t just build a climbing wall just for me and expect people to turn up. But the more I thought about it, actually, all the sort of stuff I want is not too bad a blueprint for catering for quite a lot of different people. At the end of the day, I like going to a nice cafe!”

For the wall itself, the design and build of the actual structure itself didn’t seem to faze Richard, with his engineering background and having previously worked in the climbing wall industry. Many new walls chose to buy-in for construction and leave the build to specialist contractors. However, Richard chose Core Climbing for the crucial job of providing the matting.

“I would have always used Core for their holds anyway, regardless. But matting was a big issue because it’s so expensive. I did have to put quite a lot of thought into it. The options are maybe down to two or three people where [the matting] is part of their full time offering. It’s not just some little sideline. It’s what they do. That’s what they know about.”

“I know people that have done their own matting as well. And to be perfectly honest the sort of price difference wasn’t enough for me to take a gamble on somebody that wasn’t a professional. It’s not just the money, it’s the amount of time you’d have to spend figuring it out. You’d end up making mistakes.”

“Ultimately, using Core seemed like a no-brainer.”

Words and images by Dave Parry www.daveparryphotography.com

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