Unlike many other climbing centres, we were not only fighting the subsequent economic impact of the pandemic, but also the huge cost of the flooding in 2020 – and still recovering financially from the flooding of 2015, such was the impact of it on us.

It goes without saying that we want nothing more than to throw open our doors and have you amazing people back in here climbing 7 days a week. But sadly that’s not possible and we’ll try to explain why, so bear with us. And remember, if we could we would.

As it stands, it is still not financially viable for us to open up the building to the public for general climbing. The costs associated with reopening this very old, unique building on a daily basis – such as additional insurance, heating, lighting, staffing, route setting etc – when combined with the uncertainty of visitor numbers means that from a business point of view it’s just not possible right now. Given the losses we’ve sustained thanks to Covid and previous flooding, the business can’t keep taking more hits so we have to manage the risks.

This isn’t unique to us as a business, but it is when it comes to climbing as very few centres face our unique challenges. So what we need to do is offer things where we can manage the unknowns. And we are not ruling out fully reopening at some point in the future, but not for some time yet.

So what can we do that allows people to enjoy our family of businesses while safeguarding their health and the future of the business? It will be a phased approach with some exciting stuff now on offer.

Corporate group bookings – we can now offer new pre-bookable corporate/group bookings that allow groups of between 6 and 50 people the chance to come and rope climb, boulder, cave, abseil and take on our escape rooms as an experience package. By limiting the group size and having it as a pre-bookable, pre-payable experience, we can manage and plan for this to create an awesome experience. So get in touch if you fancy an adrenaline day of team building or more! Email corporate@rokt.co.uk or climbing@rokt.co.uk

School trips & groups – we can now also welcome school bookings offering the same experience as above – or a mix – from rope climbing and bouldering to abseiling and escape rooms. Again this must be pre-booked, so please drop us a line to arrange. Email education@rokt.co.uk

ROKT Foundation charity work – thankfully we have been able to effectively restart our charitable work thanks to the ROKT Foundation which has already helped hundreds of children, young people and adults improve their lives – including mental and physical health – thanks to partnerships with a dozen or so charities, funders and providers. Please see www.roktfoundation.co.uk for a taste of how we’re helping people. Marcus Rashford himself even retweeted our charity’s work on Healthy Holidays in the summer!

Project Breakout – our escape rooms inside ROKT remain fully operational (and awesome). So grab a friend, foe, family or random and book yourself in. Take on our four different rooms. Rated as a top attraction by TripAdvisor and 5 star reviews across the board. www.projectbreakout.co.uk

R1DE – the indoor cycle studio fitness classes are rolling again inside ROKT, so please visit their website for more www.r1de.co.uk with entry via the outside stairs.

The Millers Bar – our multi award-winning pub is very much open for food and drink Weds-Sat and 7 days from mid-December. You can book or just pop in, for more see www.themillersbar.co.uk