Boulder Brighton

Indoor rock climbing in Brighton sounds niche until you realise how addictive it actually is. Boulder Brighton is an indoor climbing gym where you're scaling artificial walls rigged with various routes - colour-coded by difficulty - rather than ropes and harnesses. It's bouldering, which means shorter climbs, softer landings, and no need for belays. You just turn up, work your way up the wall, jump down, and go again.

It suits a specific crowd well: climbers wanting to train between outdoor sessions, families with kids old enough to grip holds (roughly age 5+), and anyone after proper exercise that doesn't feel like a gym. The learning curve is shallow - staff will show beginners the basics within minutes - but there's genuine progression if you stick with it. Teenagers especially tend to lose hours here.

The venue sits right in Brighton itself, making it dead convenient if you're camping at Pegs and Pitches or Foot of the Downs just a few miles out. A couple of hours is realistic for a first visit; regulars slot in 90-minute sessions. You'll want to check their website for current admission prices and whether you need to book - during school holidays it gets rammed.

Weather doesn't matter one bit since it's indoors, so it's ideal for those days when the South Coast drizzle sets in. Not everyone finds climbing satisfying, mind you, but if your family enjoys physical challenges and problem-solving, it's well worth a trip from your campsite.