Surbiton and Kingston
Mountaineering Club

Rock climbing and mountaineering club
based in Surrey and South London

We are a friendly and active rock climbing club with meets all over the UK, and rock climbing and mountaineering expeditions abroad. Primarily we are a rock climbing club. There are far more opportunities for this in England and Wales than for mountaineering, although several members make regular mountaineering trips to the Alps and beyond. We are not a hill walking or rambling club, but can be seen roaming the hills when the weather deters us from our more vertical pleasures (the rain never stops us from having fun).

Surrey rock climbing? Surrey might not seem like an obvious place for a mountaineering or rock climbing club, but from Surrey / South London we find that we are centrally located to access many classic rock climbing locations. This means that we can enjoy a varied and interesting meets list. To the north we have plenty of limestone and gritstone crags in the Lake District, Peak District and Yorkshire to choose from. To the west the granite cliffs of Devon and Cornwall offer spectacular outings; as well as the limestone cliffs in the Wye Valley and on the south coast of Wales. On the South Coast of England - an easy day trip from South London - are the soaring limestone sea cliffs of Swanage and Portland. Even closer to home, right next door to Surrey itself, we have exciting local sandstone rock climbing possibilities. All of this, we find, is perfect for a rock climbing club.

One of our numerous club trips to the Gower Peninsular

Club Trips

In summer we enjoy trips roughly every two weeks. These are usually campsite based where we can enjoy sunshine and evening barbecues. In winter we switch to the cosy comforts of club mountain huts, and trips become less frequent - roughly once a month. Of course we can be found at climbing walls in Surrey and South London year round.

Each year sees at least one rock climbing or mountaineering expedition abroad, which is always extremely popular. Previous years have seen us seeking out sun and rock in popular locations such as Kalymnos, Sardinia, Costa Blanca, Mallorca and Yosemite.

Our climbing standards generally range from enthusiastic beginners, to accomplished climbers who are comfortable in the lower 'E' grades. Past and present members have undertaken some impressive mountaineering challenges, such as conquering unclimbed Himalayan peaks and leading ski mountaineering expeditions all over the world.

Club Membership

Our club was founded in Surrey in 1980, which has given us plenty of mountaineering experience. Such as taking this pantomime camel up Idwell Slabs in 1981.

Our members are generally from Surbiton and Kingston and outlying areas of Surrey and South London. This gives us plenty of opportunities for socialising locally in the Surrey or South London area when we are not out on official club trips.

Any adult is welcome to join our club, and join in the fun. The only thing that we request is that you have enough rock climbing or mountaineering experience to be able to safely tie a rope to your harness, and to be able to belay safely. Courses can be found at or through all good climbing walls.

Club membership for 2010 is £20. We are a BMC (British Mountaineering Council) affiliated club and this automatically gives our members world-wide rock climbing and mountaineering liability insurance, as well as other mountaineering and rock climbing related benefits. See The British Mountaineering Council website for details.

Want to know more?

Our membership secretary is Seb who will be happy to talk to you about our club. He can usually be found at Craggy Island climbing wall on Tuesdays or some Thursdays, or he can arrange for you to meet others in the club at the Waggon and Horses in Surbiton.