A Clip ‘N’ Climb Climbing Birthday Party at Jump In Review

**Disclaimer: I was gifted a party for 10 children at Jump In Enfield in exchange for this review, I paid for the additional children to attend**

Harry is a boy who has no fear, he loves speed, adventure and the adrenaline rush of doing new things. One thing we discovered a while ago was that he is a natural climber, he would head straight for the climbing walls in the parks and at Butlins last year it was the first thing he wanted to do.

For him, a climbing birthday party with all his friends was the best party ever and we did just that last weekend, on his actual birthday.

Clip ‘n’ Climb is located inside the jump In Trampoline park in Enfield, just a short drive away from us. The climbing walls are sectioned off away from the trampolines and accessed via a tunnel walkway.

In the tunnel are benches for the children to sit on to watch the safety briefing, showing them how to clip onto the climbing walls, how to unclip themselves, how to ascend the walls safely and of course how to get down again.

Each child was then harnessed up and the staff showed them in person how to attach to the walls and detach.

We had 15 spaces booked for the climbing party, unfortunately, a few children failed to turn up but this meant a few adults were allowed to climb instead which was an added bonus.

There are enough climbing walls so that no one is left waiting for a turn for more than a few minutes at most, and they all vary – some were very easy walls to climb which is great for those who haven’t climbed previously and some were much more difficult and required a little more working out, patience and bravery.

The climbing party lasts for 2 hours in total. 30 minutes for the children to arrive, remove coats and get settled and then have their safety briefing. They then climb for 1 hour and that leaves 30 minutes to eat the party food which is included within the price of the party.

Food options for parties include the choice of Cheese or Pepperoni pizzas (these are served as large pizza’s so that is worth noting in case you only have one or two children who want Pepperoni) Hotdogs or sandwiches. We had a miz of children wanting both Pizza’s so we ordered 2 Pepperoni, 1 cheese and a couple of hotdogs for those not wanting pizza (this actually left a few slices for the adults which is always an added bonus). They also served jugs of Slush Puppies (1 jug of blue and another jug of red) and a jug of water.

The party itself was a HUGE success, all I had to provide was a birthday cake and the party bags. The party tables were set up ready for us when we arrived and the staff ready to brief the children and harness them all up.

Signage for the climbing walls was lacking however and I found myself having to hang around the entrance ready to grab our guests when they arrived as there was a big sign showing parties were upstairs, which is the case for the trampolining parties but not the climbing party which is downstairs. Once all the guests had arrived this wasn’t an issue but did mean I had to keep nipping out of the party to find our guests. A sign in the entrance pointing to where the climbing walls are would be a nice addition for the future.

That was the only niggle for the entire party, which ran brilliantly with very attentive staff on hand to cater for any issues which arose.

Clipping the children onto the climbing walls was very easy, once you knew how to do it, and a few of us parents donned high vis vests and helped to get the children onto and off of the walls.

The way the harnesses attach to the climbing walls was brilliant, you had to lift up the mats at the bottom of the walls, insert the clip on your harness – push into the clip on the mat and twist to lock it into position, when fully secured and locked in the safety lock would then release. To detach, you again lift up the mat, push the safety lock into a hole on the harness clip, push it into place and untwist the clip on your harness. Some of the older children were able to do this on their own, while the younger ones struggled a little to start, but it took only seconds for the adults to do it for them and then they were ready to climb. We knew they were unable to climb unless they were correctly hooked up so we knew they were completely safe.

An hour was just long enough for the kids (and adults who climbed), as they were completely shattered after the party. It gave enough time to have a go on every single wall numerous times and no-one got bored etc.

Everyone had the best time – none of Harry’s friends had climbed prior to this party but now all of them are asking to head back during the half term so they can have another go.

The climbing walls are available for parties but also you can pay for an hour to climb at any time (provided there isn’t a party booked) which costs only £11.50 for an hours climb. You can also book up for 2 hours 30 minutes to climb and bounce on the trampolines which costs £17.95.

Why not watch my YouTube video to see just how much fun the children had at Harry’s party:

There are other Jump In locations – take a look at the website to see if there is one near you.

You may also like:

• Rock Up Lakeside Review – Climbing fun for all
• The Best Climbing Centres In London for kids and families
• 8 Free Outdoor Activities to Enjoy During February Half Term