How it all began
Way back in 1990, I was a climbing instructor at The Dolphin Centre in Darlington. Not long after taking the role—mostly teaching schoolchildren—I decided to start a climbing club. “ACE” (Amateur Climbing Enthusiasts) was born. I loved introducing people to climbing, and through that club, I met many lifelong friends.
ACE members were a true mix of characters. We’d meet every Monday evening indoors throughout the winter, and during the summer, we’d hire a minibus and hit the crags.
One of those characters was a young, ginger-haired lad with a fun-loving attitude. When he wasn’t at school (nuf said), he loved to be at the wall climbing.
He always had a million questions about climbing, crags, protection, ropes, and his absolute favourite topic: climbing legends. He was a lovable lad, and everyone gave him the time of day, helping him along on both his climbing journey and life in general.
Over the years, his passion for climbing never waned. He went on to climb mega routes and wrote a couple of climbing guides before opening his first wall in an old depot in Leeds. If you haven’t already guessed it, that young gun was Steve Dunning—now the proud owner of the successful Depot climbing centres.
I share this history because it sets the stage for what comes next.
For years, the battle to be “King of the Climbing Walls” had been relentless (or was it just all in my head?). I managed to single-handedly open four walls in the UK and two with awesome partners Dave Ayton and Sveinn Gerisson in Southern Ireland (Dublin and Cork).
My first wall, The Climbing House in 1996, was started with a £2,000 loan from my parents, before I managed to scrape a bit more together to make it a reality. Three years later, Awesome Walls Liverpool was born in St Albans Church, then Stockport, Stoke-on-Trent and in 2013, Awesome Walls Sheffield, England’s largest climbing centre, with the title of National Performance Centre crowned by the BMC. The walls in Ireland were icing on the cake!
Back to the present day
Fast forward to 2026, and the landscape of the climbing market has completely shifted. At 57, I am ready to downsize the business. I want to secure more family time (I’m a grandad now—an “Oupa”), more leisure time to run, and more moments to spend with my precious wife, Stephné.
Through the grapevine, I heard a rumour that The Depot was scouting for a massive building in Sheffield to construct their third “Big Depot” and if they couldn’t find one, they were planning to build from scratch. I spent some time pondering the pros and cons of a second massive lead centre opening in the city.
It didn’t take long to connect the dots: The Depot wanted a massive building, I owned a massive building, and I wanted to scale back my wall empire.
I fired off an email to my good friend Steve Dunning with a proposal to sell him our Sheffield branch. Several emails and calls later, we had a plan. The Depot will buy Awesome Walls Sheffield, retain our brilliant staff, and invest in new climbing walls and equipment.
It truly feels like a legacy transaction between two old friends, where everyone comes out a winner.
What will the future hold?
While the paperwork is still being finalised, I am incredibly confident that Steve and his team will do great things and build upon the success we started here.
Further details on dates, bookings and memberships will be posted soon.
Here’s wishing The Depot the absolute best of luck on Garter Street.
Dave Douglas
Founder and CEO, Awesome Walls Climbing Centres Ltd.
