Becki Hall recently moved from Manchester, but as an ex-Chorlton local, and super-psyched boulderer, she has lots to share about the area including some really helpful detailed beta on bus travel to and from The Depot! Photo: Alex Messenger (https://www.instagram.com/alexmessengerphoto/) BECKI HALL DERBY (BUT CHORLTON UNTIL VERY RECENTLY!) TRAINEE SOLICITOR LOGISTICS: Eat: Options can be fairly limited around The Depot, but Manchester itself is so good for food and drinks so if you get a chance, definitely head out there! I'm gluten free and all of the places I mention do suitable food for me and other dietary requirements. The Trafford Centre is 5 mins drive/a quick bus/a 20 min walk away.

Following the launch of our Manchester Beta series, we're really pleased to feature Emily Pitts, founder of Manchester-based Womenclimb, a social enterprise, which provides information, skills and opportunities to allow women to define and achieve their own goals in climbing. Here are Emily's Top Tips... EMILY PITTS EAST MANCHESTER MOTHER, CAREER ADVISOR, ARTIST, FOUNDER & EDITOR @WOMENCLIMB LOGISTICS: Eat: Soup Kitchen is great for relatively cheap, independent food in the city centre. Fresh soups and the most amazing jerk chicken in the world. They have loads of veggie options. And cake. Ning - if you want to spend a bit more, this is a gorgeous thai restaurant, but book well in advance.

We are delighted to announce our final headline speaker is long-distance runner and five-time Olympian, Jo Pavey. Jo is the first British runner to compete in five Olympic Games and has made her mark on world athletics, peaking late in her career with a stunning 2014 season which included the national title in the 10,000m, followed by a Commonwealth Bronze and winning the European Championships in Zurich - all in her comeback year after giving birth to her second child. Jo will be talking about the challenges she has faced on and off the track, (ranging from having children to fighting back from what medical experts declared career-ending knee surgery), how she has overcome them and how goal

Next up in our beta series is Roisin Joyce. Roisin is, naturally, a keen climber, and works for HOME, a popular and vibrant multi-arts centre right in the heart of Manchester which seems to be right at the top of everyone's ticklist. Here's her take on Manchester... ROISIN JOYCE HEATON MERSEY, STOCKPORT ARTS FUNDRAISER LOGISTICS: Eat: Rudy's Pizzeria, Ancoats: The best pizza in Manchester by far. Their pizza with Italian sausage and wild broccoli is amazing. Coriander, Chorlton: Bangladeshi restaurant in Chorlton (about 10 mins drive from the Depot). The food is light and delicious, and the waiters are friendly. They do an amazing pumpkin curry. The Beagle, Chorlton: Good food and drink, ope

Our second headline speaker needs no introduction. This year has been an incredible one for Shauna, crowned the IFSC Boulder World Cup Champion and awarded an MBE in the Queen’s 90th Birthday Honours…all in one weekend! Shauna’s talk will take you behind the scenes on her hugely successful year, and show how this year’s WCS theme - goal setting – helped her focus her training and find the self-belief to become world number one. Shauna says: ‘I’m so excited about this year’s Women’s Climbing Symposium. Every year I learn so much and meet so many inspiring women. I can’t wait to see you all there.’ View the full announcement video here, and keep an eye on the website and social channels for fu

If someone told you all you had to do was 4 hours of something a week and after 6 months you’d go up a whole grade if not more, would you do it? I first started fingerboarding around 5 years ago when I was given a Beastmaker 1000 to review. I had no idea what to do with it and assumed it would be pretty easy to do. How wrong I was. After misreading my session plan and making it last 2.5 hours instead of 1.5, I was well and truly knackered (for want of a better word). I did however get that feeling you get when you’ve given something a really good workout. So I was hooked. I trailed off for a while, then got psyched again and carried on this routine for a long time, seeing gains but not as ma

I was pleased as punch to hear the news that the Women’s Climbing Symposium was a winner at the Women’s Sport Trust #BeAGameChanger Awards back in May 2016. An inspiring initiative The Women’s Climbing Symposium (WCS) started here at the Climbing Hangar Liverpool in 2011 in response to a piece of research into how men and women think differently about climbing. Headed up by Steph Meysner and Shauna Coxsey, it was event put together to celebrate women’s involvement in a male-dominated sport, open up the community and give female climbers a place to share and sharpen their skills. It came in for its fair share of criticism (we’ll put it down to envy at a women-only day of fun and climbing, wit