Over the past year a community has been growing. CCC first held a session in the Mothership in Bristol with five participants on a day where just one person turning up would have been a success. Both Robin and Bede were nervous but excited for the prospect we were embarking on. A year later and we have held over thirty seven sessions to date in climbing gyms in Bristol and London, with two outdoor climbing sessions open to all abilities and experience levels. We also have been growing the team with a new volunteer facilitator Beckie and support from the TNN founder Ben to help run the London sessions. The weekend past, was the second of those outdoor sessions with over twenty people outside supporting each other and being present with nature. We have had strong attendance to all our sessions with a real sense of community regulars whilst still new faces appearing every now and then.

We love being present in a space with all of these caring minds learning to better understand ourselves. Each session is different but they always give us huge amounts of gratitude. We only want to keep improving the inclusivity of the space and learning how to better provide support to our local community. CCC will always be primarily about the community and the people within it so here are some words from both facilitators and members of CCC:

“Initially I found it quite awkward talking about my mental health, and public speaking in general. CCC gave me the space and support to feel comfortable vocalising my feelings, knowing that the people there understand and relate to the difficulties I face. Even though some days I do feel apprehensive about sharing, there is no pressure in our group, and I always leave the session feeling more relaxed and happier than when I arrived. I feel that climbing together creates a strong bond and camaraderie, complimenting the group dynamic, giving everyone the opportunity to learn and grow together.” – Scott

“CCC has been a huge addition to my life. It has given me a space to meet new people who I would have otherwise never interacted with and it has allowed me to find new ways of supporting my mental health. I have had so many days where the idea of running a session feels hard and a million miles away but when I am present with our members and part of our space I feel immensely grateful that I am able to be part of such a community. Some weeks we rarely talk about deep emotion compared to others where it’s hard not to cry, but the knowledge that I am present with other people who also experience difficulty with their mental health is always supporting me to feel like I am not alone, for every Jack there is a Ben.” – Bede

“It feels like it’s been longer than a year of CCC, in the best way, and missing only a handful of the 37+ sessions is testament to how much I’ve enjoyed being a part of this wonderful group of people. Some have been hard, many have been full of fun and laughter but the people I’ve met have helped me through the rollercoaster. I felt honoured to be asked to be a facilitator and CCC #3, and look forward to year two!” – Beckie

“I can still feel all the nerves I felt the first session that we ran. reflecting back on that session CCC feels like it’s come a long way, it’s really flourished. I’m proud of the work that Bede and Becky have put in whilst I have been away and can’t wait to get back into the sessions in our second year.” – Robin

The following images are a few of the adventures along the way, but mostly we keep cameras out of faces and focus on talking, climbing and supporting.

Finally a big thank you to our partner The New Normal, without their support we would not be the space we exist today. We will continue to keep working with them long into the future because “if there’s one, there’s two.