Things to do · Bicester
Clip 'n Climb Bicester
An indoor climbing centre on Bessemer Close in Bicester with more than 20 auto-belay climbing lines for ages 4 and up, short family sessions from age 2, a pottery-painting room and a café beside the arena.
Family-friendly · Rainy days
A good rainy-day choice for children from about 4, and the pottery table keeps a non-climber busy. In term time it opens on only four days a week, so check the booking page and book a slot before you set off.
- Good: Free parking on site
- Good: Family sessions from age 2; standard sessions from age 4
- Good: Pottery painting with no booking, whenever climbing is open
- Good: Only climbers pay: others can watch from the café beside the arena
- Worth knowing: Term time: closed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays
- Worth knowing: Only food and drink bought in the café, and no birthday cakes
About
Clip 'n Climb Bicester is an indoor climbing centre at Unit 3, Bessemer Close, in Bicester. It has more than 20 climbing lines for a range of abilities, each on an automatic belay, so nobody has to hold a rope. A standard session begins with a harness fitting and safety briefing, followed by 55 minutes in the arena. The Vertical Drop Slide is an extra for climbers taller than 120cm.
Standard sessions, for ages 4 and up, cost £16.95 at peak times and £13.95 off peak, and a family ticket for four is £60 online. Family sessions take children from 2, with a briefing and 30 minutes of climbing, at £10 a climber; each toddler needs a non-climbing adult on the ground. Only climbers need a ticket: other adults can help a child one to one or watch from the café beside the arena. Food and drink must be bought in the café, except for weaning babies, and birthday cakes cannot be brought in. Adults have sessions of their own at 1.30pm on Fridays in Oxfordshire school terms.
The pottery room is open whenever the climbing is. There is no need to book: choose a piece at reception, from £17.50, and allow an hour to paint it. Pottery Panda fires it, and the centre emails when it is ready to collect, with a discount on a climb. In term time the centre opens on Tuesdays, Fridays and weekends only, and parking on site is free.
Opening hours and season
| Monday | Closed |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 09:30 to 18:30 |
| Wednesday | Closed |
| Thursday | Closed |
| Friday | 09:15 to 15:00 |
| Saturday | 09:30 to 16:45 |
| Sunday | 09:30 to 16:45 |
Term-time hours, including special sessions; closed Mon, Wed and Thu in term time. School holiday hours differ: see the booking page.
The details
- Time to allow
- 55 minutes' climbing after the briefing; an hour for pottery
- Features
- Café · Parking
- Parking
- Free parking on site.
Photos
Climbers on the walls
Location
Places to stay nearby
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Travelodge Bicester
Hotel · Bicester
A budget chain hotel on Pioneer Square in the middle of Bicester, under half a mile from Bicester North station and within walking distance of Bicester Village, with family, accessible and pet-friendly rooms but no car park of its own.
Dog-friendly · Car-free
Verified Nov 2026
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The Littlebury Hotel, Bicester
Hotel · Bicester
A family-run hotel on Kings End in Bicester since 1959, with 35 en-suite rooms, breakfast included, a lounge bar, gardens and a large car park, within walking distance of the town centre and Bicester Village.
Family-friendly · Wedding venues
Verified Nov 2026
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Premier Inn Bicester
Hotel · Bicester
A Premier Inn on Oxford Road, on the A41 at the southern edge of Bicester, half a mile from Bicester Village by the chain's measure, with family, accessible and Premier Plus rooms, a restaurant and a paid car park.
Family-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- Bicester Green, Sheep Street 0.5 km away
- Noughts & Nibbles, Bicester 0.6 km away
- Nash's Bakery, Sheep Street 0.6 km away
- Coles Books, Bicester 0.6 km away
Sights nearby
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Garth Park, Bicester
Sight · Common or park · Bicester
Bicester's town park: about 9 acres of lawns, specimen trees and formal beds round Garth House, a Victorian hunting lodge given to the town in 1946. It has the 1732 bell of the old Town Hall, a bandstand, a café and play areas, a few minutes from Market Square.
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Bicester Market Square
Sight · Historic building · Bicester
The old market place at the centre of Bicester, where the town's market was granted in 1239, lined with listed houses such as No. 47 of 1698 with its oval-windowed tower. The Friday market is on Sheep Street beside it, and the square is due to be remade.
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St Edburg's Church, Bicester
Sight · Church · Bicester
Bicester's Grade I parish church, grown from a Norman church with a central tower into the big Perpendicular church of today. Inside are brasses from about 1500, Georgian monuments by Scheemakers, Wilton and Westmacott, and a Morris & Co. window of 1866.
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Bicester Village
Sight · Historic building · Bicester
An open-air designer outlet on the south side of Bicester, with more than 150 boutiques on pedestrian streets, open seven days a week since 1995. It has its own station, with trains from London Marylebone and Oxford, and the old town is a short walk away.