You might not think that the start of a recession is the best time to invest £300,000 in a new business.

But a new rock climbing centre in Barton Hill is thriving in the face of the credit crunch and its owners are confident of surviving the recession.

More than 1,800 new members have joined the Climbing Academy since it opened on December 6 last year.

Owners Rich Emerson and Paul Toomey started building the centre in a former carpet warehouse in Charlton Street in August.

The state-of-the-art facility, complete with cafe and restaurant, is now up-and-running and is attracting climbers from across Bristol and as far afield as Birmingham, London and Manchester.

And even with the country being plunged into a recession, the owners say their business is bound to succeed.

With a combination of affordability, good transport access and a great social atmosphere, the climbing centre is proving a popular place to spend an entire day.

Children are well catered for and wireless internet access means that people can spend a day at the centre working, climbing, eating or relaxing.

Above the centre, an indoor children's playground called Playspace was equally busy when the Post visited on Sunday.

Mr Emerson, a 45-year-old from Bishopston, brings the business brains to the company while the climbing know-how is provided by 40-year-old St Werburgh's resident Mr Toomey.

They are both understandably delighted with the success of the business so far and believe there is no reason why people should not continue to spend money with them.

Mr Emerson said: "We have started the business up during really tough economic times and we had some sleepless nights before it opened.

"As soon as we started doing the work the financial world went pear-shaped but we never thought about packing it in because demand for this in Bristol has been so evident. People will maybe spend four or more hours here - climbing for a bit, then having a coffee or some lunch, meeting friends, chilling out or doing some work.

"Lots of families come here too and with the Playspace upstairs it works really well."

Mr Toomey said: "Even if people are hard up, they are still going to want to do the things that they love, which is why we have so many people coming here.

"If it's cheap as well, it's actually a really affordable way of spending a day so for those reasons we don't think the recession will impact on us too much."

One-off membership for the Climbing Academy costs £5 and a session on the walls, unlimited in duration, costs £5, £6 or £7.50 depending on the time of week.