W

hat do you do on your lunch break?

Tuck into a cheese sandwich and packet of crisps? Watch Neighbours with a pot noodle? Well, those city slickers are now going for a liquid lunch, frozen liquid that is, and climbing it.
 
The Saab ice wall at the Ellis Brigham store in Covent Garden is the latest craze to sweep London. Within ten minutes of leaving your desk, you can be in an Arctic -7C, assailing an eight metre wall of ice.
 
After getting kitted out with the necessary equipment, you enter what is basically a massive freezer where a fan blows icy air down your neck to complete that mountainside feeling. The key to success is to kick your crampons in as wide apart as possible, without doing yourself a mischief that is, which provides a good starting base.
 
Don’t think you have to be an adventure sport keen-o to enjoy the experience; the hour long one-to-one session is enough time to learn all the skills. And without the risk of the weather changing, it’s also an ideal way to get a flavour for ice-climbing without the danger.
 
It's physically demanding especially when compared to eating a baguette, but when you reach the summit and ring the cowbell it will leave you with a grin that will last all afternoon.