Splashing the cash on a shopping spree can often be enough to set the heart racing.

But one shopping centre has taken that to new heights – quite literally!

Visitors to Whiteley’s newly reopened shopping village can now get their adrenalin rush 25 feet in the air by scaling newly-installed giant rock climbing walls.

Daily Echo:

‘A leap of faith’, ‘jungle vine’, ‘lightning crack’, ‘face to face’ and ‘cloud nine’ may sound like the song titles for a hit Disney musical, but they are actually a selection of 25ft tall climbing walls, varying in difficulty levels.

There is also something for little ones, with a soft play area for children under five.

Rock Up opened to the public on Saturday and is the first climbing facility in a shopping centre in the country.

The mixture of climbing and buying in Whiteley Shopping Centre is thanks to owners Heidi Duckworth and Aaron Eade.

And with the backing of Whiteley-based Olympic gold medallist 19-year-old gymnast Kelly Simm, they are hoping to reach the stars with this new approach to active entertainment.

Daily Echo:

Kelly helped launch the fun new attraction with a morning of climbing with ten lucky children.

She said: “I think it’s a brilliant space, especially for teaching children to understand that feeling of being scared but doing something anyway – it will be really good for them physically and mentally.

“But it’s also great for older people because it’s such a good form of exercise.

“I’m so excited by this and it’s amazing to have something like this coming to Hampshire first.”

With more than 70 different climbing options across the different walls, there is no shortage of entertainment for anyone over four years old.

Mother-of-two Ruth David, from Whiteley, said: “This is such a unique opportunity on offer for people living here and an amazing idea.

“I really think it’s going to be an incredible success and I can see myself spending a lot of time enjoying the cake here.

“It’s such a nice change from seeing your child playing on an iPad. The space is very visual with lots of exciting things going on and it really challenges you whatever your age.”