Bradgate Park
Gnarled oaks, herds of deer and friendly vibes
Gnarled oaks, herds of deer and friendly vibes
Bradgate Park contains four crags: The Stable Pit, Wishing Stone Crag, Sliding Stone Crag and Memorial Crag. Wishing Stone Crag is the most beautiful spot, boasting the best problems and overlooking the area of the park known as Little Matlock. The Stable Pit has the best landings and the most problems, though is reasonably high in places. Sliding Stone Crag is more esoteric but not without interest. Memorial Crag has been climbed on in the past but is home to rare fossils and park and council authorities would prefer if climbers kept off.
The ruins of Bradgate House and Old John tower are the two non-climbing landmarks worth seeing. Herds of deer roam the park and you are likely to encounter these as you walk around.
Parking is pay and display £3 for all day on week days and £4 on weekends and bank holidays. Entry is free. Expect to get asked what your bouldering pads are by the curious walkers. There are two cafes, one at the south east corner and one in the south west, but these are quite expensive. Toilets are located in each of the car parks.
For more info see the old Leicestershire Climbs Guidebook and the Bradgate Park website.
The ruins of Bradgate House and Old John tower are the two non-climbing landmarks worth seeing. Herds of deer roam the park and you are likely to encounter these as you walk around.
Parking is pay and display £3 for all day on week days and £4 on weekends and bank holidays. Entry is free. Expect to get asked what your bouldering pads are by the curious walkers. There are two cafes, one at the south east corner and one in the south west, but these are quite expensive. Toilets are located in each of the car parks.
For more info see the old Leicestershire Climbs Guidebook and the Bradgate Park website.
The ruins of Bradgate Hall are close by. The place was set on fire, tradition says, by a former countess, who found the country dull, and wished to return to more animated scenes.
- Excursion to Charnwood Forest, W. H. Hudleston (1875)
Overshadowed by grand old trees, and by memories that are grander and lovelier still - memories of the Lady Jane whose noble life among these hills and woods came to untimely ruin - the broken towers have a wonderous charm about them, of beauty, and sadness, and solitude.
- Charnwood Forest and its Environs, M. P. Dare (1925)
[Bradgate Park] is one of those select spots, still left in England, which can boast that never in its history has a ploughshare been known to pass over its surface. Far back in the distant prehistoric ages, the researches of science tell us, the country for miles around was the scene of continued volcanic eruptions, which accounts for the immense quantity of granite crags scattered over the face of the ground. Besides, therefore, affording study for the historian, the geologist has here a rare field in which to labour. The huge boulders have seemingly been thrown about haphazard by mighty giants at play, and in some places bald patches of sunken rocks are visible, which at present the grass refuses to hide. From this it will be easily seen that the surface of the ground, by the strange peculiarity of its wild beauty, cannot fail to command the interest of even the most casual observer.
- Bradgate Park and Lady Jane Grey, J. T. Page (1892)
