Cademan Wood
La Fontainebleau des Midlands.
La Fontainebleau des Midlands.
A tranquil wood filled with tors and boulders of volcanic breccia. Ben Turner has written an excellent guidebook for Cademan Wood and the surrounding area. Some of the best climbing is away from the honeypots close to the road so be sure to explore the the whole area! To the north of Cademan Wood is Grace Dieu Wood, containing the Grace Dieu Boulder. To the east is High Sharpley.
We climbers share the wood with other people, including locals who use the woods for walking and for finding peace. Please do what you can to foster good relations with them by taking a bin bag and picking up any litter you find and by not playing music, even if you think nobody else is around. Do not use too much chalk and make sure to brush off any ticks marks and chalk build-up before you leave. If the place you want to park seems full then please park on another side of the wood and walk over, or choose another area or crag. For more info on access see the British Mountaineering Council's Respect the Rock video for Cademan Wood.
We climbers share the wood with other people, including locals who use the woods for walking and for finding peace. Please do what you can to foster good relations with them by taking a bin bag and picking up any litter you find and by not playing music, even if you think nobody else is around. Do not use too much chalk and make sure to brush off any ticks marks and chalk build-up before you leave. If the place you want to park seems full then please park on another side of the wood and walk over, or choose another area or crag. For more info on access see the British Mountaineering Council's Respect the Rock video for Cademan Wood.
For if there is one thing which could ensure the spoilation of Charnwood it would be an influx of tourists on a scale which this diminutive area could not handle.
- A prophetic message from C. N. Hadfield (1952)
A large number of interesting boulders can be found in this wood if you look seriously enough.
- Rock Climbs in Leicestershire (1966)
It is surprisingly easy to get lost in the wood and part of the fun is actually finding the stones you are looking for (or even some others). The area is worth visiting as an area of natural beauty, even if you can't find the crags.
I have personally come to the conclusion that it does not refer to any Saxon called Caedmon, a very common name, but has more probably a Keltic origin... Two quite feasible occur to one... "Caid-Monadh" the rock on the hill or rocky hill, and "Cadh-Moin," or "Cadh-Main," the high hill or the holy hill. The last certainly has a flavour of Druidism.
- Charnwood Forest and its Environs, M. P. Dare (1925)
