Sliding Stone Crag
Truly ancient rock. Proper old.
Truly ancient rock. Proper old.
Also known as Holgate Hill
Sliding Stone Crag is the most esoteric and least frequently visited crag in Bradgate Park. It consists of a jumble of slate agglomerate boulders with an ancient wizened oak growing out of the middle of them.
There are a small number of lower grade problems around an arête, and three harder tight line sit start problems between f6C and f7A behind the tree. The crag is most quickly reached from the Hunts Hill Car Park, however it is probably best appreciated when combined with a visit to Wishing Stone Crag or the Stable Pit (or both!).
The rock of Sliding Stone Crag is among the most ancient in the country. So much so that paleontologists are unable to determine whether the embedded fossils are animals, plants, fungi or indeed something else.
There are a small number of lower grade problems around an arête, and three harder tight line sit start problems between f6C and f7A behind the tree. The crag is most quickly reached from the Hunts Hill Car Park, however it is probably best appreciated when combined with a visit to Wishing Stone Crag or the Stable Pit (or both!).
The rock of Sliding Stone Crag is among the most ancient in the country. So much so that paleontologists are unable to determine whether the embedded fossils are animals, plants, fungi or indeed something else.
Mike Adams' topo can be downloaded below. Some additional problems are described on the crag's entry on UKClimbing.com
| bradgate_park_mike_adams.pdf |
This spectacular outcrop with a tree growing out of it can be seen from the top of Old John. Unfortunately it is just a heap of boulders with only a little problem arête.
Outside the western fence of this wood is one of the best examples of [Slate Agglomerate] known, with huge contorted masses of slate, the matrix of the rock showing glistening fragments of felspar and bits of pink felsite.
- The Geology of the Ancient Rocks of Charnwood Forest, W. W. Watts (1947)
The oak tree growing in a joint is gradually forcing the crag apart.
- The Rocks of Bradgate, T. D. Ford (1976)
