The Cat & Fiddle Pub, Cheshire!!

Tino4444

Hi,

Has anyone had the pleasure of cycling upto the Cat & Fiddle Pub in Cheshire?

I hear that there is a 6 mile hill climb upto this pub which is a bit challenging!!

My Brother-in-law has planned a 50 mile circuit for us to do next month that includes this pub.

Does anyone have any comments and/or advice regarding this route?

Ill be on a road bike.

Tino.

nosmo-king

Hi there,
It's a 7 mile climb from Macclesfield but nothing too steep. In fact there are some downhill sections. Anyone reasonably fit should have no problem, just take it at your own pace and don't worry about anyone saying they got up it in 20 minutes!

a_n_t

nosmo-king wrote:

don't worry about anyone saying they got up it in 20 minutes!

think a few people did it in 20 minutes on our club TT last year!

and isn't it in Derbyshire?

tbh there's much nicer ways of getting to it than the "main" road.

ugo.santalucia

Not a great climb... very easy (average 3.5%) and very busy road.

My PB is 26 minutes.

The pub is OK, but the cafe' just before the pub on the Macclesfield side is something special!

If you're looking for tough climbs in the area, try this circuit

http://ridewithugo.xtreemhost.com/goytvalley.html

redddraggon

I did it today, thick fog, and pretty cold......

Slow1972

As Ugo says its not much of an average gradient, but if you ride it hard, you still get a long hill to climb so is okay for longer continuous climbing efforts.

It can also be hard if you get a headwind going up, which we had on a club run up there a few weeks ago - quite common up there because of the geography of the climb.

You can add some steeper sections by taking the old road sections, the down side is you get some descennt thrown in there, the upside is the old road sections are also quieter.

To add the old road sections
1) turn right onto the Buxton Old Road as you leave Macc - this is where the "new" road curves to the left , follow this up past Teggs Nose country park on your right, you then have descent back to the main road, turn right back onto the road

2) After being back on the main road for about 1/4 mile the road turns to the left, there is a right turn which, because of the bend, is straight on. Take this and you have a climb folloed by a descent to a T-junction. Turn right at the T-junction and descend the hill past the pub on the left and climb back up to the main road, turn right and you've got a mile or so to the Cat & Fiddle.

You do more climbing doing this route, the down side is you have some rest on the descents but they are realtively quick. Depends if you want more overall climbing or a continuous climb.

fluff.

a_n_t wrote:

nosmo-king wrote:

don't worry about anyone saying they got up it in 20 minutes!

..

and isn't it in Derbyshire?

It's only just in Cheshire but still, Shining Tor nearby is Cheshire's highest point (unsurprisingly).

ugo.santalucia

Slow1972 wrote:

As Ugo says its not much of an average gradient, but if you ride it hard, you still get a long hill to climb so is okay for longer continuous climbing efforts.

It can also be hard if you get a headwind going up, which we had on a club run up there a few weeks ago - quite common up there because of the geography of the climb.

You can add some steeper sections by taking the old road sections, the down side is you get some descennt thrown in there, the upside is the old road sections are also quieter.

To add the old road sections
1) turn right onto the Buxton Old Road as you leave Macc - this is where the "new" road curves to the left , follow this up past Teggs Nose country park on your right, you then have descent back to the main road, turn right back onto the road

2) After being back on the main road for about 1/4 mile the road turns to the left, there is a right turn which, because of the bend, is straight on. Take this and you have a climb folloed by a descent to a T-junction. Turn right at the T-junction and descend the hill past the pub on the left and climb back up to the main road, turn right and you've got a mile or so to the Cat & Fiddle.

You do more climbing doing this route, the down side is you have some rest on the descents but they are realtively quick. Depends if you want more overall climbing or a continuous climb.

This is a much nicer way of getting to the top, I agree