What are the great London climbs?

2

Comments

  • clarkey cat
    clarkey cat Posts: 3,641
    Westerham Hill is an absolute killer.
    Dolan Mythos
  • ketsbaia
    ketsbaia Posts: 1,718
    clarkey cat wrote:
    Westerham Hill is an absolute killer.

    Great going downhill, though. :D
    One more gear

    Strava profile
  • Rich158
    Rich158 Posts: 2,348
    Bassjunkieuk wrote:
    Haven't been over North London so can't comment on there but have heard some good rumblings from those who like to fight gravity....

    Swains lane is the one the North Lardarn lot in my club swear by, used for the Rollapuluza hill climb and even makes it into a book on great british hills in my LBS so it must be good.

    Would agree with College Rd and Gypsy Hill having made several unscheduled detours riding out to Crystal Palace in recent weeks.
    pain is temporary, the glory of beating your mates to the top of the hill lasts forever.....................

    Revised FCN - 2
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    BigMat wrote:
    Any of the approaches to Crystal Palace - Gipsy Hill, College Road / Fountain Drive, Crystal Palace Park Road, Anerley Hill, Central Hill. Sydenham Hill is short and sharp as well. That's 6 that are way tougher than Balham Hill - not sure its going to merit a top 10 placing! Then you've got all the Highgate ones and the Richmond Park ones (Broomfield, Dark, Sawyers).

    It reads like the parcours of an Ardennes Classic :)

    Highgate Hill would an interesting one to have on the commute home...

    Star & Garter, next to Richmond Park, is another short and sharp one.

    There's a hill in Balham?! Which bit?
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • Butterd2
    Butterd2 Posts: 937
    edited August 2011
    Gazzaputt wrote:
    Shooters Hill isn't to bad but all hills in London just aren't long enough. All short and steep.

    +1 for the Porte de Kent, boundary between SE18 and DA16

    (Not that it's made it's way into my Col collection though)
    Scott CR-1 (FCN 4)
    Pace RC200 FG Conversion (FCN 5)
    Giant Trance X

    My collection of Cols
  • Neil Holland
    Neil Holland Posts: 109
    clarkey cat wrote:
    Westerham Hill is an absolute killer.

    Due to the gradient or the trucks...

    A little further east Hogtrough Hill or Brasted Hill are just as challenging and less likely to see you run over by a juggernaut... ;)
  • rubertoe
    rubertoe Posts: 3,994
    cjcp wrote:
    BigMat wrote:
    Any of the approaches to Crystal Palace - Gipsy Hill, College Road / Fountain Drive, Crystal Palace Park Road, Anerley Hill, Central Hill. Sydenham Hill is short and sharp as well. That's 6 that are way tougher than Balham Hill - not sure its going to merit a top 10 placing! Then you've got all the Highgate ones and the Richmond Park ones (Broomfield, Dark, Sawyers).

    It reads like the parcours of an Ardennes Classic :)

    Highgate Hill would an interesting one to have on the commute home...

    Star & Garter, next to Richmond Park, is another short and sharp one.

    There's a hill in Balham?! Which bit?

    I tackle this every day....
    "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

    PX Kaffenback 2 = Work Horse
    B-Twin Alur 700 = Sundays and Hills
  • TheStone
    TheStone Posts: 2,291
    DonDaddyD wrote:
    Balham Hill

    Have lived in Balham a while, but can't think of a hill?
    exercise.png
  • deptfordmarmoset
    deptfordmarmoset Posts: 3,118
    ketsbaia wrote:
    clarkey cat wrote:
    Westerham Hill is an absolute killer.

    Great going downhill, though. :D

    Personally the best reward for a climb is a great downhill afterwards. I think we should be looking for the great London downhills rather than the great climbs. After all, they're going to tend to be in the same place...
    Looking for a cycling buddy?
  • Neil Holland
    Neil Holland Posts: 109
    First Aspect wrote:
    UndercoverElephant wrote:
    Not exactly Rosedale Chimney, are they? :lol:

    http://www.sportivecentral.com/index.ph ... =99&page=8

    Edit: It's strange, because if you do a search by region on the database of great UK climbs, and enter "South East", there are no results at all. Odd, no?
    Fabulous website. Frustrating because I won't be able to cycle for another 6-9 months, but it gives me something to look forward to!

    Fabulous but limited... Climbs south of Watford need not apply it seems... Nothing in the South East, South or East for that matter...

    Would have thought Yorks Hill, White Lane and Ditchling Beacon might have been worth a mention.
  • clarkey cat
    clarkey cat Posts: 3,641
    Due to the gradient or the trucks...

    A little further east Hogtrough Hill or Brasted Hill are just as challenging and less likely to see you run over by a juggernaut...

    True - I've only done it once. If heading out that way I tend to follow the countrylanes from West Wickham to Limpsfield. Much more pleasant.
    Dolan Mythos
  • DonDaddyD
    DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    Whatever...

    Next you lot will be saying that the uphill bit between Tooting Broadway to Tooting Bec isn't a merciless grind.

    Cadel Evans could be broken on that.
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    rubertoe wrote:
    cjcp wrote:
    BigMat wrote:
    Any of the approaches to Crystal Palace - Gipsy Hill, College Road / Fountain Drive, Crystal Palace Park Road, Anerley Hill, Central Hill. Sydenham Hill is short and sharp as well. That's 6 that are way tougher than Balham Hill - not sure its going to merit a top 10 placing! Then you've got all the Highgate ones and the Richmond Park ones (Broomfield, Dark, Sawyers).

    It reads like the parcours of an Ardennes Classic :)

    Highgate Hill would an interesting one to have on the commute home...

    Star & Garter, next to Richmond Park, is another short and sharp one.

    There's a hill in Balham?! Which bit?

    I tackle this every day....

    I used to live opposite the Whittington (pub and hospital). Never ridden up it though. Looks like it could be quite unpleasant on a cold, wet winter's night.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • rubertoe
    rubertoe Posts: 3,994
    cjcp wrote:
    rubertoe wrote:
    cjcp wrote:
    BigMat wrote:
    Any of the approaches to Crystal Palace - Gipsy Hill, College Road / Fountain Drive, Crystal Palace Park Road, Anerley Hill, Central Hill. Sydenham Hill is short and sharp as well. That's 6 that are way tougher than Balham Hill - not sure its going to merit a top 10 placing! Then you've got all the Highgate ones and the Richmond Park ones (Broomfield, Dark, Sawyers).

    It reads like the parcours of an Ardennes Classic :)

    Highgate Hill would an interesting one to have on the commute home...

    Star & Garter, next to Richmond Park, is another short and sharp one.

    There's a hill in Balham?! Which bit?

    I tackle this every day....

    I used to live opposite the Whittington (pub and hospital). Never ridden up it though. Looks like it could be quite unpleasant on a cold, wet winter's night.

    Its unpleasent enough on a dry, hot, summers day.... probably something to do with 4 sets of traffic light and the stop start nature of it.
    "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

    PX Kaffenback 2 = Work Horse
    B-Twin Alur 700 = Sundays and Hills
  • ketsbaia
    ketsbaia Posts: 1,718
    clarkey cat wrote:
    Due to the gradient or the trucks...

    A little further east Hogtrough Hill or Brasted Hill are just as challenging and less likely to see you run over by a juggernaut...

    True - I've only done it once. If heading out that way I tend to follow the countrylanes from West Wickham to Limpsfield. Much more pleasant.

    Yeah, those two are much nicer. The killer round there is Church Lane, heading up to Cudham Lane. A 25% monster. Although it only lasts around 50 yards, it's a proper out-of-the-saddle lung-buster.
    One more gear

    Strava profile
  • Neil Holland
    Neil Holland Posts: 109
    ketsbaia wrote:
    clarkey cat wrote:
    Yeah, those two are much nicer. The killer round there is Church Lane, heading up to Cudham Lane. A 25% monster. Although it only lasts around 50 yards, it's a proper out-of-the-saddle lung-buster.

    That is indeed a bit of a Denis Wise.

    Nearly tail-ended a mate going up there when he changed the wrong way from the middle chain ring on his hybrid. Not a hill for the big ring unless you're Chris Hoy...

    The pull up from the A21 to Cudham is a good lengthy climb (if clearly not very steep). Still my usual gateway to Toy's Hill and beyond. Great they've recently resurfaced. Brasted Hill. Gave that up a couple of year ago due to shocking surface. :)
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 17,014
    Neil Holland wrote:
    First Aspect wrote:
    UndercoverElephant wrote:
    Not exactly Rosedale Chimney, are they? :lol:

    http://www.sportivecentral.com/index.ph ... =99&page=8

    Edit: It's strange, because if you do a search by region on the database of great UK climbs, and enter "South East", there are no results at all. Odd, no?
    Fabulous website. Frustrating because I won't be able to cycle for another 6-9 months, but it gives me something to look forward to!

    Fabulous but limited... Climbs south of Watford need not apply it seems... Nothing in the South East, South or East for that matter...

    Would have thought Yorks Hill, White Lane and Ditchling Beacon might have been worth a mention.
    Yeah, just had a look and the south west is also unrepresented. They probably rely on people doing the calculations and sending them in.
  • ketsbaia
    ketsbaia Posts: 1,718
    I used to climb up from the A21 to Cudham, which as you say is a nice, not very steep long drag. Didn't know they'd resurfaced Brasted Hill. Good to know. I remember hurtling down there one weekend thinking I'd taken a wrong turn somewhere and had ended up on the Koppenberg.

    These days I cut through Keston, down Fox Lane and through the country lanes before heading up to Biggin Hill and the descent of Westerham. Then it's Toys, Ide, Yorks and Titsey before limping back to SE London.
    One more gear

    Strava profile
  • Rich158
    Rich158 Posts: 2,348
    deptfordmarmoset wrote:
    ketsbaia wrote:
    clarkey cat wrote:
    Westerham Hill is an absolute killer.

    Great going downhill, though. :D

    Personally the best reward for a climb is a great downhill afterwards. I think we should be looking for the great London downhills rather than the great climbs. After all, they're going to tend to be in the same place...

    No, the reward is knowing you've killed it going up and put everyone in the pain box. I love going up hills, but then maybe I'm just a little (very) odd
    pain is temporary, the glory of beating your mates to the top of the hill lasts forever.....................

    Revised FCN - 2
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    Rich158 wrote:
    deptfordmarmoset wrote:
    ketsbaia wrote:
    clarkey cat wrote:
    Westerham Hill is an absolute killer.

    Great going downhill, though. :D

    Personally the best reward for a climb is a great downhill afterwards. I think we should be looking for the great London downhills rather than the great climbs. After all, they're going to tend to be in the same place...

    No, the reward is knowing you've killed it going up and put everyone in the pain box. I love going up hills, but then maybe I'm just a little (very) odd

    IME of riding with you, you just put yourself in the pain box, everyone else just drops back and climbs at their own (slower, sensible) pace. :D

    You are not normal.
  • SmellTheGlove
    SmellTheGlove Posts: 697
    Swearing by Swains Lane lately. Nasty, brutish and short. And in someone's idea of high comedy, adjacent to the bone orchard.
    Highgate West Hill and Muswell Hill are nearby and also have their charms.
    "Consider the grebe..."
  • kieranb
    kieranb Posts: 1,674
    Sanderstead Hill in Purley Oaks, near Croydon, so definitely London. According to ridewithgps it is 2.4km long and climb 108m, so shorter but higher than highgate west hill.
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,382
    Rich158 wrote:
    deptfordmarmoset wrote:
    ketsbaia wrote:
    clarkey cat wrote:
    Westerham Hill is an absolute killer.

    Great going downhill, though. :D

    Personally the best reward for a climb is a great downhill afterwards. I think we should be looking for the great London downhills rather than the great climbs. After all, they're going to tend to be in the same place...

    No, the reward is knowing you've killed it going up and put everyone in the pain box. I love going up hills, but then maybe I'm just a little (very) odd

    That or the euphoric rush of endorphins.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • DonDaddyD
    DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    You know I quite like Wimbledon Hill. From Wimbledon trainstation to Wimbledon Village.

    It's like Balham Hills bigger brother.
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game
  • kieranb
    kieranb Posts: 1,674
    Also tandridge hill and Grangers hill at the M25 border near Godstone are nice.
  • vorsprung
    vorsprung Posts: 1,953
    This thread ---> :lol:

    There aren't that many "great climbs" in the UK but in London and the South East there are zero

    If I go home the "hilly" way it starts with a 7.5km climb that gains 270 metres. But this isn't a great climb. It's just a bit up.
    Audaxing Blog - Long Distance Cycling
    follow on twitter-c.png
  • jonginge
    jonginge Posts: 5,945
    meh. Whitedown hurts more than the Galibier, I tells ya
    FCN 2-4 "Shut up legs", Jens Voigt
    Planet-x Scott
    Rides
  • oscarbudgie
    oscarbudgie Posts: 850
    None of these can be called climbs until you've done minimum 5 repeats.
    on the subject I was a bit underwhelmed by Swains Lane, I don't know how it got a 4/10 in the climbs book when Mott St only got a 3.
    Cannondale Supersix / CAAD9 / Boardman 9.0 / Benotto 3000
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,382
    vorsprung wrote:
    This thread ---> :lol:

    There aren't that many "great climbs" in the UK but in London and the South East there are zero

    If I go home the "hilly" way it starts with a 7.5km climb that gains 270 metres. But this isn't a great climb. It's just a bit up.

    Nor is it even vaguely steep at an average gradient of about 1 in 28 or 3.5% - only just steeper than Balham 'Hill'. The climbs of the North Downs are generally short, but very steep, so a test of strength, rather than stamina, as more with more 'alpine' climbs.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,773
    DonDaddyD wrote:
    You know I quite like Wimbledon Hill. From Wimbledon trainstation to Wimbledon Village.

    It's like Balham Hills bigger brother.

    The other great thing about climbing Wimbledon Hill is that the pubs improve. This may no longer be true, I am thinking about 20 years ago.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris

Categories