100 Greatest Climbs

nbalcombe

The wife bought be the 100 Greatest Climbs book (and the 2nd one too) for Christmas and I've made it my ambition to tick as many of them off as I can this year.

I've done all the local ones to me in Cheshire and have ticked off a few others when visiting other friends/relatives in various parts of the country.

Does anyone know of a ride where I can do a few in one go? I'd look to book a weekend away somewhere different where I can do a ride of say 100km and achieve maximum greatness.

I've done a few in the peak district already and around York. Haven't really done many down south (other than Cheddar Gorge) or in Mid/South Wales.

ugo.santalucia

If you do the Fred Whitton Challenge you can do Kirkstone, Honister, Newlands Hause, Whinlatter, Hardknott and Wrynose in a day, albeit Kirkstone, Honister and Wrynose are tackled on the opposite side by Simon Warren's book.

Can't think of any other ride where you do so many in one day

nbalcombe

Fred Whitton is a bit beyond me at the moment. Could be a good shout for making a weekend of it though and spending a couple of days riding round the lake district

pblakeney

IIRC the books have a map in them.
Why not use that?

ugo.santalucia

nbalcombe wrote:

Fred Whitton is a bit beyond me at the moment. Could be a good shout for making a weekend of it though and spending a couple of days riding round the lake district

Yes. you can break it up in two chunks: if you stay in Keswick you can do

day one: up Newlands Hause easy side from the north, then Honister hard side from the west, then up the A 66 to Troutbeck, down Matterdale and up Kirkstone... down The Struggle into Ambleside and back to Keswick via Grasmere and A 591... or a much smaller loop with only Newlands Hause and Honister.

day two: Up Whinlatter, then Cold Fell, Hardknott and Wrynose and back via Grasmere again

Whatever you do, Honister is the most spectacular climb and not to be missed, followed by Kirkstone (north side). Hardknott is a classic, but bear in mind if you do Hardknott you have to do Wrynose too, as I would not recommend retracing your steps and descend "the west face" of Hardknott.

Other thing to bear in mind is the descends are unlike anything you have ever done if you haven't ridden in the lakes... they are truly scary.

nbalcombe

PBlakeney wrote:

IIRC the books have a map in them.
Why not use that?

My question wasn't about the location of the climbs, it was about if there were any routes that people have done that incorporated a few of the climbs in one go. Yes, I could refer to the "map" in the book and plan my own route but then I wouldn't be getting the advice from others on anything. That's the point of asking a question on a forum isn't it?

cgfw201

Did the 4 on Dartmoor in one hit the other day. The Surrey & Kent ones are also all rideable in one go.

Dartmoor (Numbers 8,9,10,11).

https://www.strava.com/activities/620259338

davep1

I've done all 14 of the original south east ones, but they are spread out.

Ditchling Beacon and Steyning Bostal are about an hour apart, in the south.

North has the two in London (Swains Lane and Mott Street) again about an hour apart. Maybe add Boxhill, Leith Hill and White Down nr Dorking to these, but that leaves a long ride through London.

Dorking or nearby would be good to combine with the 100 Another list, you should get 6 or 7 from a ride in that area.

East has 4; - Kidds Hill (the Wall) to the south (maybe combine with Ditchling and Steyning, but I think that would be over 100 miles, not 100 km) and then 3 close-ish in Kent, Toys Hill, Yorks Hill and White Lane.

The last three are in a line from Newbury ish to Aylesbury ish. I strung them together, but got lost near the last one, Coombe Gibbet. It was over a 100 miles, and I was tired, so could not make sense of the map I had. I went up and down the ridge for hours, missing the actual climb by less than half a mile, and ended up having to abandon as it was getting dark. It was the last one for me to complete as well!

davep1

cgfw201 wrote:

Did the 4 on Dartmoor in one hit the other day. The Surrey & Kent ones are also all rideable in one go.

Dartmoor (Numbers 8,9,10,11).

https://www.strava.com/activities/620259338

I've been planning an effort on those 4 for ages! My family live in Bovey Tracy so a good base for them. I think I may also be able to get the one over the Ex by taking the ferry...

DavidJB

DaveP1 wrote:

I've done all 14 of the original south east ones, but they are spread out.

Ditchling Beacon and Steyning Bostal are about an hour apart, in the south.

North has the two in London (Swains Lane and Mott Street) again about an hour apart. Maybe add Boxhill, Leith Hill and White Down nr Dorking to these, but that leaves a long ride through London.

Dorking or nearby would be good to combine with the 100 Another list, you should get 6 or 7 from a ride in that area.

East has 4; - Kidds Hill (the Wall) to the south (maybe combine with Ditchling and Steyning, but I think that would be over 100 miles, not 100 km) and then 3 close-ish in Kent, Toys Hill, Yorks Hill and White Lane.

The last three are in a line from Newbury ish to Aylesbury ish. I strung them together, but got lost near the last one, Coombe Gibbet. It was over a 100 miles, and I was tired, so could not make sense of the map I had. I went up and down the ridge for hours, missing the actual climb by less than half a mile, and ended up having to abandon as it was getting dark. It was the last one for me to complete as well!

I held the KOM up that for a while (combe)

ugo.santalucia

The thing is, while the climbs in the north are iconic, big and worth travelling for, the climbs in the south east are randomly chosen out of a pool of small hills and some of them frankly questionable... why Whiteleaf hill and not the more famous and steeper Kop Hill side of the same climb?
Dovers hill in the Cotswolds was chosen on the grounds that it is often used in the national hill climb, but it's a smaller and easier climb that the neighbouring Saintbury hill (130 Vs 170 vertical meters and the latter is steeper).

I seem to recall I did 34 of the 100 climbs, but the ones that I remember well are in Yorkshire, Peak District and Cumbria

cgfw201

I've done 22 of them. All the SE ones, and a smattering across Yorkshire and the South West.

There's only a couple in the South East that are actual challenges, with Barhatch, Whitedown and Yorks Hill probably the toughest 3. Box Hill and Ditchling are straightforward but their views are worthwhile. Rest aren't that memorable at all.

kingstongraham

Llangynidr and Tumble are close together and lovely riding.
Bwlch and Rhigos next door to each other, adding on Black mountain would make a 100 mile circular ride with enough climbing for one day.

mrb123

For some of the best (and quietest) climbs from the list consider the Durham Dales. If you based yourself in Stanhope or Middleton in Teesdale you could easily knock off half a dozen of them over a weekend.

joe2008

Porlock Hill (4), Dunkery Beacon (5), Exmoor Forest (6) and Countisbury Hill (110) and are all within 10 or so miles of each other.

webboo

There's now a 100 greatest climbs in Yorkshire, flicking through it. It would make a nice day out for some hero :twisted:

webboo

Somehow my word for quickly looking through pages beginning flic**** has been censored. Strange.

pblakeney

nbalcombe wrote:

PBlakeney wrote:

IIRC the books have a map in them.
Why not use that?

My question wasn't about the location of the climbs, it was about if there were any routes that people have done that incorporated a few of the climbs in one go. Yes, I could refer to the "map" in the book and plan my own route but then I wouldn't be getting the advice from others on anything. That's the point of asking a question on a forum isn't it?

Narrow down the search then.
Asking what rides to do in the UK is asking for a lot of conflicting answers.

ugo.santalucia

joe2008 wrote:

Porlock Hill (4), Dunkery Beacon (5), Exmoor Forest (6) and Countisbury Hill (110) and are all within 10 or so miles of each other.

True, although I would not recommend climbing Porlock... unless in the early hours in the morning... the traffic on that narrow steep road is horrendous and the stench of clutches and pads unbearable... on the other hand Dunkery Beacon comes out of nowhere and is lovely

ugo.santalucia

cgfw201 wrote:

I've done 22 of them. All the SE ones, and a smattering across Yorkshire and the South West.

There's only a couple in the South East that are actual challenges, with Barhatch, Whitedown and Yorks Hill probably the toughest 3. Box Hill and Ditchling are straightforward but their views are worthwhile. Rest aren't that memorable at all.

Agree...

joe2008

ugo.santalucia wrote:

joe2008 wrote:

Porlock Hill (4), Dunkery Beacon (5), Exmoor Forest (6) and Countisbury Hill (110) and are all within 10 or so miles of each other.

True, although I would not recommend climbing Porlock...

FTFY

andcp

Have a day out from Bakewell:
30 Monsal Head
31 Bank Road
32 Riber
34 Rowsley Bar
35 Curbar Edge
and if you get time throw in
33 Winnats Pass
37 Pleaslows

(In my opinion, some of the nicer climbs in this area are missing from the book: Abney (both sides), Froggat Edge, Robin Hood Stride, Grindleford, Psalters Lane, Longstone Edge, Mam Nic, New Road Eyam, Beeley Bar, Crowdicote, Long Hill.... I could go on).

cgfw201

ugo.santalucia wrote:

joe2008 wrote:

Porlock Hill (4), Dunkery Beacon (5), Exmoor Forest (6) and Countisbury Hill (110) and are all within 10 or so miles of each other.

True, although I would not recommend climbing Porlock... unless in the early hours in the morning... the traffic on that narrow steep road is horrendous and the stench of clutches and pads unbearable... on the other hand Dunkery Beacon comes out of nowhere and is lovely

The Porlock Toll Road is ace though, shame that's not the 100climbs ride.

ugo.santalucia

cgfw201 wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

joe2008 wrote:

Porlock Hill (4), Dunkery Beacon (5), Exmoor Forest (6) and Countisbury Hill (110) and are all within 10 or so miles of each other.

True, although I would not recommend climbing Porlock... unless in the early hours in the morning... the traffic on that narrow steep road is horrendous and the stench of clutches and pads unbearable... on the other hand Dunkery Beacon comes out of nowhere and is lovely

The Porlock Toll Road is ace though, shame that's not the 100climbs ride.

It's one of the best climbs in Britain, but it's not one of the hardest in the area

roger_merriman

KingstonGraham wrote:

Llangynidr and Tumble are close together and lovely riding.
Bwlch and Rhigos next door to each other, adding on Black mountain would make a 100 mile circular ride with enough climbing for one day.

the climb out of Llangattock is joins just before the top of Llangynidr Climb, number of short and very steep around there as well.

drlodge

Great Dun Fell followed by Hartside are two great hills, both very different but remarkable in their own way. Only 2, but think of quality over quantity. Don't forget to try the mars bar cake at the Hartside café.

davep1

cgfw201 wrote:

I've done 22 of them. All the SE ones, and a smattering across Yorkshire and the South West.

There's only a couple in the South East that are actual challenges, with Barhatch, Whitedown and Yorks Hill probably the toughest 3. Box Hill and Ditchling are straightforward but their views are worthwhile. Rest aren't that memorable at all.

I'm a mere mortal, so would say Ditchling is not straight forward; certainly a lot harder than Boxhill. Steyning Bostal is short and steep, Toys is long and tough too.

Mott Street was disappointing, and Coombe Gibbet for me because it was a long drive to tick off the last one.

For me, Bignor Hill near Petworth is the toughest in the South East, but I don't think it is in either book.

philbar72

Barhatch is the toughest Surrey hill for me. Tried Bignor hill once and its a sod!

mrb123

drlodge wrote:

Great Dun Fell followed by Hartside are two great hills, both very different but remarkable in their own way. Only 2, but think of quality over quantity. Don't forget to try the mars bar cake at the Hartside café.

A fantastic route is possible taking in those two and some more. Starting from Brough, follow the back roads to Dufton, take in Great Dun Fell and then on to Hartside. From there, on to Alston, over Killhope Cross, then cross from Weardale to Teesdale via Chapel Fell. Down the valley to Middleton in Teesdale and back to Brough on the road above the reservoirs.

A single route to take in England's highest categorised road, highest uncategorised road and highest climb of all!

drlodge

MrB123 wrote:

drlodge wrote:

Great Dun Fell followed by Hartside are two great hills, both very different but remarkable in their own way. Only 2, but think of quality over quantity. Don't forget to try the mars bar cake at the Hartside café.

A fantastic route is possible taking in those two and some more. Starting from Brough, follow the back roads to Dufton, take in Great Dun Fell and then on to Hartside. From there, on to Alston, over Killhope Cross, then cross from Weardale to Teesdale via Chapel Fell. Down the valley to Middleton in Teesdale and back to Brough on the road above the reservoirs.

A single route to take in England's highest categorised road, highest uncategorised road and highest climb of all!

Bookmarked for a future date!!!

andcp

drlodge wrote:

MrB123 wrote:

drlodge wrote:

Great Dun Fell followed by Hartside are two great hills, both very different but remarkable in their own way. Only 2, but think of quality over quantity. Don't forget to try the mars bar cake at the Hartside café.

A fantastic route is possible taking in those two and some more. Starting from Brough, follow the back roads to Dufton, take in Great Dun Fell and then on to Hartside. From there, on to Alston, over Killhope Cross, then cross from Weardale to Teesdale via Chapel Fell. Down the valley to Middleton in Teesdale and back to Brough on the road above the reservoirs.

A single route to take in England's highest categorised road, highest uncategorised road and highest climb of all!

Bookmarked for a future date!!!

Do you perchance have either a Strava link or .gpx for this route? sounds promising