What is the hardest climb in the UK?

courtmed

reacher wrote:

Anybody know of any around south Wales long ones preferably

The Bwlch & Rhigos are the obvious ones. Bwlch is over 5% for 3.6mi if you go up from Nantymoel, Rhigos is pretty much the same. Graigwen to Llanwonno is about 4.5 miles. Llangynidr is possibly the most scenic - which is saying something! Obviously there's the Tumble, some lovely ones around the Black Mountain, Brecon way too.

chippyk

DavidJB wrote:

Bwlch y Groes in north wales is pretty savage...esp when doing in 39/27

I'm a crap climber but low gear, keeping HR down it's a joy from the Bala side but from the Dinas Mawddwy side it's easily the hardest climb I've done. The drop to Lake Vyrnwy can be fun if it's quiet.

pinno

Schiehallion must get a mention.

Don't know the specific names of the climbs you mentioned TheGreatDivide and you might have listed it but the climb from Tummel Bridge over towards Aberfeldy is a brute - much nicer to go the other way.

Great map available at this site with contour lines. Although, I haven't yet figured out how to type in a place and go directly to that mapped area.

http://www.geograph.org.uk

Click on the large grid area on the GB map to the right of the picture. Then scroll down to the Draggable OS and you get a blow up of the square you selected.

sloppyschleckonds

Now the clocks have gone back, its probably the climb out of bed each day

pinno

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Now the clocks have gone back, its probably the climb out of bed each day

I still cannot figure out why the clock change leaves you whacked. I think next year, i'll go to bed an hour early on the Sunday and see if my body clock copes a bit better.

sniper68

mr_poll wrote:

In the book all the climbs are rated out of 10 (in fact there is a climb in Scotland that is rated an 11)
.

This is still open to interpretation though.
Holme Moss(Yorks) and Hartside Fell(Cumbria) are both rated 5/10.Despite Hartside Fell being about twice as long as Holme Moss I'd still rate Holme Moss as tougher(IMO).So if The Moss is 5/10 I'd give Hartside 3.5/10.Same with Buttertubs Pass(8/10) and Fleet Moss(9/10) I'd personally rate Buttertubs higher and neither above 7/10.
I suppose the Hardest UK climb is the one you personally find hardest for whatever reason 8)

chippyk

In Cycling Climbs of Yorkshire Holme Moss gets 7/10 and the explanation he had a tail wind to get 5/10 in the first book.

The short 10% climb through the town is hard when I've a long ride in my legs.

philbar72

bompington wrote:

DaveP1 wrote:

Pinno wrote:

Briggo wrote:

http://cyclinguphill.com/100-climbs/

I presume that list is in any old order? Ditchling Beacon is on that list but it isn't a hard climb. There's a climb here locally that's far tougher than Ditchling and it isn't even listed.

Hmm, Ditchling not hard?! Whereabouts are you, and where is this far harder climb?

Well, for example, I used to go up 2 significantly bigger ones on my morning commute in my old job...

Ditchling isn't hard because you can pace it nicely, there are 8 short runs to a turn followed generally by a gradient change. you can get up it on a 39 x 23 quite easily I find.

nearby there is a climb on the ditchling devil course, that's significantly more awkward. not harder though...

pinno

The Devil's Dyke per chance?

davep1

Pinno wrote:

The Devil's Dyke per chance?

That's not harder than Ditchling. Bloody awful junction to get across just before you get to the steep bit, though.

davep1

philbar72 wrote:

bompington wrote:

DaveP1 wrote:

Pinno wrote:

Briggo wrote:

http://cyclinguphill.com/100-climbs/

I presume that list is in any old order? Ditchling Beacon is on that list but it isn't a hard climb. There's a climb here locally that's far tougher than Ditchling and it isn't even listed.

Hmm, Ditchling not hard?! Whereabouts are you, and where is this far harder climb?

Well, for example, I used to go up 2 significantly bigger ones on my morning commute in my old job...

Ditchling isn't hard because you can pace it nicely, there are 8 short runs to a turn followed generally by a gradient change. you can get up it on a 39 x 23 quite easily I find.

nearby there is a climb on the ditchling devil course, that's significantly more awkward. not harder though...

I've gone from a 39/25 to 39/27 to 36/28 to 36/32 in 3 years! The worst thing about Ditchling for me is there are two slight right handers that are very similar; one is about 200 m from the top, the other...is further down. I always think I am nearly there to realise the damn thing has a few more minutes still.

Do you mean Mill Rd, the one parallel to the A27? There is something nasty about that one. That Ditchling Devil course goes close to a couple of toughies, and spends way too much time on the A283 for me. Chantry Lane near Storrington is a bugger, and the area west of Petworth/south of Haslemere is lovely and has a couple of nasty ones. They miss the highest point in Sussex by a km!

tubaonwheels

I find it all depends on the gearing. Once did Hardknot and wrynose down to Three shires and then back over the other way on mtb and found it pretty easy and enjoyable. Did Hardknot on FW on roadbike and found it the hardest yet (rode it all though). Peat lane from Pateley Bridge is a tough little bugger

rob39

Did the Pyrenees where I covered the Peyresourde, Aspin and Tourmalet but the Hardknot trumps them IMO. Here in Ayrshire, plenty of tough climbs in the Ayrshire Alps and easily linked to make a hellish day

pinno

rob39 wrote:

Did the Pyrenees where I covered the Peyresourde, Aspin and Tourmalet but the Hardknot trumps them IMO. Here in Ayrshire, plenty of tough climbs in the Ayrshire Alps and easily linked to make a hellish day

On the old coast road through the electric Brae and down to Maidens perhaps?

noodleman

Can't say I've travelled the whole of the UK but bushcombe hill in Gloucestershire was voted toughest climb in the south of England. I'm sure there's probably others up north but it really is a beast. Only just under a mile long but goes from easy into a 20%, before a bend leads you to 25% and then a 30% incline.
It's pretty narrow so if you meet a car it's a tight squeeze or sometimes a dismount, which is infuriating if you're near the top.

redscouse

Ditchling not too bad these days for me..traffic is more of a hindrance..streat bostal just a mile away toward Lewes.. Climbs into the downs going up to SDW then stops..top half gets over 20%... A few miles further West Steyning bostal 17% is a toughie particularly the run from Steyning village which has a long steep section and no flat run at all...but toughest UK hills that I've ridden are in the Peak District.. Rowsley bar killed me 2 weeks back..had a large motor home trying to overtake around the switchbacks and then the Riber out of matlock 28%..Thought I knew how to ride a bike but learnt new skills that day..front wheel lifting.. Stay in 28 not 32 when standing.. No traction on steep damp Road sitting back down...Birchover another short but bloody steep lane..

sloppyschleckonds

If Category 4 climbs are making this list, suggest people sort their gearing out

svetty

tubaonwheels wrote:

I find it all depends on the gearing. Once did Hardknot and wrynose down to Three shires and then back over the other way on mtb and found it pretty easy and enjoyable. Did Hardknot on FW on roadbike and found it the hardest yet (rode it all though). Peat lane from Pateley Bridge is a tough little bugger

Not tried Peat Lane, but will next time I'm in Pateley. Old Church Lane is the toughest one from there I find....

feisty

Winnats Pass is toughest thing I have done.

tubaonwheels

Svetty wrote:

tubaonwheels wrote:

I find it all depends on the gearing. Once did Hardknot and wrynose down to Three shires and then back over the other way on mtb and found it pretty easy and enjoyable. Did Hardknot on FW on roadbike and found it the hardest yet (rode it all though). Peat lane from Pateley Bridge is a tough little bugger

Not tried Peat Lane, but will next time I'm in Pateley. Old Church Lane is the toughest one from there I find....

Cheers! I've not done that one - I'll try that one next time I'm in Pateley too Will try it soon and combine it with Nought bank (another good one).

Steve.

mercia_man

As others have said, gearing is key to how difficult a climb feels. I know from experience that riding up Ventoux on a road bike on 34/29, having to honk much of the way, feels harder than riding up on my tourer loaded with camping gear in four panniers and a triple chainset - on that I was able to remain mostly seated in bottom (24/28) and second (24/25). Weather conditions, road surface, whether the gradient is steady or in ramps and how far into a ride your climb is all play a part in the difficulty factor.

I think the toughest climb I have ridden in the UK is near my home up the Long Mynd via Asterton Bank. Simon Warren gives it a 10/10 score and it is ranked third hardest in England by www.climbbybike.com with an average gradient of 18.8 per cent over 0.85km. In second place is Hardknott (15 per cent average over 2km) and first is Great Dunn Fell (7.7 per cent over 9km). Tougher still, according to climbbybike, are some Scottish climbs including Bealach na Ba (6.7 per cent over 11km). Climbbybike uses a standardised formula of distance covered and height gained to rank climbs. Not everyone may agree with this method, but it's an interesting exercise.

I would not recommend riding up Asterton Bank for any other reason than to see if you can do it. You go over a slippery cattle grid at the bottom and immediately turn sharp left up a 25 or 20 per cent stretch, depending on whose figures you believe, and it's then an unremittingly steep straight climb with an unprotected steep slope to your left, and gravel, moss and grass in the centre of the carriageway which is just wide enough for one car. I had to maintain my position in the road, forcing a descending car to stop, so I could squeeze by and avoid having to stop myself. It only gets easier when you turn right towards the top. There are no ramps and easier sections where you can catch your breath.

There's plenty of other really testing climbs in the south Shropshire hills, but they are little known - or at least they don't appear on climbbybike.

Guanajuato

Harknott from the West is as its name and reputation suggests. The first ramp over the cattle grid is tough, then it feels like it levels off. But its only dropped to single-figure %. What always gets me is the final left-right combination - there's a pretty hard ramp just approaching that and then I lose balance. Its even worse if there's a #bloodymotorist driving at you.

There's plenty of nastly steep hills dotted around Cumbria. The worst I've done after hardknott is Tow Top between Witherslack & High Newton. Its shorter than Hardknott and possibly not quite as steep as the steepest bits. But there's no let up. Add to that a surface that's badly cut up, covered in gravel, has a stream running across it and usually leaf mulch. If you meet a car, there's nowhere to go either. I'm sure there's more bends than Strava suggests. Fairly sure strava's elevation is wrong as well, as most of the climbing is done by the final bend, whilst strava reckons it carries on at above 10% - I don't think it gets above 5% once the hairpins are done.

Some of the climbers in the Kendal club do hill reps on 'the greyhound' out of kendal. Its a bugger. The biggest problem is there's no warm up. https://www.strava.com/segments/1112930

itboffin

noodleman wrote:

Can't say I've travelled the whole of the UK but bushcombe hill in Gloucestershire was voted toughest climb in the south of England. I'm sure there's probably others up north but it really is a beast. Only just under a mile long but goes from easy into a 20%, before a bend leads you to 25% and then a 30% incline.
It's pretty narrow so if you meet a car it's a tight squeeze or sometimes a dismount, which is infuriating if you're near the top.

when i stumbled across it there was a local classic car drive passing through, leaded petrol fumes :evil:

Brian B

rob39 wrote:

Did the Pyrenees where I covered the Peyresourde, Aspin and Tourmalet but the Hardknot trumps them IMO. Here in Ayrshire, plenty of tough climbs in the Ayrshire Alps and easily linked to make a hellish day

Hardknott from Boot is undeniably the hardest climb in the UK and closely followed with Wrynose from Fell Foot Farm.

Rob until this year I would have agreed with you as I have done some legends like the Mortirolo, Stelvio, Tourmalet, Gabilier, Ventoux etc and none of them put fear into me like Hardknott did and how deep I had to dig. Recently though I did the Angrilu and Hardknott seemed like a walk in the park. The last 6km were like 3 Hardknotss back to back - really awful!

Cheekily could you PM me a decent route for cycling in Ayrshire as I have been there before in the past but local knowledge would help. Anything 60miles to 100miles would be great with plenty of climbing and quiet roads.

del1971

Brian B, in my opinion the best cycling in Ayrshire requires a ferry ride to Arran. It's 56 undulating miles round the coast and also has two roads that cross it (the Ross and the String) which both rise steeply from sea level to about 300m, so plenty of scope for long or short routes. It has a mix of everything, amazing scenery and the roads are generally quiet.

pblakeney

del1971 wrote:

Brian B, in my opinion the best cycling in Ayrshire requires a ferry ride to Arran. It's 56 undulating miles round the coast and also has two roads that cross it (the Ross and the String) which both rise steeply from sea level to about 300m, so plenty of scope for long or short routes. It has a mix of everything, amazing scenery and the roads are generally quiet.

I have never made the trip but apparently doing a figure of 8 is the way to go.

bompington

del1971 wrote:

Brian B, in my opinion the best cycling in Ayrshire requires a ferry ride to Arran. It's 56 undulating miles round the coast and also has two roads that cross it (the Ross and the String) which both rise steeply from sea level to about 300m, so plenty of scope for long or short routes. It has a mix of everything, amazing scenery and the roads are generally quiet.

This indeed. I hopped across the island on my way to Kintyre on a beautiful day at the start of October, going the long way round to Lochranza - I'll need to come back and do the figure-8 of the whole island some day soon. You should stop at the sandwich shop in Lochranza.
I've never really cycled in "mainland" Ayrshire but the best terrain must surely be in the south-east towards the Galloway hills.

Brian B

bompington wrote:

del1971 wrote:

Brian B, in my opinion the best cycling in Ayrshire requires a ferry ride to Arran. It's 56 undulating miles round the coast and also has two roads that cross it (the Ross and the String) which both rise steeply from sea level to about 300m, so plenty of scope for long or short routes. It has a mix of everything, amazing scenery and the roads are generally quiet.

This indeed. I hopped across the island on my way to Kintyre on a beautiful day at the start of October, going the long way round to Lochranza - I'll need to come back and do the figure-8 of the whole island some day soon. You should stop at the sandwich shop in Lochranza.
I've never really cycled in "mainland" Ayrshire but the best terrain must surely be in the south-east towards the Galloway hills.

Thanks for the replies. Have done Arran before but not for about 15years and its high time I went back. Cheers

tubaonwheels

On our last Scottish trip last year we had a week on Arran. I managed to cover just about all of it. Hill wise I think the climb over from Lamlash to the west coast (Ross) is the best climb. Also had best part of a week on Mull where I took part in the Mull Sportive which is a fab event with some stunningly beautiful roads and some decent climbs/descents. Stayed a few days in Applecross too and did a double traverse of Bealach na ba. Had great weather for that and really enjoyed both climbs and descents. Scotland is wonderfull cycling country.
Steve.

svetty

Arran is fine for a day but after that where do you ride the next day?