It's all fairly steady going as the climb starts just off the A449. Three Cycling UK members have successfully completed an epic challenge to tackle 100 of the UK's most iconic climbs in one mammoth month-long road trip. This climb has the steepest 500 meter segment in all the UK. This intimidating wall achieves virtually all of its 150m altitude gain in the space of a fearsome 1.2km, at an average gradient of nearly 13%. My bike is creaking. One of the hardest climbs in the South West (Credit: Mark Percy) Dunkery Beacon is one of the toughest climbs in the south west of England with 321m of climbing over 3.1km. When is the first day of spring and when do clocks go forward in 2023? It's neither steep or particularly tough, but the constant sequence of false summits can make it a heartbreaking experience for an already fatigued rider. Up ahead, eventually the final bends come into view, just as the gradient gets brutal on the long weather-beaten 20% slope that tests your legs to the limit. On the opposite side of the Blorenge to the more famous Tumble, Rhiwr Road makes that famous climb look like child's play. The full climb might be 2.4km, but that doesn't even nearly tell the full story. Factoring in a pretty torrid road surface too means reaching the top of this wall is an achievement few will ever accomplish. Only two miles, but one of those climbs that feels like it goes on forever. We rank this monster as #2 most difficult in UK via the Fiets index. Two miles up a main road at between 4% and 6% might sound easy, but that just depends on how fast you're going. This route is an area of desolate but beautiful countryside. With one and a half pedals and dented pride I manage to make it to the top to join Dan and Jess at the finish outside the water treatment works. Early motoring magazines often mention that editorial staff hand car manufacturers had been testing on the Bwlch y Groes owing to its status of a continual and sever gradient to one of the highest moorland crossings by a road in the UK. - Subscribe to our monthly newsletter. Photos clockwise from top left: Bwlch y Groes (Wales #1, UK #2 hardest); Stwlan Dam (Wales #1, UK #2 most epic); Entering Wales in Llanymynech; Cardiff Castle; Welsh flag flying over Cardiff Castle (center). The beautiful landscape of the Brecon Beacons. Arguably, though, he is best known as the author of Cycling Climbs series of books. Approaching from either direction you see the radar station's "golf ball" glowing like a beacon on the top of the ridge. The photos in the collage at the top of this page are of PJAMMs Top 10 Hardest per the Fiets Index. Its from here that this road separates itself from its peers, and its from here that everyone will be pushed to their limits. The first 10km climbs 800m to a small Visitor Centre, via ever steepening slopes and long 12 - 15% ramps. This is one of the toughest bits of road anywhere in the UK and, through the next left-hand bend, it touches 30% at the apex. It's a very tough mile though, averaging somewhere around 9% as it cuts its way up the side of Maerdy Mountain. The superlative Bwlch y Groes is coincidentally ranked #2 most epic hill climb in Wales and 3 in all the UK. That said, Bwlch Penbarra is certainly a top three for US. I can now hear Jess approaching from behind, her 34 x 32 slightly more suited to the venue than my 34 x 28, judging by her colourful language I assume I am in her way. The early parts of this mountain road rarely drop below 10% as the route winds its way up through the trees. South Wales needs no introduction. These days, cyclists have it pretty much to themselves, save for the odd bit of local traffic. This is the highest paved road and hardest bike climb in Wales. Grid ref: SD 862 843 (OS98)Length 5.34km Height gain 323m Approx climb time 22 mins, On the eastern edge of the Long Mynd lies the infamous Asterton Bank, also known by many other names that I could not print here. The climb is really unique. This climb is along the southeastern edge of Snowdonia National Park (established 1951 - third national park in Britain after Peak District and Lake District). Leave the head of Loch Kishorn, turn left and you're on your way, soon passing the large sign warning of the various dangers that lie ahead. Check the forecast before you head out and be prepared for harsher weather at the top. If you want to share something you need to create an account. The scene of a brilliant double ascent during the 2013 Tour of Britain, this iconic route out of Caerphilly also features as the final climb in the Velothon Wales loop of South Wales. The steep, consistent gradient hovers around 15% all the way, making it one of the most challenging climbs in South Wales. Electric Mountain, 5. The maximum gradient is 13%. Horshoe Pass (Bwlch yr Oernant) - 317m - 7 to 20% - 6.1km #91. Stwlan Dam. The British is named after the massive old ironworks that once dominated this area above Pontypool. ALL CLIMBS PJAMM TRIPS MEMBER COMMENTS Climb List: (sort by distance, difficulty, elevation and more) PJAMM TRIPS ADVENTURE STARTER BUNDLES Check out PJAMM Adventure's prepackaged (self-guided) cycling trips. F. J. The road levels between the sharp bends giving you a chance to attack each wicked corner then gather yourself in time for the next. Plus detailed bike, kit and accessory reviews from the experts. is the highest tarmacked pass in Wales (100 Greatest Cycling Climbs - Britain). You're now face to face with the vicious 25% corner which delivers you on to the cruel slopes that cling to the side of the sheer bank. before our second trip to document the UKs top climbs in 2022 -- thus, its The Real Deal! ) Llano de las Animas, 7. Select a portion of the route to retrieve climb & profile data for that segment. I'd waited a long time to ride this road, initially put off by its "private" status. By the end of this section, you'll have ridden c.84km from the coast and will have climbed 2,800m from sea level. The top 10 hardest cycling climbs around the globe, all of which we have personally documented, are: 1. (sort by distance, difficulty, elevation and more). Between the narrow road, the rutted surface and the severity of the slope, this is one seriously tough climb. If youve ever been to Manhattan and walked the streets straining your neck upwards to admire the skyscrapers, well, for a moment looking up this road it feels like that. I did warn him how bad it was but he was like, yeah, its just another hill. After around 50 metres the second bend arrives where on the corner there is a slight leveling, Dan immediately heads to the shallower part of the corner here to catch a few seconds respite. See where the steepest portions of the climb are located by gradient group. Check out PJAMM Adventure's prepackaged (self-guided) cycling trips. It's a long drag, but not particularly taxing in the most part, rising through the trees with the rumbling of vehicles on the adjacent main road in the distance. The hardest part is swinging onto the six or seven kilometre climbs and seeing riders crawling up the hill ahead of you looking like ants . A short flat section ramps up hard, then almost levels before ramping hard again. This featureoriginally appeared in the September 23 print edition of Cycling Weekly magazine,on sale in newsagents and supermarkets, priced 3.25. We parked at the Church in the town of Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd (try saying that TWO times fast . Still, that's the least of your worries as you pass a 25% sign. The scenery gets more barren as you climb, dispensing with the trees and dry stone walls of the lower stretches and opening out into a classic Brecon Beacons landscape at the summit. Weve been crawling skyward for about two minutes, covering just 250m of tarmac as we round bend three. It's mentally taxing rather than a top-level physical challenge - the four miles of climbing are largely gentle in gradient terms, but difficult because of the scale of the landscape. And it's so steep, close to 25% at the point where the tall valley walls disappear and the radar slowly rises over the horizon to sit above you, tracking the remainder of your progress. Penbarra ( Bwlch Pen barras / Bwlch Penbarras / Old Bwlch) - 258m - 11 to 25% - 2.3km #89. First off, a classic. This extraordinary climb is in the northwestern section of Wales in the Snowdonia mountain region. Saw signs of a moose, unstrapped and started walking down the trail and saw her about 100ft up the trail. danevanscycling Ffordd Pen Llech Gradients of around 30% are generally only found on the inside of tight bends. We participate in the Amazon Associates Program. It only takes 1 minute and it's completely free. It's a testing drag, with the incline quickly kicking up to 9% and staying there or thereabouts much of the way to the top. All rights reserved. It covers 827 square miles (2,140 km2), and has 37 miles (60 km) of coastline.The park is governed by the Snowdonia National Park Authority, which is made up of local government and Welsh representatives, and its main offices are at Penrhyndeudraeth. Where To find Hardknott Pass leave the A595 and head east towards Eskdale. 1. North, as editor of the book Snowdonia (1949), states "When the Committee delineated provisional boundaries, they included areas some distance beyond Snowdonia proper." A while later the utterly horrendous Cowlyd in north Wales found its way onto my radar and again the slate was wiped clean and a new standard was set. Photograph: Ashley Cooper/Alamy, The radar station of top of Great Dun Fell. Length: 64.8km Maximum gradient: 13% Vertical: 1,785m Hazards: Heat exhaustion and death America's Death Valley is not generally known as a great place to ride. This climb is simply a monster with several stretches in the red zone - above 16%, including one massive stretch at 20% for 200 yards. Okay - sheep is not the official mascot. . The makeup of land ownership at Snowdonia is as follows (Wikipedia - Snowdonia National Park). And don't even think about putting a foot down - you'll never get started again. Grid Ref: NY 231 014 (OS96). And yet once you get to the top, you'll realise you enjoyed every second. It's all a bit of an optical illusion though. It also has a very interesting motorsport history: The History of Motor Sport and the Bwlch-y-Groes is nearly as old as motorsport. A mix of all three? The end of the dry stone wall alongside you signifies the top of the climb, from where there are beautiful views north towards the western Brecon Beacons. Here there is another leveling, a plateau of sorts before things turn from nasty to insane. Maximum gradient: 16%. My veins are ready to explode as I push and pull through each agonising revolution of the pedals. The average gradient might "only" be 8.3%, but that's reduced by the steady stretch of false flat that precedes the summit. Browse all of our prepackaged trips and find your next adventure! Then you hit the switchbacks, where a better surface is cold comfort as you grapple with gravity's pull and attempt to hold your momentum through these vicious bends. Bealach na B is the one most talked about, as one of few category 1 road climbs in the United Kingdom. We have twice personally documented the Welsh Top 10 Hardest Climbs. Climbing into the Aran Mountains on the edge of Snowdonia, its a road of outstanding beauty rough, weathered and remorselessly steep. As of 2022, Simon Warren has published 12 cycling climbing books - 10 focusing on the UK, one on TdF and the other on the Giro. You have to take each and every opportunity to recover when it is presented, no matter how slight he says. #3 HARDEST WELSH CLIMB -BWLCH PENBARRA TO JUBILEE TOWER, Cycling Bwlch Penbarras to Jubilee Tower, Wales. Stick with it, as eventually the one-in-three does turn into a relatively gentle one-in-six, allowing you to build a little momentum to drag your bike up on to the moor. The less celebrated of two routes up Llangynidr Mountain, the climb from Llangattock is no less difficult. In 2021 we contacted Simon Warren requesting his picks for the Top 10 Most Epic and Top 10 Hardest bike climbs in (1) Wales, (2) England, (3) Scotland, and (4) the UK. Luckily for us the rain was holding on our expedition. If there's a more brutal stretch of road anywhere in South Wales than Llanguicke Road, then it's definitely best avoided. The climb lasts for almost a mile and has an elevation gain of 180 metres. Visit our corporate site. Want the best food, film, music, arts and culture news sent straight to your inbox? Pass through the large orange gates used to close the road in winter proof, if you hadn't twigged already, that you're heading into serious country. The surface, just wide enough for a single car, is smooth at the edges but little more than gravel and moss in the centre. This climb is ranked #3 on PJAMMs FIETS formula-based difficulty index, as well as the UK Top Hardest Climbs list provided to us by Simon Warrenbefore our second trip to document the UKs top climbs in 2022 -- thus, its The Real Deal! Ride two miles gaining 1,329 at 12.5% average grade. Straining to reach each successive crest burns more matches then to further compound the difficulty the act of zig zagging, (the practice where the cyclist tries to marginally reduce the severity of the slope by riding left to right) is rendered impossible by the unbroken line of slippery debris that runs along the roads centre. The king of climbs and arguably the hardest road in the land, the legendary Hardknott Pass is an amazing sliver of tarmac. The road to get to this climb is brutally narrow with thick shrubs blocking the views ahead. The road levels slightly but the surface is cut up and damaged. Published 2 March 23. The 5 hardest cycling climbs in the UK (Please link to Pedalsure.com if using elsewhere) Bealach na B The closest to an Alpine mountain climb that the UK has to offer is Bealach na B ("Pass of the Cattle" in Scottish Gaelic) on the west coast of Scotland. The road if you can call it that was built so vehicles could access the giant pipelines that draw water from Llyn Cowlyd and Llyn Eigiau to feed the Dolgarrog hydroelectric power Station and the water treatment plant that sits on its slopes. Most local riders know its here, we gave it the nickname the Baby Zoncolan but we all avoid it like the plague. Where Turn off the A896 and head east just before Tornapress. Soon into the ride we are climbing through a canyon area with dramatic plateaus and hillside formations, particularly on the right side as we climb. It is in the Aran Mountains near the south east edge of Snowdonia (. Over the course of the slog, you'll climb . Pass through the village, over the river, turning right to find the base of Beggarmans Road and head for the sky. (If you're cyclist in North, Mid or West Wales, we'll be. Where Leave the A66 in Appleby-in-Westmorland, head north past Brampton, and left through Dufton to arrive in Knock. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. WOW - enough said! 2. The Great Orme from Llandudno via Marine Drive, The Great Orme from Llandudno via Ty Gwyn Road. Or should we be asking, how accurate? We decided to opt for an even steeper summit - Cairn O'Mount. You start your ascent from the beautiful Corgarff castle and straight away you hit 20% slopes rough, relentlessly steep and twisting a little. World Cycle Tours, Nutterswood Cottage, Nutters Wood, Cleeve Hill, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 3PZ, United Kingdom. Photograph: Stephen Dorey/Alamy. The Tumble (SW #97), 8. Simon Warren has published many books on cycling climbing in the UK (e.g. Where Head north into the mountains from Ballater on the A939. My knees are ready to snap. Signup for our. Things start off fairly easily, but get harder and harder and harder again by the time you near the summit of Cefn Eglwysllan, with a lovely 20% ramp greeting you to the very top. Snowdonia National Park (Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) was established in 1951 as the third national park in Britain, following the Peak District and the Lake District. Through Gayle, the road flat, hugging the river, soon rises sharply for a short 17% lung-opener. Youll enjoy unobstructed views of the canyon as you pass Wales mascot - Sheep! I say a big thank you to Dan and Jess for joining me for the morning its then that they point out to me, if you thought it was hard on the way up, just wait until you go back down. Anything you have read or been told about this amazing road is likely to be true. Even though its very short you have to go so slowly at first. I have purchased and relied heavily on several of these books in deciding what climbs to include on the PJAMM Website for the UK. We've collected 37 of the hardest, most beautiful, steepest, highest and longest climbs in South Wales. On our climb, we encountered a car and had to back up nearly a kilometer to find a place where they could pass. Now straightening up, the next stretch is ridiculously hard, the main problem here being just staying upright while either side of the road, sheep wait to see if yet another rider falls victim to the Chimney. A little bit about Simon Warren - We contacted Simon Warren with our request for his Top 10 lists because we consider him the Gold Standard and cyclist with the most thorough and comprehensive knowledge of hill climbing by bike in the UK. This climb comes with the steepest 500 meters in all of the UK at 25%, and it comes at the beginning of the climb so be prepared to strain at the outset. Have you tackled the toughest climb in your region? Windswept and remote this climb begins in Brynamman, Carmarthenshire, and goes for 3.7 miles with a 12% gradient. We rank this monster as the #3 most difficult in Britain via the Fiets index - #2 in Wales! In an attempt to move right, my front wheel lifts, there is a bang, my right foot instinctively unclips and that was it, I am gone. Unceremoniously I hit the floor and proceeded to tumble southwards just missing Jess by millimeters (how she stayed upright Ill never know and sincerely I apologise for ruining her QOM attempt). Heres how it works. Pass Gairnshiel Lodge and Colnabaichin. You have 50 climbs on your lists, if you want to add more you can do so with climbfinder+. The surface is rough at first and steep from the outset, but improves as you pass over a cattlegrid and approach the double hairpin. Passing farm buildings and trees, the road veers left, then a very sharp 25% right a taste of what's to come before easing as the last of the trees disappear beneath you. The wooded opening sequence and the first phases on the open hillside are where you'll really suffer. Whether it's the pine trees, the hairpin close to the top, or the meadows at the summit, but there always seems something slightly alpine about this little climb at the top of the Rhondda - even though it's less than a mile long. Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access, Enjoy your first month for just 1 / $1 / 1, *Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription. First built in 2nd century by the Romans, the pass is unbelievably tough from both directions. Climbs have an average length of 4.2km and 248 meters of total ascent. Is it the suffering? We asked Simon Warren to provide us with lists of both the Top 10 Hardest, and Top 10 Most Epic bike climbs in England, Wales, Scotland, and the UK. From the junction with Station Road, exit the village past the first 25% sign then the road bends left at a second 25% warning as if you need reminding, it's going to be hard. This is simply a magnificent cycling experience. On the west coast of Scotland, Bealach na B has the most elevation gain of any road climb in the UK, rising from sea level to 626m over a stretch of 9.2km. The Tyla rounds The Blorenge Mountain from Gilwern, and its an incredibly challenging climb, mainly because of its steep lower slopes. The Shelf - 262m - 5 to 15% - 5.1km #87. Get info and context about new features. Cyclist and spectators make their way up The Tumble and line the road as the Tour of Britain cyclist near the finish, Abergavenny. You'll probably wish you were enjoying a sedate stroll along the fairways of the adjacent golf club by the time you reach the lung-crushing gradients at the top of this punchy climb out of Pontypridd. Once through, you can pick up some speed before the final steep turns and your new-found momentum will help carry you through these and over the top. It's a brave soul who doesn't find the site of the Bwlch summit towering above them as they set out from Treorchy slightly daunting. We asked Simon Warren to provide us with lists of both the Top 10 Hardest, and Top 10 Most Epic bike climbs in England, Wales, Scotland, and the UK. Increasing in steepness as it passes old industrial relics, the road winds its way up the side of a breathtaking gorge, with just a few boulders between separating you and the 10% gradient from the edge. ), and I recommend parking there and not attempting to traverse any part of the actual climb route in a car. WOW - enough said! ANDY! I scream, we are coming. Pass Castell Coch on your left, feel the smooth false flat underneath your wheels and the scent of wild garlic in the air, and you'll think you're in for an easy couple of miles. BA1 1UA. This is the story of how he found it and just how painful it is to ride. Begin the climb across the bridge at Cock Bridge just past Corgarff Castle. But as the road heads into the trees, it rears up sharply, and doesn't drop below 12% until the very top. Deep in the dark heart of Wales, climbing nut Simon Warren thinks he has discovered Britain's steepest hill. South Africa's Cape Epic is the only MTB stage race classed as 'hors categorie' (beyond category) by the UCI, and upon looking at the eight days of riding . But had this happened before I hit the deck or after? There, in front of you, painted on to the side of the mountain and looking like a giant flight of stairs, lies the rest of the climb. Do not attempt to ride here in unfavourable conditions. Grid ref: SO 403 918 (OS 137)Length 0.96kmHeight gain 163mApprox climb time 7 mins, You're spoilt for choice when it comes to climbing Cleeve Hill. This leaves us with a wealth of material describing the setting and condition of the road nearly a 100 years ago (, Named Hellfire Pass by the English but better known by its Welsh name, Bwlch-Y-Groes. The faint summit can be seen straight in front for a large part of the climb, making it easy to set an impatient tempo that'll come back to bite you later on. Far from any major towns, the starting point is near some very old homesteads. Photograph: Paul White/Alamy, Scotch mist hanging over Bealach na Ba. The three vicious ascents leaving Woodmancote all offer a fantastic challenge, and of the three it's Bushcombe Lane that stands apart. It's that steep much of the way. 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