. Deep in the dark heart of Wales, climbing nut Simon Warren thinks he has discovered Britain's steepest hill. Ffordd Penllech in Harlech is the UK's steepest road (Pic: Stephen Elwyn Roddick, via Wiki Commons) Jenkin Road was the final climb of stage two of this year's Tour de France (Pic: Marc, via. Sign up with your email address to receive offers, news and updates. The landscape is rough, its easy to see how the area gets pounded with rain and freezing temps most of the year. Inspecting my bike it appears my right pedal has partially disintegrated. The steepest parts of the climb are before you've even left the edge of the town, but it's long enough to be a real struggle if you've burnt too many matches too soon. They will help you plan, document and conquer your next adventure. 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. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951. All rights reserved. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Climb the Gospel Pass via Hay on Wye by bike. The Shelf - 262m - 5 to 15% - 5.1km #87. The bike climbs we have documented are in the slideshow above. Weve been crawling skyward for about two minutes, covering just 250m of tarmac as we round bend three. Thanks to Strava for the route maps and climb profiles. Cyclist and spectators make their way up The Tumble and line the road as the Tour of Britain cyclist near the finish, Abergavenny. Pass Gairnshiel Lodge and Colnabaichin. The photos in the collage at the top of this page are of PJAMMs Top 10 Hardest per the Fiets Index. Moel Arthur - 220m - 10 to 20% - 2.2km #88. Grid Ref: SE 720 945 (OS94) Length 1430m Height gain 179m Approx climb time 9 mins, Fleet Moss, the highest road in Yorkshire, is a beast from either direction but the greater challenge lies in the route south from Hawes. Climbs have an average length of 4.2km and 248 meters of total ascent. From there, there's the option of a fast descent into Defynnog, but a much better alternative is to continue in a straight line uphill and onto the ancient Heol Senni. Photograph: John Morrison/Alamy, Warning sign near the Rosedale Chimney in North Yorkshire Photograph: Mark Sunderland/Alamy, Remote pass Bwlch y Groes, Wales Photograph: Keith Morris/Alamy, The road from Cockbridge to Tomintoul, Aberdeenshire. With the wind on your back, it's one that can be tackled in the big ring on a good day. . Browse all of our prepackaged trips and find your next adventure! Cycling apparel brand, Rapha today launched the Rapha Film Fund, a program designed to help support creatives bring their life lived by bike stories to life on Raphas YouTube. 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. Within a few hundred feet of the start point, a switchback of over 20% warns you of the battle to come. The road to get to this climb is brutally narrow with thick shrubs blocking the views ahead. This is apparent in books published prior to 1951, such as the classic travelogue Wild Wales by George Borrow (1862) and The Mountains of Snowdonia by H. Carr & G. Lister (1925). Now on Station Road, take the third left after crossing the rail line on to Bushcombe Lane between the two 25% signs. Riding from Llangadog, you'll be climbing before you realise, but the real business starts after the woodland stops and the open mountainside starts. The Travel App includes many helpful travel tools, including: an itinerary, interactive map with points of interest and all loaded routes as well as navigation to each; a tracking feature that shows participant locations; records statistic for routes completed; post photos and text in real time to blog and map; and a share feature so friends, fans and family can follow you and your adventure on our interactive map. This was the advice of a local man as I approached the foot of this brutal climb last year. From this page you may navigate to the top 10 most difficult bicycling climbs in Wales. Only two miles, but one of those climbs that feels like it goes on forever. TOP 3 HARDEST BIKE CLIMBS IN WALES (FIETS INDEX), This extraordinary climb is in the northwestern section of Wales in the Snowdonia mountain region. The steep, consistent gradient hovers around 15% all the way, making it one of the most challenging climbs in South Wales. Rhiwr Road (SW #197), and 10. Let us know your thoughts about this page. The Cowlyd, 2. This is a list of all 200 climbs feature in 100 Greatest cycling climbs and also the sequel The first time I went up was on a mountain bike and even that proved almost impossible, however, once I got to the top I knew I had to return on a road bike to see how fast I could ride it, he recalls. What follows is a brief levelling out but you can't put off what lies ahead for long. Visit our corporate site. The 5 hardest cycling climbs in the UK (Please link to Pedalsure.com if using elsewhere) Bealach na B Bealach-na-Ba 9.2km at 6.8% (Grid: 1 km) -25% -10% 0% 10% 25% View full details on 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. At this point, the climb would get significantly worse! Id evaluated the merits of all contenders from Yorkshire's Rosedale Chimney to Ffordd Penllech via Bushcombe Lane and Vale Street but then came that bigger fish, then came a new vision of hell: Afon Ddu, AKA the Baby Zoncolan. On our climb, we encountered a car and had to back up nearly a kilometer to find a place where they could pass. This is the highest paved road and hardest bike climb in Wales. Once the gradient kicks in it just gets steeper and steeper, 20% past the last of the houses, then the fun really starts. Check out PJAMM Adventure's prepackaged (self-guided) cycling trips. There's a choice towards the top between turning right down towards Llangynidr or carrying on along the road to Rassau to complete the full climb. That said, Bwlch Penbarra is certainly a top three for US. 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. North, as editor of the book Snowdonia (1949), states "When the Committee delineated provisional boundaries, they included areas some distance beyond Snowdonia proper." A pretty stone bridge over a stream takes you across the side of the hill, before a further hairpin spins you back towards the exposed top section. Mauna Kea, 2. It is an incredible climb both ways but the road from Tornapress, heading north-west, is just awesome. The three vicious ascents leaving Woodmancote all offer a fantastic challenge, and of the three it's Bushcombe Lane that stands apart. We completed this jewel in August 2018 and because it is so epic, came back for a second go in June 2022. 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. Over the years, I've sought to climb as many hills as possible. Begin the climb across the bridge at Cock Bridge just past Corgarff Castle. The famous hairpin means you've broken the back of it, and by the time you're onto the tree-lined final straight, you'll virtually be able to taste the ice cream from the van in the layby at the summit. Its found as you head north-west out of Pontardawe. We rank this monster as the #3 most difficult in Britain via the Fiets index - #2 in Wales! But one thing's for sure - Wales has some great places to do it. The Brecon landscape is barren but beautiful as you climb 3.5 miles in Pen-y-Cae. 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. First off, a classic. But we dare you to stand at Broad Pool, look up at the ribbon of road snaking up to Gower's highest point and not want to ride it. Climb summary by PJAMM Cyclings Brad Butterfield - he climbed this one in 2018 and 2022. You start your ascent from the beautiful Corgarff castle and straight away you hit 20% slopes rough, relentlessly steep and twisting a little. But I have to keep fighting. 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. This spectacular virtual fly-through shows the stunning route of the 2016 Velothon Wales, Huge vintage clothing warehouse where you can get designer brands at a fraction of the price, The Thrift operates over a huge 12,000 sq ft and stocks big brands as well as a value section, Superdrug anti-aging cream called 'botox in a tub' by shoppers, Optimum Collagen Day cream is priced at 14.99. Gradients of around 30% are generally only found on the inside of tight bends. Read next: This spectacular virtual fly-through shows the stunning route of the 2016 Velothon Wales. The road levels between the sharp bends giving you a chance to attack each wicked corner then gather yourself in time for the next. and climbs through roadside fields. And Lots of them. 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. What comes next will take your breath away. This extraordinary climb is in the northwestern section of Wales in the Snowdonia mountain region. 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. Since that first book, he's added 11 more, as well Ride Britain which showcases 40 inspirational road cycling routes. Baran Road is arguably the most beautiful of all the tough climbs were listing here. With a maximum gradient of 22% and an average gradient of 8.1% youre afforded great views of Aberdare the higher you climb. Bryn Du is a very steep climb in Aberdare, up Maerdy Mountain. The route is found in Abersychan, Torfaen, where its lower slopes begin on the A4043 and then after a mile turn left and youll begin to climb through a breathtaking gorge. It's very steep into a small woodland, over a cattle grid and then you will see the enormity of your task. If the Tumble is the famous and successful son, the Tyla is his awkward, challenging older brother. At the end of this long stretch, as we reach bend four of four. Pozza San Glisente (Dos dell'Asino), 8. The hardest ascent is from the west, beginning at Fell Foot Farm, where straight away you have a 20% right-hander and that's just a taste of what lies ahead. Thanks to the help of Strava, we've selected the top five hardest climbs in the UK: Fford Penllech - Wales Hardknott Pass - England Bealach-na-Ba - Scotland Rosedale Chimney - England Trooper. It also has a very interesting motorsport history: The History of Motor Sport and the Bwlch-y-Groes is nearly as old as motorsport. "Take it easy now or you'll never make it." While our Fiets list overlaps Simons for some climbs, the 2 lists do give you a nice sense of the objective and subjective Top 10 hardest Welsh climbs. After an age on the opening steep gradient the road banks right to plateau before a brief downhill. #3 HARDEST WELSH CLIMB -BWLCH PENBARRA TO JUBILEE TOWER, Cycling Bwlch Penbarras to Jubilee Tower, Wales. Passo Stelvio, Italy. The Tyla rounds the Blorenge from Gilwern, Heading into the trees on the Wentwood Ridge climb just where it starts to get really steep. This climb is along the southeastern edge of Snowdonia National Park (established 1951 - third national park in Britain after Peak District and Lake District). Where Turn off the A896 and head east just before Tornapress. Maximum gradient: 16%. The hardest, most difficult and challenging cycling climbs in Wales are, in order of difficulty, 1. The British is named after the massive old ironworks that once dominated this area above Pontypool. 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. One of the longest climbs in South Wales, the road through the Afan Valley is generally in an upward direction from the time it leaves Port Talbot, but it's after going through Cymmer that the climb begins in earnest. These bike climbs can be viewed via google maps or by a detailed list of the climbs that can be arranged by difficulty, distance (longest climbs in Wales), altitude gained, highest elevation . The Netherlands: A trip through the lowlands. We parked at the Church in the town of Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd (try saying that TWO times fast . 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