The bottom of the Abercynafon climb - note the 20% gradient, The open countryside of the Baran Road climb, The open part of the Bedlinog climb, after leaving the village, Looking south from the climb up the Black Mountain, The profile of the Black Mountain, from Brynamman, Looking down at the upper reaches of the Black Mountain climb from Llangadog, Looking north from the top of the Black Mountain, The profile for the Black Mountain from Llangadog, The top of the British, heading out of Abersychan, Steep inclines before leaving Aberdare on the way up Maerdy Mountain, The hairpin on the climb up Maerdy Mountain from Aberdare, Descending from the Bwlch into the Afan Valley, Near the top of the Bwlch, from the Afan Valley, The profile for the climb up the Bwlch from the Afan Valley, Looking up towards the summit of the Bwlch on the way up from Treorchy, The early part of the Caerphilly Mountain climb after leaving Tongwynlais, The steepest part of the climb up Caerphilly Mountain from Tongwynlais, The profile of the climb up Caerphilly Mountain from Caerphilly, The 20% slopes of the Wenallt climb up Caerphilly Mountain, The profile of the Wenallt climb up Caerphilly Mountain, Dan Martin and Nairo Quintana lead up Caerphilly Mountain in the 2013 Tour of Britain, The final kick on the Mountain Road ascent of Caerphilly Mountain, The profile of the climb up Caerphilly Mountain from the centre of the town, The road up Cefn Bryn stretching into the distance, The higher part of the Cimla climb out of Neath, The steep and cobbled slopes of Swansea's Constitution Hill, The long stretch up to Crai reservoir from Pen y Cae, The view down from the top hairpin on the Devil's Elbow, The top section of the Gospel Pass, after the steepest parts, Climbing up alongside dry stone walls and mountain streams on Heol Lan, Looking back down the climb out of Llangattock, Looking back down from the top of Llangynidr Mountain, Llanguicke Road: Almost unimaginably steep, The views from close to the summit of Llangynidr Mountain, The climb from Llangwm towards Shirenewton, The climb to Llanwonno, shortly after leaving the houses of Graigwen Road, The forested section close to the top of the climb to Llanwonno from Pontypridd, Onto more open terrain at the top of the Maerdy Mountain, The profile of the climb up Maerdy Mountain, The Old Black Rock climb from Gilwern to Brynmawr, The relentless gradient to the top of Penrhys, One of the steepest sections of the climb up past Pontypridd Golf Club, Looking back from the top of the Pontypridd Golf Club climb, The profile for the Pontypridd Golf Club climb, The top section of the Rhigos on the north side, The profile of the Rhigos climb from Hirwaun, The profile of the Rhigos from Treherbert, Rhiwr Road is difficult from the very start, Looking back towards Monmouth shortly after leaving Mitchel Troy on the climb to Trelleck, The profile of the climb towards Trelleck from Mitchel Troy. WOW - enough said! Afon Ddu from Trefriw is the toughest ascent with a difficulty score of 621. Since that . 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. The Great Orme from Llandudno via Marine Drive, The Great Orme from Llandudno via Ty Gwyn Road. But had this happened before I hit the deck or after? 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. 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. Cyclist and spectators make their way up The Tumble and line the road as the Tour of Britain cyclist near the finish, Abergavenny. The lodge helpfully is a decent cafe stop too as it happens. Abercynafon Our first relentless climb is Abercynafon, found between Talybont-on-Usk and Pontsticill. Between bend three and four the pitch increases to a brutal 30 per cent then backs off slightly so we can recover for an instant before it kicks up again. 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. Canton Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA. Before heading out on any cycling adventure check out our. World Cycle Tours, Nutterswood Cottage, Nutters Wood, Cleeve Hill, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 3PZ, United Kingdom. Heres how it works. After all that has preceded it, the finale a set of four hairpin bends may be all too much, but fear not. Start opposite the old red telephone box, past the numerous warning signs, across the cattle grid then bend slightly left. The top few miles of the Swansea Valley take you up the steady slopes of a wide and straight main road up to the beautiful Crai Reservoir. - Subscribe to our monthly newsletter. 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. 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. Thank you for signing up! The climb up here out of Ferndale is pretty tasty too. For more epic hill climbing data, visit our Top 10 Most Epic UK and also our Top 10 Most Epic Welsh hill . The route hugs the side of the steeply sided valley, following the contours of the hillside as it heads towards the summit. The surface is rough at first and steep from the outset, but improves as you pass over a cattlegrid and approach the double hairpin. Ranking list The English name for the area derives from Snowdon, which is the highest mountain in Wales at 3560 ft (1,085 m). The wooded opening sequence and the first phases on the open hillside are where you'll really suffer. Leave the A470 at Dinas Mawddwy and head into the Afon Dyfi Valley. United Kingdom: Wales Hardest and Most Epic Hill Climbs. View epic images taken along the climbing route. We relied heavily on Simon Warrens Top UK Climbs Series in ranking and documenting UK bike climbs (https://www.100climbs.co.uk/books) - they are the Gold Standard for cycling climbing in the UK. It's not too steep to begin with but as the road bends hard left at the base of an almighty tower of rock, then the gradient increases. and climbs through roadside fields. 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. Far from any major towns, the starting point is near some very old homesteads. Dan is his normal chatty self as we hit the first ramp, our wheels getting their first taste of the ribbed and abrasive concrete surface that would do its best to hinder our progress the entire way up. Believe the hype. With this in mind, I put my eyes to work scanning the gradients ahead looking for any stretch of reprieve, no matter how short, where I can take a break from the infernal torment. 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. The British is named after the massive old ironworks that once dominated this area above Pontypool. Want the best food, film, music, arts and culture news sent straight to your inbox? Cross the cattle grid onto a long straight 7% drag that takes you into the trees. Approaching from either direction you see the radar station's "golf ball" glowing like a beacon on the top of the ridge. Our preloaded PJAMM Adventure App trip pages Wales and the UK are accessed by clicking the purple PJAMM Trips button above. "Take it easy now or you'll never make it." Anything you have read or been told about this amazing road is likely to be true. Ride two miles gaining 1,055 at 10.3% average grade. El Torneado, and 10. The traditional Snowdonia thus includes the ranges of Snowdon and its satellites, the Glyderau, the Carneddau and the Moel Siabod group. 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. We rank this monster as the #3 most difficult in Britain via the Fiets index - #2 in Wales! If there's a more brutal stretch of road anywhere in South Wales than Llanguicke Road, then it's definitely best avoided. 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. 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. 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. And Lots of them. Explore the climbing route via Google Street Views. Snowdonia (Welsh: Eryri) is a mountainous region in north west Wales and a national park of 823 square miles (2,130 km2) in area. See where the steepest portions of the climb are located by gradient group. Finish at the car park at the top of the climb. What comes next will take your breath away. of course, ride the toughest cycling climbs across the UK and Europe. The average gradient of the climb is 2.9% and the maximum gradient is 13%. From there it's a steep and tough push to reach the saddle of the pass. Constant variations in gradient make finding a rhythm a tough task and there are significant stretches in excess of 10%. La Muerte, 9. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. All rights reserved. The first 10km climbs 800m to a small Visitor Centre, via ever steepening slopes and long 12 - 15% ramps. But those who want to do climbs like Penrhys are extreme even within that bracket. Grid Ref: NY 277 027 (OS90) Length 2.52km Height gain 278m Approx climb time 15 mins, This is the greatest climb in England, this is our Mont Ventoux, it has no peers, there is no comparison: Great Dun Fell is simply unique. Below, we detail 10 of the toughest climbs in the UK, and provide links to the Strava segments to help you plan your routes. Get through this, the first of many brutal stretches, and things back off for a while before ramping up to the first of two gates.