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. (If you're cyclist in North, Mid or West Wales, we'll be preparing similar articles for your area - and there's a form at the bottom to send your suggestions). A commonly held belief is that the name is derived from eryr ("eagle"), and thus means 'the abode/land of eagles',but recent evidence is that it means quite simply Highlands, and is related to the Latin oriri (to rise) as leading Welsh scholar Sir Ifor Williams proved.The term Eryri first appeared in a manuscript in the 9th-century Historia Brittonum, in an account of the downfall of the semi-legendary 5th-century king Gwrtheyrn (Vortigern).In the Middle Ages the title Prince of Wales and Lord of Snowdonia (Tywysog Cymru ac Arglwydd Eryri) was used by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd; his grandfather Llywelyn Fawr used the title Prince of north Wales and Lord of Snowdonia.Before the boundaries of the national park were designated, "Snowdonia" was generally used to refer to a smaller area, namely the upland area of northern Gwynedd centred on the Snowdon massif, whereas the national park covers an area more than twice that size extending far to the south into Meirionnydd. Electric Mountain, 5. Climbing into the Aran Mountains on the edge of Snowdonia, its a road of outstanding beauty rough, weathered and remorselessly steep. 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. Climbs have an average length of 4.2km and 248 meters of total ascent. Where: Between Ystrad Mynach and Merthyr Tydfil. Let us know what you thought of this climb. Rising 859ft over 2.7 miles actually makes for a fairly manageable gradient most of the way up, and there's more road on which to gain altitude than it might look initially. This mini monster was brought to my attention by hill climb master and double National Champion Dan Evans after I noticed a string of expletives in his Strava feed. When you reach the open mountaintop (after 3.4 miles), the views will take your breath away. 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. Where Leave the A66 in Appleby-in-Westmorland, head north past Brampton, and left through Dufton to arrive in Knock. 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. My veins are ready to explode as I push and pull through each agonising revolution of the pedals. Finish at the car park at the top of the climb. The Shelf - 262m - 5 to 15% - 5.1km #87. One for the power climbers. Get the arrow-straight, slightly soul-destroying drag past Tower Colliery out the way and enjoy the way this climb gently curves its way across the front of the mountain. Therefore, after Bealach na Ba (UK #1 Most Epic and #4 hardest), Bwlch y Groes might be the second best bike climb in all the land. We participate in the Amazon Associates Program. Leave the A470 at Dinas Mawddwy and head into the Afon Dyfi Valley. I slump over the bars. 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 . Dan is still chatting away but Ive fallen silent - there is no space to fit words in-between breaths. Rhiwr Road (SW #197), and 10. Don't let the urban nature of this climb fool you - it's not easy. The dial might touch 10% at times here, but in reality this is a fairly gentle climb that winds gracefully up for Mitchel Troy, just outside Monmouth, to its summit close to the village of Trelleck through a pleasant mix of open fields and deciduous woodland. Most local riders know its here, we gave it the nickname the Baby Zoncolan but we all avoid it like the plague. The 1.9 mile route is memorable for its scary hairpin climb. This climb isn't for the faint-hearted. Where To find Hardknott Pass leave the A595 and head east towards Eskdale. They will help you plan, document and conquer your next adventure. Heres how it works. This is the highest paved road and hardest bike climb in Wales. These days, cyclists have it pretty much to themselves, save for the odd bit of local traffic. 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. Theres always a bigger fish. Thats what the ancient proverb says, and just when I thought Id ridden the steepest road in Britain, and put the matter of determining the country's toughest cycling climb to bed once and for all, up popped another hideous incline to further move the goalposts and redefine suffering. It's all fairly steady going as the climb starts just off the A449. 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. 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. Wrong. It is in the Aran Mountains near the south east edge of Snowdonia (The Guardian - Britains top 10 toughest cycle climbs). The 10 Hardest Bike Climbs in Wales - pjammcycling.com Epic Climbs in South Wales - Cardiff By Bike 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 . If you want the privilege of having ridden the highest paved road in Wales, you'll need to earn it. Rounding the corner I spot our photographer Andy ahead and see he isnt in position. He was in north Wales pinching some of my best KOMs so I thought he deserved some punishment. Simon Warren has published many books on cycling climbing in the UK (e.g. Cycling climbs: UK's top 5 road climbs - Red Bull We participate in the Amazon Associates Program. 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. 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. After an age on the opening steep gradient the road banks right to plateau before a brief downhill. Plus detailed bike, kit and accessory reviews from the experts. Luckily for us the rain was holding on our expedition. Its gradient maxes out at 37 percent, with an . 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. From bend two the road swings left, kicks up then eases back to rumble across a cattle grid and so far, so pretty ordinary but then, up ahead the road arcs away to the right and here it begins to look serious. It starts steep from the village of Clydach and beats you up for a whole mile before easing just a touch. Up and up, and then mercifully dipping, or is it just levelling? View epic images taken along the climbing route. When we reached this last hairpin though his jaw hit the floor, he recalls. How many have you ridden? Learn More ALL TRIPS Where Leave the A470 at Dinas Mawddwy and head north east towards Aber-Cywarch. The climb begins as we pass a set of old farm buildings on the left. The beautiful landscape of the Brecon Beacons. Cobbled and super-steep, the infamous Constitution Hill might be less than a quarter of a mile long, but it's more reminiscent of a Belgian berg than a Welsh hill. We have had the great fortune of documenting the most epic and hardest climbs in Wales in both 2018 and 2022. It starts from the village of Porlock and climbs an average of 10% gradient towards the top of Exmoor. Scroll down the page to access the full Top 10 Welsh Bike Climbs on the Map below (or switch to "Table" for a detailed list). 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. Ride two miles gaining 1,055 at 10.3% average grade. 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. Through a second gate it's easy for a while then bending right once again it's leg-breakingly tough to the finish at the station, where, looking around you, you might as well be on top of the world. The Most Challenging Climbs in South Wales, West Sicily: A Journey Through Ancient Culture & History, Wales: Cycling From The Border To The Brecon Beacons, Sweden: The Kattegattleden & Halland Coast. Once the gradient kicks in it just gets steeper and steeper, 20% past the last of the houses, then the fun really starts. TOP 3 HARDEST BIKE CLIMBS IN WALES (SIMON WARREN). ranks this as the hardest climb in Wales and he will get no argument from us on that front! And yet it's easy to forget that it's also one of the toughest. 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. Two miles up a main road at between 4% and 6% might sound easy, but that just depends on how fast you're going. and climbs through roadside fields. Where: Heading north out of Nantymoel in the Ogmore Valley. The second set of switchbacks are steeper still, and these now 30% slopes will have you straining every sinew as your front wheel desperately searches for a kinder gradient and weaves all over the road fighting to stay upright. Where Turn off the A896 and head east just before Tornapress. The traditional Snowdonia thus includes the ranges of Snowdon and its satellites, the Glyderau, the Carneddau and the Moel Siabod group. Signup for our. #3 HARDEST WELSH CLIMB -BWLCH PENBARRA TO JUBILEE TOWER, Cycling Bwlch Penbarras to Jubilee Tower, Wales. Follow the base of the ridge until you reach Asterton then turn right past the post box and head up. List of - 100 Climbs Total climbing: 21,293m over 322.75km. 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. The average gradient of the climb is 2.9% and the maximum gradient is 13%. 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. | 26 regions. Wales is a wonderful country with great people, extraordinary scenery and EPIC bike climbs!! WOW - enough said! 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. Since that first book, he's added 11 more, as well Ride Britain which showcases 40 inspirational road cycling routes. 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. We've collected 37 of the hardest, most beautiful, steepest, highest and longest climbs in South Wales. As I force round this wicked right-hander, bend three, the pale, rugged and debris-strewn surface rises up like a wall through the trees. This climb is along the southeastern edge of Snowdonia National Park (established 1951 - third national park in Britain after Peak District and Lake District). Top 100 #86. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. 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 climb goes up a ridge to a small parking lot, where we saw two other cyclists. Far from any major towns, the starting point is near some very old homesteads. is the highest tarmacked pass in Wales (, Also known as Hellfire Pass, Bwich-Y-Groes is the highest paved road in Wales. Now very narrow and lined with snow poles, the climb is so well surfaced it resembles a two-metre-wide carpet. The surface, just wide enough for a single car, is smooth at the edges but little more than gravel and moss in the centre. 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. But its trajectory means that the damage is done on the brutally steep lower slopes. The steep, consistent gradient hovers around 15% all the way, making it one of the most challenging climbs in South Wales. The bike climbs we have documented are in the slideshow above. 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. A headwind, on the other hand, and it can be a real grind. 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. - Subscribe to our monthly newsletter. The photos in the collage at the top of this page are of PJAMMs Top 10 Hardest per the Fiets Index. Have we found Britian's steepest cycling climb | Cycling Weekly If you have any information regarding this climb, we'd like to hear from you. We rank this monster as the #3 most difficult in Britain via the Fiets index - #2 in Wales! Favourite cycling climbs in North Wales 1 - Pen-y-Pass aka Llanberis Pass Pen Y Pass Profile. Heading up the Blorenge from the other side, the climb gains slightly less altitude in slightly greater distance. Pozza San Glisente (Dos dell'Asino), 8. The northern ascent of the Black has a very different character to its southern counterpart. Browse all of our prepackaged trips and find your next adventure! My bike is creaking. Select a portion of the route to retrieve climb & profile data for that segment. As Eryri (see above), this area has a unique place in Welsh history, tradition and culture. The Hardest Climbs - The Steepest Roads in the World Bikes & Gear Health & Nutrition Training Repair Exclusives Subscribe Sign In 1 Five Black Women Who Rode From NYC to DCin 1928 2 18 Best. The 10 hardest hill climbs in Wales can be viewed on this page via the map (zoom in to view climbs in particular areas), by Climb Cards (photo and stats) or by a detailed list of the climbs that can be arranged in metric or imperial units by difficulty, distance (longest climbs in the area), altitude gained, highest elevation (highest summit), average grade (sort the grades by varying distances), lowest start point, etc. Bwlch Penbarra (SW #88), 9. Best cycling climbs Europe: Top 10 hardest routes - Red Bull The distinctive remnants of an ancient quarry indicate the summit. 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. Best time to cycle J F M A M J J A S O N D Ranking list Wales Difficulty points Gradient Length Total ascent United Kingdom: England's Hardest and Most Epic Hill Climbs, United Kingdom: Hardest and Epic Bike Climbs, United Kingdom: Scotland's Hardest and Most Epic Hill Climbs. The Most Challenging Climbs in South Wales - World Cycle Tours 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. 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. Have you tackled the toughest climb in your region? 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. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. But amongst the legendary Welsh valleys, beaches and mountains found in the south of the country, where can you find the most challenging climbs on two wheels? A flat lakeside hairpin two thirds of the way up should give you the slingshot needed for the last push, with the road cutting through rock on its final approach to the summit. It's a very tough mile though, averaging somewhere around 9% as it cuts its way up the side of Maerdy Mountain. If you were measuring the steepest, hardest, highest or longest climbs in South Wales, this wouldn't be anywhere near it. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. "Cycling in south Wales is a completely different story. We completed this jewel in August 2018 and because it is so epic, came back for a second go in June 2022. Sign up with your email address to receive offers, news and updates. Its so incredibly steep that even 10 seconds of going too hard early on and youll blow it, you really have to measure it just right., Dan Jones's climbing prowess and local knowledge showing on the steeper sections of Abdon Ddu. Weve been crawling skyward for about two minutes, covering just 250m of tarmac as we round bend three. Named after the huge old ironworks that once dominated this hillside above Pontypool, there's little to suggest the majesty of this climb's top section when you turn onto its lower slopes off the A4043 through Abersychan. If someone built it we will damn well try and ride it, even if it means falling on our ass because. And don't even think about putting a foot down - you'll never get started again. 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. Baran Road is arguably the most beautiful of all the tough climbs were listing here. Baniamr Aquabah Pass, 6. 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.
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