The United Kingdom is, rather famously, chock-a-block full of hills. Some are steep. Some are long. Some are straight and others are windy. Many are extremely scenic - and most are tough to get up on a bicycle.
If you’re cycling mad, steep hill climbs will have a special place in your heart.
That’s very much the case for Simon Warren - arguably more so than for anyone else in the UK - given that he has not one or two but 15 books about cycling up hills. That includes his first book, The 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs in Britain, a sequel entitled Another 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs, also set in Britain, and then a whole box set of similarly aligned books, outlining the best cycling climbs in various regions of the UK, from the southwest and southeast up to Scotland.
It took me three attempts to get up it. It breaks most people. It is so steep, you scream.
“The first book was based on hills that are used in bike races,” Simon says. “They’re hills that are well known for caravans breaking down on them or having triple chevrons on the OS map. Hills with a reputation. For the second book and the regional guides, I had to research a bit more.”
When we suggest to Simon that he must have been up every hill in Britain at this point, he laughs - “it’s getting close!”
We recently caught up with Warren, and as well as getting his tips for how to cycle up hills properly, we asked for some tips on where to visit next. Specifically, we asked him to pick one climb for us from Scotland, England and Wales - plus the toughest cycling climb in Great Britain.
“These are three, real killer roads,” says Simon.
The Best Cycling Climb in England: Newlands Pass, Lake District
“My favourite English climb is Newlands Pass in the Lake District, from Buttermere,” says Simon. “It goes from Buttermere over to the base of the Whinlatter Pass.”
This climb is 1.18 miles (1.9km) long with an average gradient of 10.3%, though the steepest 100m stretch reaches a gradient of 18%. The route has 200 metres (600ft) of ascent, with the steepest sections coming at the start and, unfortunately, at the end of the route. It’s a climb which features on the Fred Whitton Challenge - an 112 mile (180km) charity cycle race in the Lake District. The lapping hills, high valley walls and waterfalls make it an unforgettable ride.
“It is just beautiful,” he says. “It’s pure, grandiose scenery, with a really steep narrow road that cuts through the hillside. That’s my favourite English climb.”
The Best Cycling Climb in Scotland: The Radar Station, Lowther Hill
“Up in Scotland, it’s not Bealach na Bà - it’s not one of the most famous ones. I always say the climb to the radar station on Lowther Hill,” says Simon.
This is the highest tarmac road that it’s possible to cycle in Scotland, and it’s not in the Highlands but in the south of the country, in Dumfries and Galloway.
“You start at the Mennock Pass to Wanlockhead, which is the highest village in Scotland. From there you turn onto the Gating Road and it's a road up to the radar station with no cars going up it. It’s car free and the views up there are spectacular. That’s my favourite Scottish one.”
This route takes you from Wanlockhead at 467m (1,532ft) to the NATS radar station at 725m (2,378ft), where you’ll find a huge golf-ball shaped installation which protects the radars from bad weather. Make no mistake, this ascent is tough, but you’ll be looking out over hills and heather as far as the eye can see.
The climb is 9.8 miles (15.8km), with an average gradient of 2.9%, and a max of 12.8%, including a continuous mile around 10.7% as you near the summit.
The Best Cycling Climb in Wales: Stwlan Dam, Snowdonia
“As for Wales, there are numerous, but I think it’s the Stwlan Dam,” says Warren.
The dam is in Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park in North Wales, at the foot of Moelwyn Mawr, a 770m (2,530ft) peak which is the high point of the area, and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
“There’s a road that goes up there which is just packed with hairpins. Again, it’s on a road closed to cars, with access for walkers and cyclists, and it finishes at a dam. It's in Snowdonia and it's just simply magnificent.”
The full climb is roughly two miles (3.2km). The average gradient is 9.9%, maxing out at around 18.4%. This is a steep, unrelenting climb, and the higher you get, the more challenging the pedalling. In return, expect far-reaching, rugged, rocky views back over Snowdonia, and a joyous descent.
”It's just this jumble of hairpins at the top - the likes of which we haven't really got anything else in the British Isles.” These hairpins make this perhaps the most visually striking climb in the UK - an alpine road, transported to Wales.
The Toughest Cycling Climb in Great Britain: Bamford Clough, Peak District
“The hardest climb in the UK is one that only came onto the radar a couple of years ago,” says Simon. “It’s a tiny road called Bamford Clough - out of a village called Bamford in Derbyshire. So again, right on my doorstep. It was a dirt track and a rubble track for years and they used to race motorbikes up it, because it was so incredibly steep - they used it for time trials.
These are ones that you really have to pluck up the courage to ride.
“There's an electricity sub-station halfway up and the Land Rovers had to go and do work on it, but they were struggling so much that they decided to pave it. So once they paved it, of course, now it was a challenge for cyclists.”
The road reaches remarkable (read: terrifying, nightmare-inducing, leg-destroying) gradients of 36.5% at times. “Literally, it took me three attempts to get up it,” says Simon. “It breaks most people. It is so steep, you scream.”
Starting from the picturesque town of Bamford in the Peak District, this road quickly ramps up to a gradient of 15%, then keeps going. You’ll reach 20% and soon enough - pass the 30% mark.
If you somehow manage to make it up the hill, the views from the top are splendid, looking over the quaint town and the trees, hills and farms sprawling beyond.
“There's other famous hard climbs, like Hardknott Pass, Rosedale Chimney and The Lecht up in Scotland. That's a brutal one,” says Warren. “There's also another little one in Wales [Ffordd Pen Llech] that goes up to nearly 40%. These are ones that you really have to pluck up the courage to ride.”
Inspired? Check out our full range of cycling holidays now!