{"id":40848,"date":"2024-10-11T17:15:36","date_gmt":"2024-10-11T15:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/5a87807b-0075-414d-b269-a441731c64a1"},"modified":"2024-10-11T18:26:39","modified_gmt":"2024-10-11T16:26:39","slug":"britains-6-steepest-roads-including-a-contender-for-the-worlds-steepest-beautiful-scenic-routes-that-are-definitely-not-for-the-faint-hearted","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/britains-6-steepest-roads-including-a-contender-for-the-worlds-steepest-beautiful-scenic-routes-that-are-definitely-not-for-the-faint-hearted\/","title":{"rendered":"Britain’s 6 steepest roads, including a contender for the world’s steepest: Beautiful scenic routes that are definitely not for the faint-hearted"},"content":{"rendered":"

Simon Heptinstall weighs up the contenders for Britain’s steepest roads, including one that claims to be the world’s steepest <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Friday, 11 October 2024 at 15:15 PM<\/p>

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As paved relics of pre-car paths, Britain has some of the world\u2019s steepest roads. Here are six white-knuckle drives though dramatic scenery.<\/strong><\/p>

Britain’s steepest roads <\/h2>
Applecross Pass, Scotland<\/strong><\/h2>
Stefan Krause, Germany, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>
<\/strong>The winding mountain pass widely known by its Gaelic name, Bealach na Ba (\u2018pass of the cattle\u2019) is one of the UK\u2019s highest, most spectacular drives. It\u2019s often called our steepest road \u2013 but that only refers to its total elevation, from sea level to 626m (2,054ft) in 6km (3.7 miles).<\/p>
Discover Britain’s most scenic country roads<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
Yes, it goes upwards for what seems like forever but, in terms of actual gradient, never inclines more than 20%. This single-track road is a beauty though, offering an array of lochs, islands, inlets and mountains with ample laybys to admire views and catch your breath.<\/p>
Cheddar Gorge, Somerset<\/h3>
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Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
<\/strong>There\u2019s good reason locals call this stretch of the B3135 \u2018The Cliffs\u2019. As the road leaves the cheese- making village of Cheddar, it winds for three miles up through our deepest gorge.<\/p>
As the road leaves the cheese- making village of Cheddar, it winds for three miles up through our deepest gorge.<\/p>
Between gentle Somerset Levels<\/a> and the bleak Mendip plateau, this is one of Britain\u2019s most dramatic roads, twisting between vertical 140m (450ft) limestone crags that block out the sun. The steepest part, in the heart of the gorge, reaches a gradient of 12% \u2013 but the drama of the rock ramparts around you makes it seem steeper.<\/p>
Walk: Cheddar Gorge, Somerset<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
Bamford Clough, Peak District<\/strong><\/h3>
<\/div><\/figure><p>This leafy lane to Bamford Crag climbing cliff certainly gets climbers in the mood for heights. It\u2019s a breathtakingly unrelenting slope. The Clough used to be a little-known rocky track but was recently properly tarmacked by Derbyshire Council \u2013 and given a bizarrely inappropriate speed derestriction sign. The lane now offers drivers a route to reach wonderful views across Derwent Valley. <\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/go-outdoors\/walks\/best-walks-in-the-peak-district\">Best walks in the Peak District<\/a><\/li><\/ul><p>But social media was soon buzzing with claims that the new road could now be the world\u2019s steepest. This prompted an enthusiastic YouTuber to film himself measuring one section, while hill cyclists have been attempting the climb too \u2013 at a dizzy, world-beating 37% gradient.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Porlock Hill, Somerset <\/strong><\/h3><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"408\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2024\/10\/Porlock-Hill-Somerset.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-194223\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">By Stephen McKay, CC BY-SA 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=9148840<\/figcaption><\/figure><p><strong><br\/><\/strong>With picturesque <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/uk-travel\/holiday-ideas\/exmoor-national-park-guide-where-to-go-places-to-stay-and-best-walks\">Exmoor<\/a> views, this is one of our best-known hills. This part of the A39 \u2018Atlantic Highway\u2019 has an official average ascent of just 9%, but at one point a sign warns of a one-in-four section (25%). Whatever the gradient, Porlock is definitely our steepest A-road. Escape lanes and a toll- charging bypass aim to pacify nervous drivers, who should also avoid Porlock Museum, which displays photos of the many past accidents on the hill.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/go-outdoors\/walks\/best-walks-in-exmoor-national-park\">Best walks in Exmoor National Park<\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hardknott Pass, Lake District<\/h3><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2121\" height=\"1414\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2024\/10\/Hardknott-Pass-Lake-District.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-194224\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>Some officials have called for this road to be closed because it catches many tourists unawares. Gentle Lakeland drives are suddenly interrupted by signs warning: \u2018Narrow road. Severe bends.\u2019 By then it\u2019s too late; there\u2019s no other route. Whatever you think of the abrupt sequence of one-in-three hairpins, the views are incredible. It rises from pretty scenery to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/go-outdoors\/historic-places\/guide-to-roman-britain-how-long-did-the-roman-occupation-last-and-how-did-they-change-britain\">Roman<\/a> mountain fort, often in the clouds. The final crumbling cliff of road, peaking at around 33%, is where drivers reach down to change gear \u2013 to find they\u2019re already in first. The \u2018unsuitable for caravans\u2019 sign seems a severe understatement.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Hardknott Pass\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BkitIRo4LrQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Rosedale Chimney Bank, North Yorkshire<\/strong><\/h3><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2024\/10\/Rosedale-Chimney-Bank-North-Yorkshire.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-194225\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">By colin grice, CC BY-SA 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=13184225<\/figcaption><\/figure><p><strong><br\/><\/strong>As you approach this hill, drivers are warned: \u2018Dangerous hill, engage low gear now\u2019. With an average gradient of 13%, peaking at a scary 33%, this moorland road links the windswept <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/go-outdoors\/days-out\/guide-north-york-moors-eat-drink-walk-stay\">North York Moors<\/a> National Park and the cleft containing the pretty village of Rosedale Abbey via a tortuous zigzag. <\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/go-outdoors\/walks\/best-walks-in-the-north-york-moors\">Best walks in the North York Moors National Park<\/a><\/li><\/ul><p>If there wasn\u2019t lots of braking, gear-changing and arm-twirling steering involved, drivers would see wonderful views of patchwork hills and intriguing remains of Victorian iron ore mines.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Simon Heptinstall weighs up the contenders for Britain’s steepest roads, including one that claims to be the world’s steepest <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":40849,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/10\/britains-6-steepest-roads-including-a-contender-for-the-worlds-steepest-beautiful-scenic-routes-that-are-definitely-not-for-the-faint-hearted.jpg",2122,1412,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/10\/britains-6-steepest-roads-including-a-contender-for-the-worlds-steepest-beautiful-scenic-routes-that-are-definitely-not-for-the-faint-hearted-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/10\/britains-6-steepest-roads-including-a-contender-for-the-worlds-steepest-beautiful-scenic-routes-that-are-definitely-not-for-the-faint-hearted-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/10\/britains-6-steepest-roads-including-a-contender-for-the-worlds-steepest-beautiful-scenic-routes-that-are-definitely-not-for-the-faint-hearted-768x511.jpg",768,511,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/10\/britains-6-steepest-roads-including-a-contender-for-the-worlds-steepest-beautiful-scenic-routes-that-are-definitely-not-for-the-faint-hearted-1024x681.jpg",800,532,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/10\/britains-6-steepest-roads-including-a-contender-for-the-worlds-steepest-beautiful-scenic-routes-that-are-definitely-not-for-the-faint-hearted-1536x1022.jpg",1536,1022,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/10\/britains-6-steepest-roads-including-a-contender-for-the-worlds-steepest-beautiful-scenic-routes-that-are-definitely-not-for-the-faint-hearted-2048x1363.jpg",2048,1363,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Simon Heptinstall weighs up the contenders for Britain's steepest roads, including one that claims to be the world's steepest","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/40848"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}