• Burnt Hill Lane
• Length: 1.26 miles
• Avg gradient: 8.7%   Peak gradient: 14.7%
• Difficulty: 3/5
• Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 3/5
• Elevation gain: 583ft
• Strava

Jawbone Hill’s evil twin.

Starting from almost the same spot as Jawbone Hill, Burnt Hill Lane heads in the opposite direction and gives you a harder time than its more celebrated sibling.

You begin at the telephone box on Church Street, at one of Sheffield’s most dangerous junctions for cyclists (so take care on your way down)! Luckily you’re heading uphill and excess speed and momentum are not going to be troubling you much. You’re straight into it, as you head away from Oughtibridge, with a gradient fluctuating between 5 and 10%. The inconsistent gradient is a feature that Burnt Hill Lane retains for the entire climb.

Once you’ve passed the two churches the road mellows out for short period but, since there’s usually cars double parked all the way, the bigger challenge is going to be avoiding oncoming traffic or irate drivers behind you. I’ve been known to take a brief detour onto the pavement to allow cars to pass and if you do the same, since you’re going so slowly, you’ll not present a danger to any pedestrians.

The road bends to the left and the gradient picks up into double figures again, shortly passing the entrance to the excellent Wheel Lane on your right. The climb ramps up again as you pass Haggstones Road, holding around the 10% mark, and it’s here that you begin to cross into the countryside. Pedal on as the road begins to get more rural, much narrower and eventually surrounded on either side by fields. As you pass the third church of the climb, you hit the steepest 14.7% section: a blind and sharp 90° turn. Cross your fingers nothing is coming downhill!

The road eases off for about 300 metres, giving you a chance to appreciate the view, before ramping up to around 14% again, at the junction with Old Lane, a little track leading to a farm. There’s a bit of a false summit ahead but once you crown that, it’s single figures until you reach Coal Pit Lane and the end of the segment. You can either take Coal Pit Lane or continue straight on, both roads lead you to Kirk Edge Road and a couple of lovely descents.

It’s not as famous as the Cote de Oughtibridge and it’s harder but the pay off at the top is worth it. Just be careful descending, it can be quite hairy in places!