• The Dale
• Length: 2.25 miles 
• Avg gradient: 7%   Peak gradient: 12.9%
• Difficulty: 4/5
• Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 1/5
• Strava

If you’re heading back to Sheffield from Hathersage there is the small matter of how you are going to get over the massive hill between the two places.  If you’re cycling on the road you’ve got three likely choices: The Dale, Fiddler’s Elbow and Surprise View.  All three are different in character and The Dale is definitely the steepest and most challenging.  The pay-off is that it’s also the quietest.

Having ridden down The Dale many times I was well aware of how steep it is and I was not surprised to discover how equally challenging it is to climb. The reward for your efforts, however, is some absolutely stunning scenery and an extraordinary sense of accomplishment.

As you leave Hathersage towards Sheffield, turn on to School Lane and follow the road past The Scotsmans Pack where the climb begins in earnest. For the first third of a mile, as you pass various quaint houses, the gradient fluctuates around the 5% mark.  Once you’re past those, and as the road bends round to the left, the gradient dramatically jumps into the teens.  The real fight starts here as you tackle The Dale’s steepest section but do hold something in reserve as you’ve still got a way to go.

As the tree cover gives way, revealing the valley that you’re carving up through, you just need to keep your head down and keep on pushing. You will eventually reach a sweeping left turn, where the gradient drops down to single figures (its still 8-9%, don’t go thinking it’s much of a relent) and your first sighting of the majestic Higger Tor.

You are now well past the hardest section of The Dale but you do still have over half the climb to do.  Luckily, the next section to Hook’s Carr car park (marked by a cattle grid) is far more manageable and, according to Strava, even drops to 0% at one point. Use that softening to recharge your legs in preparation for your attack on the last third of the hill.

Your final blast is where it all pays off.  The climb never goes above 11.4% for the last 0.8 miles yet you are gifted some absolutely stunning views as well as being able to look down into the Hope Valley and appreciate just how well you’ve done to get where you are.

A truly stunning Peak District cycling climb.