Tag: 4/5

Pea Royd Lane

  • Pea Royd Lane
  • Length: 0.72 miles
  • Avg gradient: 12.5%
  • Peak gradient: 17.1%
  • Difficulty: 4/5
  • Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 1/5
  • Elevation gain: 476ft
  • Strava

Is it really only 0.72 miles?

Pea Royd Lane is a fairly well known road, having been used for many hill climb races including the National Championships, so I’m sure there are far more authoritative and informative descriptions of this notorious cycle elsewhere on the internet but, since you’re here, make yourself comfortable.

This climb begins before you even get to the start of Pea Royd Lane, requiring you to cycle for 0.2 miles up Hunshelf Road, at a not insignificant 7.7% average. Once you’re past the factories and the view begins to open out over Stocksbridge, you’ll see Croft House on your left and a switchback on your right: the beginning of Pea Royd Lane proper.

In Simon Warren’s 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs he says ‘the surface is terrible and gets worse’ but I think the road must have been resurfaced since then as it’s not too bad now, not that that makes the road any less steep. This section, up to the bridge, involves some of the steepest climbing, with the incline hovering around the upper teens, briefly breaking 20%.

You’re given a short relent crossing the bridge but the hill is soon back to 15-16% on the approach to the next switchback. Take the bend as wide as you can (it is a quiet road but it’s not devoid of all traffic) and grab a look over your shoulder to appreciate how high you have come out of Stocksbridge. You’re now climbing at around 13-14% for 100 metres or so but this is the part I always find hardest as the end is still hiding from view.

The road shallows slightly as you pass a farm before picking right back up as you finally approach the apex, signified by black rocks jutting out of the hillside and which is hiding just around the corner.

Surely it was longer than 0.72 miles, right?

Pindale

  • Pindale
  • Length: 2.45 miles
  • Avg gradient: 5.9% (although it’s 10.5% if you start at the switchback)
  • Peak gradient: 17.5%
  • Difficulty: 4/5
  • Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 1/5
  • Elevation gain: 772ft
  • Strava

Hard as cement.

As you travel around the Hope Valley you can’t escape the extraordinarily ugly cement works that sit, like a festering scar, bang in the middle of the valley. How they ever got beyond planning permission, is a mystery. However, there is a lively, little known climb that snakes around the works’ back that makes it worth venturing over there.

Most of the segments around here commence in Castleton but it seems more appropriate somehow to start at the entrance to the cement works themselves. It’s a very gentle start as you leave the industrial monstrosity behind, along a singletrack road with a beautiful view of the Hope Valley and past a campsite. The gradient is creeping up from 5% to about 10% as you take the first sweeping bend to the right and the road surface starts to worsen.

Around the corner and you’re into low-medium double figures as the climb begins and the valley opens up below you. After about 300 metres of climb, however, the road drops away into a speedy descent but take care as the surface is awful and also probably covered in detritus.

When you reach the junction, take the sharp left up the hill, through the tree-tunnel, where the climb really begins. It’s pretty much straight into a 20% incline for about 300 metres before a short level-off as the road bends left. Recharge and prepare for the jewel in this climb: the sweeping bend as the trees drop away and the expansive vista of the Hope Valley opens below you, right in the middle of which is the pig-ugly, brutalist cement works. I’ve got different readings but I think the incline around the corner is about 15% but totally worth it. As you switchback, take a moment to enjoy the sight of Mam Tor and Loose Hill in the distance, but don’t forget that you’re far from done with the climb.

As the gradient drops to a more manageable 5% it may look like you’re approaching the top, but it’s just the first of a couple of false summits before the end. There’s a slight increase in steepness as you wiggle up the road, but nothing that feels insurmountable and it is now more of a psychological battle, as, having tackled the hardest section, the pesky hill just keeps going at 8%, with no end in sight.

It continues in this vain for about 3/4 of a mile, across exposed exposed moorland, skirting the top of the cement works quarry, before, finally, finally, you reach the top, marked by a drystone wall line and what was presumably, once a gate.

Woodfall Lane & Côte de Bradfield

  • Woodfall Lane & Côte de Bradfield
  • Length: 1.71 miles
  • Avg gradient: 10.1%
  • Peak gradient: 23%
  • Difficulty: 4/5
  • Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 2/5
  • Elevation gain: 633ft
  • Strava

The Tour de France section is the easy bit.

If you want to get from Low Bradfield to High Bradfield, unsurprisingly, it’s going to involve some climbing. The second half of this climb was one of the final climbs in Stage 2 of the 2014 Tour de France but, you’ll be glad to hear, the first section is much harder.

You begin in earnest in the quintessentially English village of Low Bradfield, with the cricket pitch behind you and the Post Office to your right (is that Mrs Goggins serving in there?). The start of the climb isn’t too foreboding at a steady 7% as it begins the ascent past houses and farm buildings towards the trees.

As you pass Smallfield Lane, you’ll notice a gradient increase into double figures, hitting the low 20s as the road wiggles under tree cover, soon hitting one of the most challenging bits of the climb. Photos of this section never capture how steep it really is. As you make it up a mild S-bend there is a bench to aim for (I had a sit down here the first time I attempted this hill) that I use as a mental marker for the climb easing off slightly (but only by about 5%). It’s relatively safe to zig-zag across the road here, if it helps, as most descending traffic is taking it cautiously and most ascending traffic is having as much difficultly getting up as you.

Once you’re around the right hand bend, you’ve got the (relative) ease of a section of 10-14%, so ease the pressure off the legs a bit before tackling the steep approach to the Old Horns Inn. There is a Strava segment saying that this bit is 31%, which I think is wrong but worth baring in mind for showing off to people who aren’t familiar with the road.

I think it is perfectly acceptable to take a couple of turns around the pub car park to get your breath back and legitimately claim that you didn’t stop on the climb before you tackle the ‘Côte de Bradfield’.  Make sure Loxley Road is clear before crossing over on to Kirk Edge Road, where there’s a sign with some key stats, signifying the start of the Tour de France section. Although you have conquered the worst of this climb, the first blind bend in this section is a killer, just touching 20%, but feels harder as you need to stay on the inside to avoid any traffic coming the other way.

The landscape opens up here, with farmland stretching in all directions and you appreciate the 400 feet that you’ve already climbed. The remainder of the road is a steady, fairly straight climb, fluctuating around 10% (you might notice the occasional bit of faded Tour graffiti a la ‘Va Va Froome’ along the way) but feels harder because of what you’ve already achieved. Strava says the very end is only 13% but I’m sure it spikes closer to 20%. The first couple of times I did this hill, a sneaky little tailwind appeared just in time to push me to the summit. I hope you’re as fortunate as I was.

The reward for your efforts is one of the most fun, fast descents in the area. At almost 2 miles before you meet a junction, although slightly bumpy in places, riding down Kirk Edge Road makes the climb up Woodfall Lane and and the Côte de Bradfield worth the suffering.

Cobnar Road

  • Cobnar Road
  • Length: 0.31 miles
  • Avg gradient: 13.5%   Peak gradient: 30ish%(!)*
  • Difficulty: 4/5
  • Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 1/5
  • Elevation gain: 226ft
  • Strava

An utterly deceptive beast.

Cobnar Road is a residential street that begins innocently enough but it is truly lulling you into a false sense of security.

‘What’s going on here? This doesn’t seem too challenging and the gradient is only in single figures,’ you’ll think as you start the climb. Fair enough, Cobnar Road does begin unremarkably enough but what you might not notice straight away is how it gets progressively steeper, the further you progress.

When you pass Bingham Road, you might sense that the hill has sneaked into low double figures but nothing noteworthy. However, another 50 metres or so, at the junction with Wellcar Road and the ‘dead end’ road sign, the gradient suddenly spikes into the teens. It’s at this point that you realise how the start of the climb tricked you.

Looking up, all you can see the rising tarmac and what looks like an impenetrable wall of trees. Dig in here as the worst is yet to come. Luckily the road is fairly wide and quiet, so you’ve got wiggle room and few hazards as you wind your way up the hill. This is where the fun starts.

Keep your momentum and switch on to what looks like a footpath (it’s not labelled as such, so you’re not breaking any rules by cycling up it). The narrow path (featuring a handy handrail) disappears around a blind corner – so you’ll have to hope that you’re not going to meet anyone walking down the opposite direction – and ramps up to a gradient of 17 – 18%. It’s only for 100m or so but, because of the path’s width and probably being slippery with leaves, there’s no room for mistakes. The last time I did it, I very nearly came off the tarmac and into the little ditch next to the path.

I seriously put Cobnar Road on a par with Hagg Hill, which is the bar against which I judge all other hills. So, if you get to the top without stopping, take a moment to get your breath back and congratulate yourself on, not only defeating such a cheeky beast of a climb but probably one of the most challenging hills in Sheffield.

*GPS coverage is a bit wonky under the trees at the top, with both Strava and Veloviewer saying an incline of almost 40%. That seems excessive but I wouldn’t be surprised if it does briefly break 30% at the end.

Fiddler’s Elbow

  • Fiddler’s Elbow
  • Length: 1.62 miles
  • Avg gradient: 7%   Peak gradient: 9.7%
  • Difficulty: 4/5
  • Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 2/5
  • Elevation gain: 562ft
  • Strava

A never too demanding climb with some lovely views, Fiddler’s Elbow is probably your best option to get from Hathersage to Sheffield. It’s easier than The Dale, has far fewer motorists than Surprise View, and remains a satisfying challenge.

Although the 1.62 mile climb officially begins at the turning for Ringinglow, off the A6167 out of Hathersage, if you’re coming from that direction, you have to ride up a mile of at what seems far tougher than the 5% that my calculator says it is. It’s probably because it’s such a busy road that it feels harder than it really is. Whatever the reason, when you see the turning for Ringinglow it comes as a bit of relief. Short lived relief before the real climb begins, admittedly, but relief none the less.

As you leave the busy road behind and pass the farmhouse on your right you are straight into this one. Strava reckons this is 15% but that’s not right, Veloviewer gives it a much more plausible 8%, which sets the tone for the rest of the climb. Shortly the trees on your right give way to the moors, the view opens out, and in the distance you can see the rocky outcrop of Callow Bank, which gives you a rough target to aim for.

The road continues in a fairly straight line, meeting a slight curve at the 0.3 mile mark but the gradient plods on, holding steady between 6 and 8%. Once you’re around the curve, the fields’ terrain begins to rise on your right and drop away on your left and you begin the first sweeping right-hand bend. It’s here that you’ll get your first proper glimpse of Higger Tor, where your climb will conclude.

Before then, you have to find your way up what, I assume, is the ‘fiddler’s elbow’ that gives the road its name. Briefly touching 8.5%, this dent in an otherwise fairly straight line gifts you an absolutely fantastic view over the Hope Valley. You’re now over halfway (and fairly level with Callow Bank) so just keep plodding on towards the apex, which feels like it should be around the next bend or just up a little bit more but seems to never quite be there.

When you finally see the parking spaces, however, you’re pretty much there. It’s as good as flat for the last 0.2 miles until you reach the cattle grid and can take a breather. Of course, if you’re after some fun, just turn 180° and experience one of the area’s most enjoyable descents.

Jenkin Road

  • Jenkin Road
  • Length: 0.52 miles
  • Avg gradient: 11%
  • Peak gradient: 17.2% (the sign at the bottom says 33% but I don’t believe that)
  • Difficulty: 4/5
  • Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 3/5
  • Elevation gain: 310 ft
  • Strava

Something special for the 25th hill on sheffieldcyclingclimbs.com.

Many of Sheffield’s hills are fairly anonymous, some have a little local notoriety and some have enough of a reputation to feature in the Tour de France. Jenkin Road (or the Côte de Wincobank Hill as it was renamed for The Grande Départ in 2014) is one of those hills.

As a result of its reputation, I’d been putting off attempting this climb for some time but finally relented during lockdown, figuring that I’d be delaying fewer cars as I plodded upwards. The fact that I do every climb at least twice (once to do the climb and a second time to take photos) just added to the trepidation.

Starting from the junction with Holywell Road, you’re already at a disadvantage, having had to stop at the crossroads and therefore beginning from a standing start. It’s here that the sign, commemorating Jenkin Road’s role in the 2014 Tour, is placed. It states that the average gradient is a perfectly acceptable 11% but the maximum gradient is a formidable 33%. I think that’s an exaggeration and Strava and Veloviewer both agree, putting the peak gradient closer to 16.8%. Jenkin Road’s steepest segment is slightly wiggly, so maybe in a straight line it’s closer to 33%.

The hill begins at a fairly standard 10% as it stretches ahead of of you. With houses, playing fields and a church, there’s not much yet to mark this climb as distinct from the likes of Mertyle Road but, just after you pass the church, the road curves to the right, the gradient ramps up and, ahead of you, you can see why the hill made it into the Tour.

The road turns into a little S-bend here and the gradient hits 17.2% as it wiggles back and forth. Do your best here and don’t worry too much about any vehicles behind you, they’re as likely struggling up as much as you. As the hill relents a bit, down to about 12% as you pass Ridge View Road on your right, take a moment to regain a bit of strength (and have a look at the view behind you if you can) because you only about half way there.

You’ll shortly reach a sweeping switchback, which starts easily enough but its a bit deceptive and you’ll notice the extra couple of percentage points on the gradient here. However, once you’re round the bend with Wincobank Common on your right, it’s the home stretch, even dropping down to a meagre 4.5% around the next corner. Once you’ve done that, you can see the final 9.5% hump approaching and shortly you’ll be at the top.  Well done.

You can see the pros on the 2014 Tour, climbing up the wiggly bit, below.

Now go and put on your yellow jersey and pretend you’ve just won the Tour De France.

Highcliffe Road

  • Highcliffe Road
  • Length: 0.39 miles
  • Avg gradient: 13%   Peak gradient: 20.6%
  • Difficulty: 4/5
  • Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 5/5
  • Elevation gain: 274 ft
  • Strava

To cut to the chase, this is not a pleasant climb. There’s always parked cars reducing the carriageway width, it’s not picturesque and you’re going to encounter at least one obnoxious motorist on your way up. However, getting to the top is a great achievement.

I’ll be honest , I’ve only ridden up this hill twice: once at 9.30am on New Years Day, the other during the coronavirus lockdown. Both of those times I knew that it would be quiet enough to do without too much trouble. At any normal time however, you are going to get an impatient driver up your backside or attempt an uphill close pass. Be warned.

The climb begins as the road crosses the Porter Brook (much the same as Woodcliffe) and begins a steep S-bend. If you’re not on a road bike, you could avoid the carriageway and instead ride alongside the steps in the park. Be aware however, that’s actually steeper than the road itself. The Strava segment’s recording is a bit skew-whiff here but it probably averages about 10-12% on this bit, up to the junction with Greystones Road.

After that, the road can get clogged with parked cars, so there is nowhere for vehicles behind you to pass safely before the blind bend ahead. Be prepared to annoy some people as you slowly grind up this tree-lined section, which briefly pops above 20%.

On the approach to the Highcliffe Drive junction the gradient does begin to reduce slightly but still remains in double figures. You can, at last, see the end of the climb though. You’ll find that all the vehicles are now parked on the opposite side of the road, creating a bit of a slalom for the line of traffic coming downhill. This is the one time it might be acceptable to ride on the pavement, if only to avoid the dirty stares from people waiting in their cars. Shortly after this you’ll be at the top of the hill, so well done for that but there are so many nicer hills to climb in the city. Go and find one of them instead.

Curbar Edge

  • Length: 1.1 miles
  • Avg gradient: 10%   Peak gradient: 15.2%
  • Difficulty: 4/5
  • Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 1/5
  • Elevation gain: 598 ft
  • Strava

There is pretty much nothing that I can say about Curbar Edge that hasn’t already been said in greater detail and with more authority elsewhere, not least Simon Warren’s 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs and James Allen’s 50 Classic Cycle Climbs but as it is what I’d consider a headline hill, it would be remiss of me to not include it here.

I’d driven up to Curbar Gap many times before, heading for family walks along the edge, so I was familiar with the hill, its two sweeping bends and the towering gritstone rocks that give the hill its character. It’s an even more impressive climb when you’re on a bike.

You start in the village of Curbar itself, next to All Saint’s Church, and it’s from here that you head up the innocuous looking Curbar Lane. As you pass The Old Vicarage on your right, the gradient is immediately into double figures, reaching 14.5% as the road bends to the right. This is the steepest section of the whole climb, which is a good thought to keep in mind as you progress up the hill, eventually passing a red telephone box at a crossroads.

The climb now drops to a more pleasant 6-7% for a straight section, lined with rather nice looking houses with big gardens. You’ve pretty much reached the halfway mark when you pass the national speed limit sign, which sees the gradient return to around 10-11% and, more impressively, the countryside open up and the appearance of Curbar Edge, loom ominously above you.

The steepness remains fairly consistent around the first sweeping bend and then reaches 11.5% as you head towards the second, sharper corner. The views from here more than make up for the additional challenge though. Just try not to focus on the ridge of Curbar Gap which, at this point, still seems very high up and very far away.

Grind on around the next bend and, once you’ve passed a gate into a field on your right, I always feel like you’re pretty much there. You still have to cycle 0.3 miles and climb 130 ft but it’s broadly straight with a gradient of less than 10% and the views alone will keep your legs powered until you reach the car park at the peak.

Curbar Edge is a beautiful climb worth travelling for.

Wheel Lane & Coldwell Hill

  • Wheel Lane & Coldwell Hill
  • Length: 0.26 miles
  • Avg gradient: 15.4%   Peak gradient: 17.7%
  • Difficulty: 4/5
  • Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 1/5
  • Elevation gain: 217 ft 
  • Strava

A hidden gem of a hill climb, tucked away in the hills outside Oughtibridge. It’s just over a quarter of a mile long but look how close the average and peak gradients are.  That tells you that it’s a very unwavering climb all the way to the top.  And your reward for getting there?  Another hill.

As soon as you pass over the brook (which is liable to flooding in rainy periods) the hill begins with a little weave and a gradient of around 17%. Climb up this until the road makes a sharp right turn and a sign tells you that you’re now on Coldwell Hill. You’ll pass the first of the houses and a grit bin on your right, which makes you wonder how brave you’d have to be to drive up here in icy conditions.  It’s hard to believe but, at about 9%, this is the flattest section of the climb.

That’s soon forgotten however, as you wind round a dogleg bend with the steepest incline of the hill. As you curve past the row of quaint cottages you’ll be thinking that this must be it but you’re only about half way up. You’ve got a slightly straighter climb now but still averaging 15%. Shortly, the climb takes another sweep right and after a brief section of tree-lined road, another sign tells you that you’ve joined Jackey Lane for the final 600 ft.

Well done, you’ve just made it up one of my favourite Sheffield cycling climbs. From here, turn right and drop back into Oughtibridge or, if you fancy continuing the challenge, turn left onto Green Lane and tackle another mile or so of 8% out into the countryside.

Lodge Lane

  • Lodge Lane
  • Length: 0.7 miles 
  • Avg gradient: 9.3%   Peak gradient: 15%
  • Difficulty: 4/5
  • Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 2/5
  • Strava

A few miles westward, out of the city, along the fairy nasty A57 Manchester Road you’ll find a couple of cheeky challenging climbs, escalating either side of the Rivelin Valley: Rails Road and Lodge Lane.  Rails Road will take you north up to Stannington, and Lodge Lane, south, to the green and pleasant lands of Lodge Moor.

Like many of the roads that climb the Rivelin valley wall (see also: Hagg Hill), unless you’re lucky with oncoming traffic, you’re pretty much going to lose all of your momentum turning 90 degrees onto the hill.  Lodge Lane isn’t quite as a brutal start as Hagg Hill but you are straight into a 10% incline and a sharp left corner to begin.  The steepness gradually increases as you follow the road round a right-hand bend and are presented with a straight stretch open in front of you.

As you pass the campsite, the incline drops to around 7%, which feels comparatively flat, so use this section to ease off a bit before you prepare to dig in again. As the road heads to the next bend the gradient is back in double figures and although it’s only 0.1 mile I find this part tough because I know what’s around the next corner.  Since you’re now well above the valley with some lovely views towards the Peaks, it’s tempting to think you’re almost at the top.  You are not.

As the tree line returns and you round the next bend, I always expect to see the top of the hill, when all Lodge Lane offers you is more of the same.  In the distance, it’s not the end of the hill you can see but, at 15%, the hardest of the climb’s numerous bends. If you get round that, once you reach the roadside bollards you’ve made it and just need to pant on a few more feet to the end.

Now turn around, drop down at speed, and tackle Rails Road on the other side of the valley.