Britain's 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs

I got Simon Warren's book '100 Greatest Cycling Climbs' for my birthday last month and I see Cozen's made mention of one of the Scottish climbs on the daily bike log thread, so I thought it might be worth starting a thread where any British ilxors can tick off any climbs from this that they manage.

Cozen went up no. 68, Rest and Be Thankful, which appears to be surrounded by mountains. Warren rated all of the climbs out of ten (except for the wrost one, which he gave 11/10). This one gets 6/10.

Let me guess, none of the ascents i conquered around Bloomsbury, Grays' Inn, Farringdon, King's Cross and Clerkenwell made the cut?

sadly,
an american

The ones I've been up are nearly all in the south-east.

I went up no.17 Leith Hill (in Surrey) last Friday. I didn't go up the same road as the climb in the book, so it was about 20m less climbing, but it still got up to 235 metres, which is as high as it gets in the south-east. It gets a 6/10 in the book. I'm not so sure: there were some nasty ramps, but there were also relatively easy sections where you could catch your breath. Having said that, I came down the one he went up, so I don't know if that's tougher.
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=514095&Y=142365&A=Y&Z=120

I went up no. 19 'The Wall' (in Ashdown Forest, Sussex) earlier this year. This gets 5/10.
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=546065&Y=132660&A=Y&Z=120

(xpost) No, strangely none of those dizzying ascents made the cut. There was one from London, though, a climb up to Highgate.

Actually I just remembered a short gut-puncher in Richmond-On-Thames that sent me into o2 deficit.

He chose a couple of climbs on the South Downs just outside Brighton which I've been up several times (both in my original time of cycling in 89-91 and in my recent return).

No.21 Steyning Bostal, he only gives a 5/10, but I find it hideous. The 17% section usually makes me feel like my head is going to explode.
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=516840&Y=110060&A=Y&Z=120

No.22 Ditchling Beacon gets a 6/10. I don't think it gets quite as steep as the Steyning climb, but it goes on for longer, and has several false summits where the road bends round and sickeningly reveals that you're still nowhere near the top. The last two times I've been up it have been at the end of a 70-mile sportive so it's been particularly brutal.
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=532930&Y=113210&A=Y&Z=120

No.26 Mott Street (in Epping Forest, just outside London in Essex) is my local climb and one I go up very often. It's where my club does its annual hill climb championship every November. It only gets a 3/10, which is fair enough - it's tough enough, but there are plenty much tougher. Essex isn't exactly known for its mountains.
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=539812&Y=197785&A=Y&Z=115

No streatham common then? Bugger gets me every time. I think I know the Richmond one steve mentions, there's a few nasty short bastards round there. I need to get that book, what's in from the peaks? Am guessing winnats (did that on a 5 speed Raleigh arena in 1990, I think it'd kill me now) and maybe cat and fiddle?

That's it for me in recent years. The only two I've been up outside of the south-east were a long time ago. In 1990 I went up no. 97 The Tumble (in Wales), which gets a 7/10. All I can remember is that it seemed to go on forever. http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=326215&Y=212195&A=Y&Z=120
In 1991 I went up no.33 Winnat's Pass (in the Peak District) which gets 8/10 - that was horribly and relentlessly steep. http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=413749&Y=383196&A=Y&Z=120

Is Hartside summit listed I wonder.

(xpost to Porkpie) - Yeah, Winnats (see above) is there plus quite a few from the Peak District or Sheffield. I'm heading up to the Peaks on Thursday, but not taking the bike, just planning to wander around Kinder Scout on foot.

Is that in the north-east, pashmina? It's not listed. The toughest one from that part of the world is Chapel Fell.

what rating does the rest and be thankful get in the book?

15 members of the club I've been riding with are doing the bealach na ba (which scores an 11/10 I think) in september

jealous... I think

oh, sorry, you already said - a 6/10. head racing ahead of my eyes

thought hell's glen was worse actually (the 17% section particularly) but I might just have been tired

chris, have you tried swain's lane?
http://vimeo.com/13757661

winnats looks horrendous:

http://www.climbbybike.com/profile_520/Winnats-Pass_profile.jpg

28%?!

Winnats is a horrible long steep grind, I was 17 when I did it and about 7 stone lighter than I am now.... There are plenty of you tube clips of people riding up it to get an idea of it, really bleak at the top too.

Nbd, you should find time for lathkill Dale too, one of the more unsung bits of the peaks but one of my favourites. And I could just go a long mountain bike ride along curbar edge, mind you, not sure you're allowed to do that anymore.

Ach missed a post. Cozen, have walked swains lane and it's pretty fierce.

thinkin baout heading to the alps in january for this

day 1: flat to undulating, 105km
day 2: tawonga gap then falls (and back over tawonga on the way home, 130km
day 3: mt buffalo, 75km
day 4: rest day, haha
day 5: mt hotham, 112km
day 6: rolling to buckland gap rd (2.3km @ 10% avg!), 120km

i'd have to be in some kind of form by the end of this, right?? think i may be in the market for a 27t cassette

I headed down to where Kent meets London today and ticked off another couple of (soft southern) monsters today.

First up, Toys Hill. In total it's about two miles of climbing with a height gain of about 180 metres at an average of 5%, but that doesn't really tell the story: the climb gets steadily steeper and steeper. The last mile averages 10% and includes a lengthy section between 14% and 18%. The book (which this thread is based on) gives it 7/10 and says "...this climb is as serious as it gets along the North Downs ridge." I'm not sure about that as I thought the next one was tougher...

That link didn't work properly. Hopefully this will:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/crunchydog_2006/toyshill.jpg

The next one was Yorks Hill:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/crunchydog_2006/yorkshill.jpg

This isn't quite so long. There's about a mile of climbing at an average of 8%, but again, this really doesn't tell the story at all. The 'road' is a narrow lane filled with mud and grit and holes and it just gets steeper and steeper. It ends up twisting and turning through a wooded area with steep grassy banks on either side of the road. Looking at the map I made it about 15% for the last 500 metre, but the book says it's 18% and this interesting article: http://www.rapha.cc/ride-to-the-catford-hill-climb claims it reaches 24%. Whatever it was, it was a miserable, lung-breaking grind. I looked at my computer at one point and my speed was 5.4mph.

It's used each year in October for the Catford Hill Climb:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/audioslideshow/2010/oct/11/catford-cycling-club-hill-climb-classic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PNvxBtxLME

proper pain face there:
http://www.rapha.cc/images/catford_hc-5.jpg

My own face of pain:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/crunchydog_2006/yorkshillnear.jpg

seeing ppl racing w/out helmets looks odd to me now.