Cragpit Hill – Simon Warren #157
- SW Rating: 6/10
- Wheelygood Rating: Medium
- Length: 3.20 miles
- Avg. gradient: 4%
- Category: 3
- Strava Segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/13154218
- Route: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1009011
Beginning in the small Northumberland town of Rothbury, this classic climb winds its way through the woods, up past Cragside Hall, and, eventually, out onto the top of Alnwick Moor. It’s spoken of in hushed tones amongst a lot of cycling groups, which makes it the perfect candidate for obtaining Respect Points.
The start of this one is slightly deceptive: you’re well on it before you know you’re on it. In fact, it’s so subtle that I missed the first 50m, or so, in the video. In terms of interest, you’ve not missed much as it’s a couple of percent drag out of the ‘urban’ area.
The real climb starts as the Southernmost road out towards the A697 comes into view: you get a nice impression, pretty much from the get-go, of the ramp, well, ramping. It’s the first of four big ramps, although there are a couple of smaller ones near the summit. Head down and battle on is the order of the day here: a lot of the traffic will be turning right at the junction, but, depending on time of day, you might also get some tourists following you up to Cragside and, if you’re really unlucky, you might get a chav in their lowered Volkswagen Polo 1.0 with the Mighty Exhaust, at which point you’ll lose the ability to hear yourself think. This may not, necessarily, be a bad thing. I was fortunate on this occasion, probably because it was around 0930 on a cold, damp, January morning.
On, and on, it goes until, eventually, you reach a plateau and a real chance to catch your breath…although if you’re needing that at this early stage, then you’re likely in for a world of hurt around the next couple of corners. That’s the pattern of this particular ascent – ramp, flat/descent, repeat.
And, just as you’ve assimilated this, it’s time for the next ramp. Just a mini one, this – enough to get you to the Cragside entrance and onto quite a reasonable descent. There’s right hander into a bridge at the bottom where there’s not much more than one car’s width of room so I’d recommend planning your approach as playing chicken with a van is unlikely to end well for anyone.
This just serves to make the next ramp a little bit harder, because, as the steepest, it obviously needed to be that little bit more challenging. Just shut out the complaining noises from your legs and you’ll be fine – it doesn’t last long and you get another rest as you haul over the crest.
We now move on to the ramp which I find the hardest. It’s neither the steepest, nor the longest, but it’s that nice combination of the two which, especially after the bottom parts of the climb, just serve to siphon all of the energy out of my legs. I just try not to chew the handlebars too much – it’s personally slightly humiliating, and it looks gross if it’s caught on the GoPro.
Oh, no, I thought you said the last one was the worst? I did, and I stand by that: don’t be fooled by how the final big ramp looks when you first catch sight of it. It’s very benign – it’s not especially steep and it’s very consistent so you can really get into a rhythm. You’ll find that you’re half way up before you really even notice it, at which point your legs will rejoice in the fact that they can keep going at this pace for a little bit longer. There’s even a decent possibility of a tailwind up here, but, er, don’t hold your breath … you know, just in case …
It can’t be much further now, can it? Vertically, no. Horizontally … well …
After a small descent, you’ll come to what looks to be another big ramp. It isn’t. It’s two small, not very difficult, ones close together. They look horrible, because you see them initially from an elevated position so they look steeper than they actually are, which is fortunate. Best tell your legs they’re close to the top as they’re probably not best pleased with you right now!
One more slight bobble and, as the road bears left, you’ve made it to the top and can, finally, relax. If the weather’s good, you should have a fabulous view right across Northumberland and, frankly, having ridden up there makes it all the better as you know you’ve earned it – great effort!
If there are any other road climbs you’d like me to take on, the more ridiculous the better, then please send me a message on my FaceBook page https://www.facebook.com/wheelygoodcycling/ or email me on wheelygoodmail@gmail.com and let me know…
