Hedley Hill – Simon Warren Cycling Climbs of the North East
- SW Rating: 4/10
- Wheelygood Rating: Easy
- Length: 0.52 miles
- Avg. gradient: 11%
- Category: 4
- Strava Segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/15794891
- Route: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1024660
Once you’ve got over the confusion that this is Hedley Hill and not, say, Hedley Hill, it’s fair to say that this is a nice climb in the middle of County Durham.
A word of warning on this one before I begin with the climb itself: the approach is quite dangerous as it’s a singletrack descent with a couple of tight bends right at the bottom, most of which can be littered with gravel from any passing traffic. You’ll see all of this on the video as I decided to take it from the start of the road; you’ll also see the guy we overtook on the way down keep up easily as we worked fairly hard on the way back up. He definitely had an easier time on his e-bike than we had on our human powered machines, but, I have to say, I’m really happy he was out: he was a racer in the past, but, for health reasons, couldn’t ride that hard any more and the e-bike was the thing which allowed him to keep riding the way he wanted and I thoroughly approve!
Assuming you make it to the start line, the road kicks up pretty quickly and it’s a bit of a rush to find the gear you really need. I pressed on a bit with this one, mainly because I do have the shreds of an ego kicking around in here and it was time to drop the miscreant who was keeping up with us (this was before I knew about the e-bike situation) and felt it my duty to make it that bit tough. And, then, I was committed so when we found out, part way up, what was really going on, we couldn’t pack it in and had to keep the effort to the top. The only saving grace from my point of view was that I knew it wasn’t the longest of climbs and that I’d gone at a level I could sustain.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. The first part of the climb ramps up steadily and you’ll be fooled into thinking that this will be easy. As you head around the right handers, the slope goes up about 4% and you’ll be into the trees with no respite whatsoever. If you had any momentum left after the two bends at the bottom, it’ll be long gone by now and you’re on your own with the pedalling1. It keeps going up like this for a little while – past a few cottages – before flattening off somewhat. Pro tip: use this time wisely – you’re not quite half way up yet and there’s more steepness to come, unless, like us, you’ve got a headwind and there’s nothing for it but to keep on rocking…
Once the road kicks up again it’s a steady 11-13% all the way to the top. The good news is that it doesn’t get any steeper, but the bad news is that it doesn’t relent, either. We were fortunate enough to have some company and we could share in the experience, but, if you’re on your own, there’s nothing for it but to get your head down and work your way up to the top. It’ll not be long before you can see a left hand bend and this, essentially, marks the top of the climb – just focus on that and you’ll make it. In fact, if you’ve for this far then the odds are excellent that you’ll make it the rest of the way.
And, then, as quickly as it began, it’s over and you can relax before rejoining reality (and the main road, so please be careful!) Nice one!
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…
E-bike notwithstanding, of course! ↩
