Hartside – Simon Warren #77
- SW Rating: 5/10
- Wheelygood Rating: Easy
- Length: 4.77 miles
- Avg. gradient: 5%
- Category: 2
- Strava Segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/13952342
- Route: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1098322
- Parking: Plenty available in the little village of Melmerby at the start of the climb.
It’s one of those iconic climbs to those of us who live in the North of England: the Pennines split us East and West and one of the most interesting roads to cross through is the A686 from Penrith to Hexham via Alston.
Despite its category, the climb isn’t difficult – it’s just long1. It never gets all that steep, but, then again, it never entirely relents either.
So, beginning in Melmerby, the climb begins pretty much straight away as a shallow-ish drag. You’ll pass the sign warning of danger in winter as it can definitely get snowy up towards the summit. Personally, I think the operational range of the sign could do with a little widening as it’s also magnificently miserable when it’s raining…
After a very short ramp around the first left-hander, the steady gradient resumes and, for the most part, remains that way all the way to about the 80% mark. There are a couple of ramps which go up to about 9% – all of which, curiously, come after left hand bends – but none of them are long and none will really test your brute strength. This is very much an environment where a steady tempo effort is the order of the day. You’ll usually have a tailwind (the area has a prevailing South-Westerly) which helps to make progress, although it can be a bit of a pain on the very top slopes where it will be a crosswind. Just keep pedalling and you’ll wind your way past farmland, forestry and, finally, open moorland.
And, as the road opens out onto the final piece of moorland before the top the road flattens briefly before rearing back up again for the final pull up to the summit. This isn’t quite the place it once was: the Hartside Café was a veritable shrine for motorcyclists in the summer, until it burned down a few years ago leaving only desolation in its place. The bikers still use the road, but it was much quieter when I rode it for the video.
This is one of the few climbs I’d advise not stopping immediately at the top, just in case there is an errant motorbike on the loose. Instead, I’d keep going for another 100m, or so, until you reach the lay-by on the left and pull in there. It’s also that little bit more sheltered from the wind, which will make a big difference if you’re waiting for someone at the top.
Great effort for keeping it going for the duration – it’s a canny ascent to get under you belt, this 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…
For the UK, at least… ↩
