UKH

New to the road but turning to the Dark side after years of MTB, well a mixture of  gravel  and road and looking for a new challenge, climbing the classic Lakeland passes has always appealed with a few forays on the MTB, Honister doing the four passes and Whinlatter from Braithwaite. After climbing Newlands and Whinlatter from there steeper sides last week, i'm hooked. What are your experiences? which are the difficult ones, obviously Hardkott is the killer and at present a dream to climb, but do intend to build up endurance over the winter, how hard can it be? Next up is the Struggle! is this a major step up, thanks for any advice tips and perhaps in the distant future a Fred Whitton is beckoning, who knows.

Simon Warren's "100 Greatest Cycling Climbs" (and its sequels) is a good place to start, but don't take too much notice of the  difficulty ratings. I found Beallach na Ba (11/10, long but never steep) far easier than (say) Swiss Hill (5/10, short but cobbled, slippery and very steep*).

* The only thing worse that going up Swiss Hill is coming down when wet. OK, "The Corkscrew" is worse - never managed to get up it on any bike**.

** Neither are in the Lake District.

Blea Tarn from Langdale is great.  Wrynose east side is a beast and leads to the short and very sharp Hardnose east.  If you are feeling spicey you can do those three in that order then over past Devoke Water and then Kiln Bank towards Coniston.  Kiln Bank is lovely but still tough.

Like you mention, Hardknott is the obvious beast here. From either side it is brutal but loads of fun too. Approaching from the west is a bit harder in my opinion, the hairpins are a bit tighter.

But I've generally found Wrynose (from the east) to be a tougher climb overall, it's very long and unrelenting.

I'll second Guy on the Blea tarn suggestion, it's brilliant. Only short but very steep from the cattle grid all the way to the top. It's my favourite local route.

The Struggle is just as described, a struggle! Very steep lower section, some respite about half way then some downhill before the final pull up to the pub. This is another regular for me and I love it. A proper workout and great views of Red Screes from the top. So with this one, if feeling knackered part way up you'll find enough places to take a breather on the short flat sections without it being too hard to get going again.

Red bank from Grasmere is a good, short leg burner too. And if wanting to link a few climbs: Red bank through Langdale over Blea tarn onto Wrynose and over Hardknott.  

All the descents require lots of caution. Be especially careful if descending Kirkstone towards Windermere as the road surface is appalling.

It IS the same Fergal

I forgot to mention Newlands.  It is brilliant but be super careful descending towards Keswick as there is a corner half way down which is super easy to overcook.

Get your legs and lungs on Tow Top, short but sweet!

Having ridden them quite a bit I always think Wrynose from Little Langdale is harder than Hardknott from either side, or any of the others.

A brilliant ride that's an alternative to the obvious Fred Whitton route is the shorter but more continuously uphill 'Trophee des Grimpeurs'.... Staveley, Kirkstone, Red Bank, Blea Tarn, Wrynose, Kiln Bank, Broughton, Duddon, Birker Fell, Hardknott, Wrynose, Struggle, Staveley.

I did Wrynose East when I was about 14 on my Peugeot Tourmalet.  It was totally under geared for it with a 42x21 plus I was in trainers in tightly strapped rat traps.  I just got to the top and promptly puked before noticing the horrified picnickers nearby.   

It's a scary descent in the wet too.

To all some great suggestions, tips and advice keep it coming, getting really psyched for my next outing now.

A nice fig of eight is to park on the A66 at Braithwaite, go over Whinlatter to Lorton, up to Buttermere village then over Newlands Hause, up the back of Derwentwater to Seatoller, then over Honister into the Buttermere valley and head down to Lorton to pass back over Whinlatter to the car.

Oops, just realised that might be similar to the route you’ve already done.

The Keswick area passes are great as you can choose how far and steep you want and make a route  accordingly. I would rank them from hardest to easiest as :

Honister from Buttermere

Honister from Borrowdale 

Newlands from Buttermere 

Newlands from Braithwaite 

Whinlatter from Lorton

Whinlatter from Braithwaite 

You can do them all in a long ride without repeating any, or choose a combo to suit.

Fred Whitton is a great day out, don't underestimate the hilly bits that aren't major passes, especially Cold fell area.

I came here to say this. I stumbled upon it by accident once on a ride. It’s a reyt bugger.

Then ride Gummers from the Windermere side on the way home for the classic combo...

Wrynose and Hardknott are tough, they make my knees ache. Do both sides of Kirkstone. I enjoy the North Pennine hills, you can make some fantastic rides there, some of them are in these links, some of these climbs go up high, and weather conditions can be very different on the summit than in the valley. There is plenty of long, steep suffering to be experienced on relatively quiet roads...

https://roadcyclinguk.com/cycling-routes/north-pennines.html

https://roadcyclinguk.com/sportive/ten-best-cycling-climbs-north-pennines.h...

https://wheelygood.info/?p=479

https://wheelygood.info/?p=487

https://wheelygood.info/?p=607

+1 for all the Northern Pennine climbs if you live near to Penrith.

Hartside 

Chapel Fell 

Dowgang Hush

Nenthead 

Yad Moss

And of course Great Dun Fell 

Some big days out but if starting in Alston or Nenthead you can easily clock up over 4500' within a 35 mile loop!

As others have said get a copy of Simon Warren's cycling climbs of North West England and if you can find a copy North East England. 

The Fred Whitton is mega, I've done it twice with friends but not on the day of the sportive (they close Hardknott to cars on the day) hitting Hardknott after 90+ miles in the legs is a joy of pain

How hard some of these climb 'feel' depends on the amount of car traffic. Many of the steeper bends can have some of their sting taken out of them if you are free to drift across to the outside where the gradient is less.  That's probably why Wrynose from Little Langdale feels unrelenting as it's pretty much a straight drag, whereas Hardknott from Eskdale is easier if you are free to wander rather than being constrained to the lefthand gutter.

As you say you've crossed over to the 'darkside', you might like to cement your conversion with a crack at the "The Dark Fred", which is the Fred Whitton done on the longest night of the year (Dec 21st). Here's video of the Mrs and two of her friends doing it a couple of years ago to inspire you. ( youtube.com/watch?v=H5Tr13d2yx8& )

Wrynose and Hardknott from little Langdale. 3 pints in Boot and then back again. Get a compact chainset...

Great Dun Fell is one of the greatest though because if the lack of traffic and the scenery. There's an electric road up there too, though I don't think that can be experienced on a bike.

That was the hill I had set out (from High Newton) to ride up, Tow Top was just meant to be a little country lane to get me back to base…

The size of your cassette obviously makes a big difference. Otherwise just a case of building up the length and severity of your days.

Yeah been wondering about that  cassette is  11 32 , so 36 32 lowest gear. 

LOL, i was going to mention Tow Tops but though it was a bit esoteric!

Staying in the same area Scout Scar, Brigsteer and Gummers How are all short but good.

If you want pure evil then there is always great Dun Fell, not Lakes but near enough to make a trip

Great Dun Fell is a magnificent road, unlike anything else in England. It’s not really *that* hard though, is it? Just brilliant. East side of Wrynose is the toughest thing I’ve ridden in the Lakes. There is at least a nice flat but in the middle of Hardknott to recuperate on.

Well on the scale of things its not *that* hard compared to some but perhaps my point of view was slightly skewed as i rode it from Kendal via Kirkstone and back via Appleby and Tebay

Ha. Yes. South Lakes esoterica!! Good shout on Brigsteer Brow and Underbarrow Road up to Scout Scar car park, both seem to feature quite heavily at the end of my rides back into Kendal. Both short, but both pretty tough. 

I'm not technical enough to guide you on numbers, but just know how crucial to comfort and success it can be. 

All the major passes seem to be included, so I'll try and balance out the  South lakes bias on some esoteric ones.

The road upto Cockermouth Golf club and the take up from Bassenthwaite village are both short and sharp. The climbs past Higham Hall and the one up through Ireby are both of a reasonable length and gradient with little opportunity to get your breath back.

Regarding gearing I don't regret putting a mountain bike cassette on my winter bike. A friend, retired in the summer having not done any road biking. He borrowed my winter bike for a couple of months before doing the Fred route in September. It took us 13 hours of you include the 3 hours eating cake and drinking coffee, but he managed to ride all of it. 

Ah yes. Underbarrow Road to Scout Scar not to be underestimated!

For the ultimate Lakeland cycle challenge, Google the Fred Whitten route. A fantastic tour of the most iconic passes and a fantastic day out.

Interesting to hear about your winter bike gearing. Been musing about entering the Fred next year, but on my 26” carbon hard tail.

I don’t own a road bike, but do all of my riding on road. Weird, I know, but I love the comfort and gearing on the MTB and it suits all the riding I do in the Lakes.

Know entering the Fred on an MTB wouldn’t be everyone’s first choice, but to me it’s not such a daft idea for a route with so many steeps and dodgy descents.

I tend to avoid the A66, but that would be the only bit I'd find frustrating on a MTB. For me, the key to enjoying the route is having a gear that means I can do the steeper bits relatively comfortably. 

To add to that I would also give honourable mentions to:

Howtown to Martindale, great series of hairpin bends. Avoid at the weekend.

Heskett Newmarket to Calebreck, not the most amazing climb but comes out overlooking the eastern escarpment of the northern fells. Includes a ford on the glorious run down to Mungrisdale.

Castlerigg Brow / Lonsties hill as you come out of Keswick on the A591.

The road going up Low Moresby from the A595. Not the lakes and certainly not worth a special detour for but short, obscure and brutal. 

Good shout, but best done on a mountain bike and back via Boredale!