e2e.bike

Cycling adventures across Britain and beyond

Menu
  • End to Ends
    • Britain
    • Ireland
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Spain
    • Austria
    • Liechtenstein
    • Poland
    • Slovakia
    • Isle of Man
    • Faroes
    • Cuba
    • Sri Lanka
    • Taiwan
  • Coast to Coasts
  • Yorkshire Ridings
  • Others
  • Writings
Menu
← PreviousNext →

Kirkby Stephen 1: Great Dun Fell

Posted on 2 October 20202 April 2021 by Rob Ainsley

More cycle route research, round Kirkby Stephen. Fabulous ride yesterday up the highest tarmac road in Britain and Ireland. The access road to Great Dun Fell’s radar station is closed to traffic and drivers need a permit – but it happens to be a bridleway, so you can cycle it. A smooth, car-free, tarmac road up to 850m!

View from Appleby. This is why it’s called ‘England’s Ventoux’. Except there’s no overpriced cafe at the top. No cafe at all, in fact.
Here’s where the public road finishes and the cycling fun begins…
…If your idea of cycling fun is 6km of relentless climbing up 530m.
It’s supposedly a NATS radar station, for air traffic control. I doubt that will convince conspiracy theorists.
And from here, of course, it’s all downhill, back the way you came. Down to Dufton is 10.5km of downhill, in fact, dropping 670m. The only time in Britain I’ve ever averaged 25mph over 7 miles.

Previous
←   Wirral: Prom season
Next
Kirkby Stephen 2: Furlong scheme →

You are here

e2e.bike > Other > Route research > Kirkby Stephen 1: Great Dun Fell

Recent Posts

  • Helmsley: Star line-ups 2 February 2023
  • Ripon: Up secret valleys, down Cathedral rabbit holes 23 January 2023
  • Castle Howard: Bridleway Revisited 20 January 2023

Random Posts

  • Interrail 8: Münster energy – York’s ‘cycling twin’18 September 2022
    Münster, twinned with York. Certainly, both claim to be super-cycle-friendly cities, albeit …
  • Pocklington Canal: Shaken, but not stirred?7 May 2021
    Yorkshire has several imposing canals, which often sound like other things. The …
  • Poland 9: Łódź to Strzelce Kujawskie27 May 2019
    Another gloriously sunny day, with easy, flat, tailwind-assisted cycling through quiet rural …

Search e2e.bike

Find me

        
Facebook • Twitter • Linked In • Email
© 2023 e2e.bike | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme