Great Dun Fell climb

[nammynake]

I've been wanting to do this climb since first reading about it a couple of years ago. For those who own the '100 Greatest Cycling Climbs' book (in the UK) you'll see it rated as 11 out of 10. Having wrestled myself up Hardknott a few times, which is rated as 10/10, I certainly didn't underestimate it. Here is just one of the accounts you can find on-line:

http://m.guardian.co.uk/travel/2012/jul/20/britain...

Keeping a keen eye on the weather forecast over the last few days I decided to finally have a crack at this beast today. Myself and my mate are in training for the Marmotte in July, so any opportunity to get some climbing practice is very worthwhile.

Our route took from the charming village of Reeth, via Tan Hill (site of the highest pub in Britain) and Appleby, then returning via Gunnerside to Reeth. 85 miles in total, hitting the Big One after 40 miles.

The climb itself - in a word superb! 4.5 miles long, 2000 feet ascent, average 8.5%. Apart from one short flat section halfway it was pretty unrelenting, with long sections of 15% and over. My words can't really do it justice - if you're ever in the area do it! Full route:

http://app.strava.com/activities/56205473

The descent was great fun too - although you need to remember the barrier!

Obligatory shots with PH jersey...

Edited by nammynake on Saturday 25th May 21:35

[mdavids]

Its fantastic isn't it. Looks like you picked a perfect day for it as well. I've done it twice on the mountain bike now and keep meaning to go back and give it a go on my road bike. First time was part of a great off-road route taking in cow green resevoir, high cup nick, great dun fell and crossfell. It absolutely ruined me.
http://app.strava.com/activities/9470842

Second time I was staying at centreparcs in Penrith and late afternoon just decided to ride there and up. Felt great this time and the view of the eden valley stretching out before me with the sun starting to set behind the lake district fells is one of my best cycling moments so far.

[nammynake]

Yes the weather was great. A bit warm when ascending but pretty cool at the summit - unsurprising really as it's almost 900m.

[Grandfondo]

I did Bealach na Ba yesterday as part of the Bealach Beag sportive and it is everything and more than people say!

[nammynake]

Just a quick thread resurrection for those looking for a challenging climb in Yorkshire.

[flight147z]

Bit of a thread resurrection from me...!

Ever since I first heard about this climb I've been planning on tackling it and I think this year is the year

Some of the hard climbs I have done before are as below - how much worse is GDF?

- Riber
- Winnats Pass
- Holme Moss
- The Cairnwell
- The Lecht
- Cat and Fiddle

It's a 300 mile round trip for me too so whilst I am there I think I will also try to do Lamps Moss

[Daveyraveygravey]

It's on my list too, but it is a long way from the south coast so no idea when I'll get to try!

[speciald]

Did it for the third time last weekend. Very slow as I'm not very bike fit at the moment but enjoyed it more than I have previous times as it wasn't as windy towards the top!

It's been a few years since I last went up there or did any climbs I can really compare it to but I'd say it's easier than Hardknott especially as you don't have to worry about traffic.

[Gilhooligan]

I did it last year. Any excuse to post of picture up! We were very lucky with the weather and had a great day for it. The next day when driving home, the radar station was completely enveloped in low cloud. Compared to something like Hatdknott it’s nowhere near as bad imo.
The tarnac is super smooth and the road is private so no cars for most of it too, lovely!

Next challenge is to do Lowther Hill which is a pretty similar climb up to another NATS radar station. It’s not as high as GDF but is still the highest road in Scotland (although private road so tends not to feature in many top 10s).

[flight147z]

I think it's the length that is the primary concern for me - there is a hill near me that is 8% for ~700ft and that is a hard climb so this is basically that hill 3 times back to back!

Also a bit of a lottery for me with the weather given its a long drive to get there - definitely wouldn't want to arrive and have conditions that meant I couldn't get to the top

Pictures looks great

[Gilhooligan]

flight147z said:

I think it's the length that is the primary concern for me - there is a hill near me that is 8% for ~700ft and that is a hard climb so this is basically that hill 3 times back to back!

Also a bit of a lottery for me with the weather given its a long drive to get there - definitely wouldn't want to arrive and have conditions that meant I couldn't get to the top

Pictures looks great

Wouldn’t worry too much about the length of the climb. There’s plenty of sections where the gradient isn’t that bad. There’s even a slight downhill section about 2/3rds of the way up!

[flight147z]

Well I've done it!

I wasn't very quick - after the first gate I paused my Wahoo and forgot to restart it before carrying on - this meant I went back down that section to make sure I got it on my GPS!

I found it tough - I think it would be easier on a second go as I know where the hard bits are now!

Also did Lamps Moss (last picture) as I parked at Kirkby Stephen and that climb starts just outside the village