No one has mentioned holme moss either which is a killer climb.
You think? I quite like Holme Moss, from either direction, it’s never really steep just goes on for a while. I’m more wary of some of the short, steep things that don’t get star billing, but are really quite nasty – the Monk’s Road out of Charlesworth is my local horror show, there are some nasty little critters lurking around the Goyt Valley end of things and some of the stuff around Calderdale is pleasantly brutal. Oh, and there’s that endless straight thing up to Sparrowpit as well from just off the A6 near Chapel. Kirkstone’s evil, Honister, I don’t think, has been mentioned, but is quite mean.
I guess it’s down to personal preference. The Devil’s Staircase in south Wales seemed a little anti-social, but I was having a bad day generally 😉