Hardest road climb in the West Midlands?

What do you reckon?
The Burway has to be up there, but for unrelenting steepness from bottom to top, I think Wynniatts Way, Abberley gets my vote.

Subjective issue, what is hard for one may not be for another.
Where’s the boundary for west mids as I’d suggest the road climb up the side of the long mynd in shropshire is prrety hard going.
according to this page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_counties_by_highest_point
Turners hill is the highest point of the west mids.

I used to commute to Blackheath via Waterfall Lane and remember that being a short yet bloody strenuous effort.

Then I discovered the Old Wyche Road in Malvern. Have yet to beat it 😳

That road up to the top of St Kenelms from Halesowen side is a bitch

Hagley Wood Lane

Depends what you mean by hard, there’s not a lot of long climbs around but there are certainly some short, sharp ones.

For a short but rather nasty effort, Winwood Heath Road at the back of Clent/Romsley is worth a look. Sheepwalks Lane in Kinver is a good effort too.

Though not very pretty, there’s a lot of nasty little kicks heading from Halesowen or Old Hill up to Rowley Regis, Waterfall Lane being one, Gorsty Hill is not much fun either and, Coombe Hill is a very short, very ugly but very steep little kick too. I’m not a big fan of Mucklows Hill or Furnace Hill either but that’s more me than them being an overly nasty climbs.

The climb out of Arley, over the Severn Valley Railway is a bitch though I’m not sure it counts as West Midlands, in a similar area, there’s some nasty short stuff around Highley.

In fact, this has inspired me, time to get route planning and plot a nasty climbs route I think.

have a look at the tour of britain routes for previous years for inspiration, they usually pick a couple of decent hills.

Done all those Lunge – apart from Coombe Hill. Don’t know that one, where is it?
Winwood Heath Road is IMO the hardest out of that list.

Coobme Hill is the back end of Old Hill, if you were walking from Old Hill Station to The Bull and Bear on Gorsty Hill you’d go up there. It’s not worth going out of your way but if you’re passing it’s worth a look.

Never done it on a bike but the climb from Ludlow up to Clee Hill via Laurel Bank must be pretty savage .

Old Wyche Road (as opposed to the Wyche Road) on the Malverns is a goodie, especially if you start at Barnards green and do Church street as a warm up.

In total elevation from 71m to 247m (176m) in 3.72km = only 5% but
steepest bit is Old Wyche Road, elevation 80m in 740m = 11% on average but with some sharper bits.

http://veloviewer.com/segment/1392521/Old+Wyche+Road

If you are including Shropshire then the burway is a good one. As is the route up from Asterton to the glider station. I had a round of applause at the top of that one once.
Further west you have got the climb from the miners arms to stapley. The round over the stiperstones from either the village or from ratlinghope is charactor building.
Then there is Long Mountain. Some of which is in wales. There are four roads up. But id only ride up one of them.

Sheepwalk Lane

A little slice of paradise IMO. But yes, it’s a deceptively varied and hot climb in the summer months, especially the hairpin up from Union Hall

Never done it on a bike but the climb from Ludlow up to Clee Hill via Laurel Bank must be pretty savage .

I only have two real bragging rights over 3 decades of cycling – one of which was Ludlow Angel Bank to Cleehill, 10 speed racer with camping gear on rear panniers. So much for my legs and my left hand – my right hand was pushing the stem of GFs Mixte tourer alongside me, also loaded with rear rack and luggage. She walked, I waited at the top probably shouting RARRRR! at the sky.

Old Wyche Road (as opposed to the Wyche Road) on the Malverns is a goodie, especially if you start at Barnards green and do Church street as a warm up.

😯

We should organise a hillclimb race up the OWR. Not the fastest, just to get to the top without a dismount is a major win.

Always considered Asterton to be tougher than the Burway, also Castle Hill just down the road from All Stretton.

Moden Hill or Catholic Lane in Gornal for something truly West Mids, they’re pretty short though so need to be done in repeats to get the benefit.

Pushing the ‘west midlands’ boundaries here, but Bushcombe Lane in Woodmancote, Glos is definitely worth a vote. Google it.

Tanhouse lane in Cradley is short and sharp. I used to go that way on my long way home but avoid it now as its too soon into my ride and my legs haven’t warmed up by then.
My Favourites have already been mentioned above and are:
Windward Heath
Hagley Wood Lane
St kenelms junction to junction
The main road up to romsley from either side
Balmoral road wordsley
Camp hill kford
Six ashes climb
Hoarstone lane / trimpley lane

None of these are particularly bad but as good as it really gets locally and all have their own merits.

Powke lane is a good one too and there are others in that area but it’s not somewhere I frequent.

I have a great road ride I do after work that starts in Cradley and ends in Wollaston if anyone fancies doing it

Edit: I forgot to add the sheepwalks. The challenge there is the muddy road normally. Loads of the roads in kinver are rubbish and is one of the reasons I don’t road ride there often.

I seem to remember years ago doing a Penn CC hill climb I think up past Red Dingle near Monkhopton. I remember it being quite tough, and then I rode a CX race somewhere in Bushbury/ Moseley immediately afterwards. That was a harsh day.

Purely anecdotal but I have to make an infrequent journey from Kingswinford to Beacon Hill (Sedgley) via Stallings Lane and Cotwall End. Bear with me

A quick Google suggests a climb of 150 m in 5 miles wohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

It is relentless and there’s always one or two well-fed roadies en route. Obv you’ll need a couple of dogs and a knife if you’re going that way

Pushing the boundary of road ride but if you go up St kenelms pass and make your way to Walton hill you can continue to the top via the cobbled track . Most people were on road bikes that did that climb on the tour of the black country last weekend. I’ve done most of the above climbs and none were harder than that imo.

Beacon lane by the shotguns in kinver, sheepwalks also in kinver are short and sharp.

Mow cop Killer Mile.
Drumber lane from where the road passes over the railway, up through Station road to the top. They hold annual competitions running up it.

bookmarked for future pain plan 🙂
Ankerdine from Knigthwick not mentioned yet.

ankerdine was going to be my suggestion 🙂 the climb out of pershore seemed “fun” last time I rode it. Old Wyche is a toughie but only (relatively) short, I find Holly bush harder because of the length.

Which one is Laurel Bank?

I dunno about hardest but I’d nominate Tenbury to Clee Hill as an enjoyable classic. And the Caynham road, for that matter.

Some good ones here that I’d forgotten about! 😀

(I rode the Tour Of The Black Country, so am well aquainted with the “Waltonberg”. 😉 )

I meant angel bank , it’s part of the ride up the main road from Ludlow to Clee Hill . Memory is a bit hazy , I owned a pub in Clee Hill in the late eighties and memory is a bit hazy .

I used to bike to work down Old Wyche Road; I got to 49.9mph once, it was terrifying. The thought never occurred however to cycle *up* it, are you mad?!

Angel bank.. not that steep really – just looks bad 🙂

Purely anecdotal but I have to make an infrequent journey from Kingswinford to Beacon Hill (Sedgley) via Stallings Lane and Cotwall End. Bear with me…you’ll need a couple of dogs and a knife if you’re going that way

I live up that way, about halfway up though before knives and dogs are needed.
Moden and Catholic I mentioned earlier both feed off Cotwell End Road if you’re unfamiliar.

They’ll get the legs going but the rest is pretty tame.

Worst one I can think of is buttermilk hill off the road to uttoxeter, it’s only short but maxes out at just under 30%, first time I tried to ride it my back wheel was spinning out and I had to run up it.

Don’t ride it often, but it’s always a challenge.

Dollymakers Hill, near Lichfield.