The Lecht
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We're back with ten more of the UK's steepest climbs (pic: Jake_Oulsnam, via Flickr Creative Commons)
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The White Down climb is one of the steepest in Surrey (pic: sarflondondunc, via Flickr Creative Commons)
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Bwlch-y-Groes is known in English as Hellfire Pass - with good reason (pic: SimonPix, via Flickr Creative Commons)
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Bealach na Ba is said to be the UK's toughest climb (pic: Englishpointers, via Flickr Creative Commons)
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The Rake hosts one of the longest-running hill climbs in the country (pic: Martin Hefner, Flickr Creative Commons)
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Long Mynd is a painful climb of Asterton Bank (pic: John Spooner, Flickr Creative Commons)
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Carlton Bank in Teesside offers stunning views and brutal pitches (pic: Natural England, via Flickr Creative Commons)
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Devil's Staircase in Powys is an aptly hellish climb (pic: John Spooner, via Flickr Creative Commons)
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Bushcombe Lane kicks up several times with fierce gradients (pic: Tejvan Pettinger, via Flickr Creative Commons)
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The Struggle is the toughest of three routes up the Kirkstone Pass (pic: Mark Kent, via Flickr Creative Commons)
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The Lecht is a stunning Scottish ascent to the ski station of the same name (pic: Dolk, via Flickr Creative Commons)
The Lecht
Alongside Bealach na Ba, The Lecht is another of Scotland’s long and leg-burning climbs, rising for three kilometres up to the ski centre of the same name.
The slope kicks up to its maximum gradient of 20 per cent almost immediately and continues for some way before a slight descent makes way for another sharp kick in the road.
This pattern of false flats and brutal ramps continues, with little time to enjoy the stunning scenery surrounding a road which is closed in inclement conditions. The snow poles that line the road give an indication as to just how harsh this climb can be.
The road then ramps up one final time before bending around to the peak, and while The Lecht may lack the altitude of the Alps, how often can you say climbed to a ski station in the UK?
Vital statistics
Length: 3km
Elevation: 245m
Average gradient: Eight per cent
Maximum gradient: 20 per cent
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