Bwlch-y-Groes (Hellfire Pass), Gwynedd
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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)
Bwlch-y-Groes (Hellfire Pass), Gwynedd
Known in English as Hellfire Pass, the Bwlch-y-Groes is every bit as devilish as it sounds.
Both the length and the gradient of the climb make the highest pass in Wales stand out as one of Britain’s toughest.
The climbing starts immediately, with several nasty pitches at the bottom – approaching 25 per cent gradient – before a long, brutal straight with no place to hide.
Covering a total of 3.5km, making it one of the longer of Britain’s steep climbs, the ascent is a true leg burner with the gradient rarely dropping below double digits.
Vital statistics
Length: 3.5km
Elevation: 385m
Average gradient: 11 per cent
Maximum gradient: 25 per cent
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