MYTHOLM STEEPS

MYTHOLM, HEBDEN BRIDGE

This road goes by many names; the Mytholm Steeps, Rawtenstall Bank, Blackshaw Head… But one thing is certain – it’s a hellishly tough climb. Start from the junction with the A646, stick it in your second lowest gear (this is very important), and head off. Don’t under any circumstances engage your largest sprocket, not yet. Bank right round the church then left, another left, straight, right, and left again. The road twists its path up past some houses, with hairpin bend following hairpin bend until you leave the last of the buildings and climb a steep stretch that levels next to a small lay-by. Now you can engage that gear you’ve held in reserve, and oh yes, you’ll need it; it’s a remorseless, leg-breaking climb up to the next wicked left-hand bend. After this there’s an easier stretch to the final hairpin and you’re through the worst of it. Now on the moor, you’ve just the gentle journey to the finish at the junction in Blackshaw Head.