KIDSTONES PASS

BUCKDEN, SKIPTON

Although this road is the ‘easy’ route out of Wharfdale into Wensleydale, it’s still no walk in the park – it’s just that its neighbours are giants. To the west is the dreaded Fleet Moss and to the east is the almighty Park Rash, both killer climbs. The road begins to rise steadily from Kettlewell way down the valley, but it’s not until you’ve passed through Buckden that things start to get interesting. As the road turns north-east, the slope begins to bite, and by the time you reach The White Lion Inn in Cray, the gradient is a substantial 15%. There follows a brief hiatus in the ascent before it rears up again to climb hard into two tight bends, first right and then left – the latter much steeper, close to 20% at the apex. From here, the climb snakes between the drystone walls and continues hard all the way to the top.