COCKING HILL

KIRTON, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

I rode this once during the early stages of a big local bike race. I managed to blag a ride because my club was the promoter, but the event was way out of my league. This was made painfully evident as the pros pottered up chatting while those at the back were breathing out of their ears. The hill is no giant, but it’s perfect for hill intervals and just steep enough to make you hurt good and proper. Leaving Ollerton you reach an abrupt left-hand bend where you must leave the main road and head straight on. Take care at the junction and then head up under the rail bridge. Passing the entrance to the brickworks, the slope begins to pick up, but it’s not steep until you reach the second road on the left. From here it’s tough into the small woodland where up ahead twin signs stand either side of the road like a gateway to the summit. Climb past these to meet the first of two brows and then press on to the finish on the agricultural plateau.