THE BURWAY

CHURCH STRETTON, SHROPSHIRE

Leave Church Stretton and head west up the minor road on to The Long Mynd, (‘Long Mountain’) which dominates the skyline. As soon as you begin, bending to the right, you are warned of the 20% gradient ahead. The climb is steep to begin with but levels off slightly past numerous houses, before getting steeper again as it crosses a cattle grid to enter the wilderness. The coarse but well-maintained narrow road rises at 20% like a tarmac ledge perched on the side of the mountain; to the left there’s a vertical bank, to the right a precipitous drop. As the road veers out of the steepest section a guard rail forms a barrier against the abyss. Here you enter an easier section that snakes with the same coarse surface as the earlier slope and which leads to a fake brow, from where you can build momentum. The climb isn’t over yet, though – you still have to pass a couple of car parks to finish alongside the largest one, on your right.