HARLECH CHIMNEY

HARLECH, GWYNEDD

If you’ve made the journey to Harlech on Wales’s west coast to tackle the infamous 40% slopes of Ffordd Pen Llech, then you must give this climb a try before you leave the neighbourhood. Approaching from the B4573, there’s a short, steep ramp up into Eisingrug that hurts the legs, and then once you’re into the village a right-hand turn that takes you to the climb proper. It’s a bit messy to begin with, as you have to pass through a farmyard and through a couple of gates, but once you’re free it hits you hard, right up to and past the last of a few trees. On the horizon you’ll see a brow as the road bends round to the right and this looks like it should be the top, but it’s not – not even close. As for the rest of the climb, I can’t really tell you much about it; I simply couldn’t take my eyes off the fantastic views. To the right stretches the Morfa Harlech Nature Reserve and Tremadog Bay, and to the left the glorious peaks of Snowdonia.