MOEL ARTHUR

LLANGWYFAN, DENBIGH

Named after the remains of the Iron Age fort at its summit, this climb is toughest when tackled from the Denbigh side. Begin at the crossroads marked Groes-fawr. As you ascend the smooth, narrow road you are dwarfed by immense, four-metre-high hedgerows on either side. Getting steeper, with hardly enough room for a single vehicle, the road comes out of the hedgerows and kinks right – steeper still – into a horrible little stretch. Bone-shakingly rough, lumpy, broken and potholed, you bounce from ridge to crater searching for traction as the road approaches 20%. Bending slightly left, you’re through the hardest part and the surface improves, but it’s still uneven, and you continue to skip around as the road weaves slightly left and right, climbing higher and higher. Finish the climb as you cross the cattle grid adjacent to the car park for the ancient fort.