Granby Hill: last descent

After climbing up most of Cliftonwood, the descent down Granby Hill will come as a relief.

For anyone planning to run this area, there are some really good on-foot options you can't explore by bike -do your research! The Polygon is an on-foot-only option, and there are various flights of steps to get you up or down things.

Speaking of steps, Granby Hill finishes going over the portway and then you can walk or cycle down the steps.

Then its out the A4 bike path, towards Bridge Valley Road.

That road should be more fun to ride up when its closed to cars. Quieter.

Ambrose Road, cliftonwood

Very pretty, the houses on the left probably get a good view of the harbour. The trees in the distance: Ashton Court.

The route plan is to descend here. tuck left and do Church Lane bottom to top.

Cliftonwood is a very quiet part of town, doesn't get much through traffic, and the signs "residents access only" encourage this. For walking: its great, there are even paths full of steps to make things more interesting. For cycling, it's hard work, but quiet and with great views. 

Church Lane: Steep, quiet, scenic

Possibly the toughest climb in Cliftwood, certainly it's in the top 5;

Constitution Hill may have edge in length, Ambra Vale in steepness,

But as we plan to climb both of those too, you get to make your own mind up.

What this road does have is lovely views

And very pretty buildings. The heart of Cliftonwood -something the Lion pub may be to thank for.

Constitution Hill

Long and Steep.

Not the steepest in the ride, but long, so long.

When we discuss the planned ride, a lot people say "and constitution hill?". We reply: yes, but it's not the hardest. It's just better known than Marlborough Hill or Church lane.

Cliftonwood Road

When the postponed ride takes place, the Cliftonwood section will probably include this uphill; with the hairpin it has a hint -just a hint- of an Alp

You get a nice view looking back -this is an interesting part of the city which, without any direct through roads, is very underexplored. Not for us though, we will cover many of the ups and downs in the area.

On bicycle, though, not on foot. If you were walking, you could follow World's End Lane...

This leads to White Hart Steps, which bring you down past a little park to Jacob's Wells Roundabout. Not for cycling, unless there was an MTB event. But walking, that would be good. It could be interesting after rain too: that cobbled area to the right looks designed to take runoff from storms.

Again, vaguely reminiscent of the Alps; those mountain villages with empty stream banks in their middle, streams that turn into torrents after only a day's rain.

Granby Hill

Probably do this one as a downhill, walk over the footbridge to the far side of the A4 portway, en route to Bridge Valley Road

Steep. Visibility OK until this junction here. Cars pulling in from the Portway have to be moving fairly fast or something hits them from behind; they don't always expect cars to be coming down the hill as they turn in.

Clifton Vale

Committing Corner at the top, used to be pretty hairy at night before bike lights got decent.

Now the lighting has got better, but there are cars on both sides of the road, so it's trickier to get past things coming in the other direction.

Plan: downhill

Its good for the constitution

Coming up from the left: Constitution Hill: 1 in 6 and long.

the right hand fork: Clifton Wood Road brings you out of Clifton Wood, on something steeper.

Which are the options here?

1) Constution Hill

2) Clifton Wood Road

3) Both?

To find out, meet at Picton Square Montpelier, 10:30 am, January 10, 2010.

The Bastard Hills of North Bristol

Constitution. Brooks. Marlborough.St Michael's, Nine-Tree. A few words, words with no meaning, no emotion. But add "Hill" to the end of them and something happens. They get a meaning, they come with emotions. Pain, yes, but what else? Fear? Excitement? Anticipation.

A lot of people laugh at the idea of Bristol being a cycling city because of the hills. Why cycle there? It's all hilly!


We say the hills are what make it fun. Copenhagen? Flat. Amsterdam? Flat. London? Mostly flat. Bristol: hilly. Hills that give you a feeling of accomplishment when you get up them, hills that let you glide down them. The only time they aren't so much fun is on a windy evening, when you have to work to pedal down a hill into the rain, a descent you "earned" in the opposite direction in the morning. That is always a bit demoralizing.

It's time to come out and enjoy those hills. January 10, 2010 will be the inaugural Bristol Cycling Campaign's "Bastard Hills of North Bristol" ride. It's going to start in Montpelier, warm up there -Brooks Hill, perhaps, before crossing over to Kingsdown, and so tick off Nine-Tree Hill, Marlborough Hill, St Michael's Hill, one or two others.



Then we'll descend right from the top of St Michael's Hill down to the city centre, try to grab a snack, then it's up Park Street.

Why Park Street? It's the way to Cliftonwood, of course -and the hills there, starting with the one in six gradient climb that is Constitution Hill, and exploring a few more between the harbour and Clifton. Finally: up Bridge Valley Road to finish at the Downs, at the watertower. From there: every way home is downhill.

If you don't like your hills, this is not the ride for you. But if you do like your roads sloping, if you want to go up something steep, turn and go down something equally steep, this will be a fun day going up and down what is known to geologists as the Clifton/Kingsdown escarpment.

1. It's not a race. We'll regroup at the top of each hill, and aim to enjoy it.
   
2. Fix your bike up. Brakes and low gears. Or low "gear", if your bike is singlespeed.
   
3. Work on your hills. One or two. This won't be a distance ride, but you will be working hard for half the ride. Unless you are a fixie rider, in which case you are going to be working hard all the way.
   
4. Avoid putting on weight over Christmas. You can't improve your power output in a few weeks, but you can at least avoid making you power to weight ratio worse by going for the extra helpings of brandy butter with your Christmas pudding.
   
5. Make sure your Bristol Cycling Campaign membership is up to date. The new CTC ride insurance is strict about the number of non-members allowed, and this is going to be a busy ride. You can always join on the day, just turn up early.
   

Because the ride is all in town, it isn't going to be that committing. You can push your bike up -and you won't be alone if you do. If you decide partway through that you'd rather pootle home on the flat, just tell the ride leaders before you back off. Of course, we'd rather you continued to the end, to say "I did it!"

If this event turns out well, we will try and make it an annual event. Also, we could plan another ride, later in the year, where you can enjoy other words that go well with "Hill": Windmill, Rownham, Dundry, along with Vale Street, Totterdown. Yes, South Bristol has its Bastard Hills too.

The Bastard Hills of North Bristol ride begins at 10:30 am from Picton Square/The Thali Cafe Montpelier, on Sunday January 10, 2010.

Start preparing now!