The route takes you on the Lake Districts highest mountain pass, with 1 in 4 gradient in some points along the road. They can only descend the sharp hairpins quite slowly.A really scenic climb, the maximum gradient on this climb is 16%, there are several hairpins and places for recovery. The other two ways, on the main road (A592) are less steep, but make good long challenging climbs.From Ambleside, the road soon becomes very steep around swooping corners. It is the third highest public house in England.Kirkstone Pass and quarry. You are also less likely to get caught behind motor cars.I have ridden Kirkstone Pass more than any other climbs in the Lake District. It reaches a height of 1,489 feet (454 m) and affords great views of the surrounding lakes. The hardest section is near the top, where the nice easy gradient gives way to a couple of km of 12-13%.It makes a nice descent.
After passing the small lake of Brotherswater the climb proper begins. There are two wicked hairpins at 20% before you finally reach the Kirkstone Inn at the top of the climb. The road to the pass is asphalted. It is a long unremitting hill climb, punctuated by a few false flats and sections of downhill. The gradient ramps up, and you will soon be getting out of the saddle to get over the steepest sections. Kirkstone pass is the highest major road (A592) in the Lake District. There are three different routes to the top of Kirkstone Pass, each offering there own challenges.
Kirkstone Pass – The Struggle Loop from Ambleside is an intermediate road ride. In places, the gradient is 1 in 4. It is only when you go through a roundabout and on to the A592 that the climb begins proper.The climb follows the valley and often averages around 3% on the lower slopes. The Fred Whitton Challenge starts off with the Kirkstone Pass, but with common sense tackles, the longer and shallow ascent from the South.The ascent from Ullswater is another great climb. But, it is pretty hard due to the gradient and length. The latter took on a much more common geological formation, being an accumulation of dense and deeply compressed sedimentary material formed some years after the volcanic period, deep in the rifts of the earth’s surface.In 2012 Kirkstone Quarry went into administration with the loss of 39 highly skilled and, locally, much prized jobs. Kirkstone Pass. It is fast without too many sharp corners. The Struggle, leaving Ambleside. This second leg of the climb is hard because you will inevitably be tired after the first section. After 3km, the road levels out and there is a bit of descent.This gives you a little chance for recovery but the second leg is really tough because it finishes with the steepest section right at the end. I always say these days ‘he’ll be at the back having a laugh’ – It’s hard to explain how you can win the Tour de France, win an Olympic gold in world record time, but still be at the back of the peleton in the Tour of Britain.After the steep section, there is a long steady climb with an average of 8-10%. Book your tickets online for Kirkstone Pass, Ambleside: See 68 reviews, articles, and 77 photos of Kirkstone Pass, ranked No.13 on Tripadvisor among 36 attractions in Ambleside.
I did most of this climb in the saddle, it only gets very steep for a short section towards the top.Always bear in mind, the weather is likely to be wetter and colder at the top.The Fred actually goes up Holbeck Lane which is a left as you come out of Ambleside (heading towards Windermere). Views of Kirkstone Pass are incredible and on the other side is a road to Ambleside. The hardest is ‘The Struggle’ which takes the shortest route from Ambleside to Kirkstone Pass. The former, a unique composition of volcanic material layered down some 450 million years ago, is found only in relatively small deposits within the Lake District. See this Tour and others like it, or plan your own with komoot! Looking at this picture you can see why. Kirkstone Pass is a mountain pass at an elevation of 454m (1,489ft) above the sea level, located in the English Lake District, in the county of Cumbria. Formerly an important coaching inn, it now caters primarily for tourists.
The road surface here is very smooth (it was recently replaced), but it doesn’t make it an easy ride. If you’re traveling in the winter, watch out though as Kirkstone Pass is not the best road and they sometimes close it if it becomes icy or snowy. The road surface also deteriorates near the top.It took me 12 minutes from the bottom of Ambleside to the top. At it’s steepest it reaches up to 18% gradient, it’s a really tough climb. Today It connects The Kirkstone Pass Inn stands close to the summit of the pass.