Detour #130: Kirkstone Pass, Cumbria, UK
Photo Jonny Gios / Unsplash
Simon Heptinstall takes on one of Britain’s steepest climbs, which would have even Wordsworth breathless.
Turn off the busy main road in Ambleside by the Apple Pie Café and Bakery. Leave the genteel gift shops and tearooms behind and head north.
Officially this lane is called Kirkstone Road but everyone round here calls it ‘The Struggle’. Yes it leads to the Kirkstone Pass but really that’s just a nice viewpoint at the top. The Struggle is THE road to drive to reach it.
Don’t expect an Alpine Pass. It’s not even particularly high. Compared to the utterly outrageous Hardknott Pass to the west The Struggle is just a narrow, steep lane.
It is, however, a relentless effort. It’s probably the best road name in the UK. It makes the three-mile low-gear crawl feel like a major challenge.
Just past some holiday bungalows you’ll see a big red road sign. It even welcomes you with its colloquial name ‘The Struggle’. Then the sign warns drivers: ‘Winter conditions can be hazardous’.
With that strange and rather unhelpful information on board, you continue upward as the road gets steeper. Start to spot inspiring glimpses of the bare moorland above you through the trees.
Photo Jonny Gios / Unsplash
It gets narrower and you start to feel a bit hemmed in on both sides by rough, dry stone walls. At places the road is only six feet six inches wide. And that’s meant for two-way traffic. The steepest points are 1 in 4, or 25 per cent gradient. Again, nothing compared to Hardknott – but when it relentlessly continues for three miles it’s hard not to think of it as a struggle whatever you’re driving.
Rather ridiculously, halfway up, you pass a speed de-restriction sign. As if you’ve been waiting for the chance to really put your foot down.
The Struggle just goes on and on. There can be few drivers who don’t sigh with relief as it ends at a steeply angled T-junction with the A592 high on the fell.
You haven’t quite finished though. The A592 may sound like a reassuring artery of civilisation. But this is Cumbria, of course, and you are 1,500ft up in the sky. It’s probably raining.
You’ve now reached Kirkstone Pass, the highest road pass in the National Park. The good news is that right opposite the junction with The Struggle is the Kirkstone Pass Inn.
This whitewashed stone fortress against the elements was once a vital and potentially-life-saving coaching inn. Now it caters to tourist and hikers, who can capture something of the spirit of the place with hearty soup and crusty bread drying themselves around a huge open fire in the bar. It’s England’s third highest pub and the highest in The Lakes. (The Tan Hill in Yorkshire and Cat & Fiddle in the Peak District are a bit higher.)
The name of the pass comes from a prominent natural stone, the Kirkstone. Spot it standing a few yards from the A592 on the Patterdale side of the inn. Its silhouette resembles a steeple – and 'kirk' means church in old Norse.
The A592 links Troutbeck and Windermere to the south with Patterdale and Ullswater to the north. You’d have to take a huge round trip to travel between them any other way. The A-road is a highway compared to The Struggle. It does get steep and narrow at times but has plenty of passing places. The only hazards are that you may meet are wandering sheep or wobbling cyclists.
Drivers like me love the challenge of The Struggle. You’d have to be at the wheel of a vintage car, or a Yugo, to fail to get up it though. I’ve done it easily in a sports saloon and an SUV. But getting to the top of The Struggle feels rewarding whatever you drive. Of course, for most people, it’s not about what gear you select and how you tackle the corners… but about the scenery.
I did look out the side windows enough to recognise that this route is about as good as it gets in the Lake District if you don’t want to step out of the car. The views in all directions are formidable (in mist and rain) or absolutely inspiring (in sunshine).
Head south from the Inn and the A592 descends from the Pass in a more orderly fashion along a leafy stretch called High Kingate. These more gentle green views eventually open out towards the great landmark of Lake Windermere.
Head north and the Kirkstone Pass descends into Patterdale where even the biggest car feels dwarfed by steep fells all around. Reach beautiful Ullswater at the foot of the Pass and stop to see Aira Force, a National Trust landscaped garden. There’s a spectacular waterfall here that was visited by the poet Wordsworth visited. I was still swearing to myself about The Struggle. I ended up writing this report. He in comparison was inspired to write “I wandered lonely as a cloud.”
Photo Jonny Gios / Unsplash