Detour #238: The Steepest Road in England, Yorkshire, UK

Rosedale Chimney Bank is so steep that cyclists call it The Chain Breaker, but what’s it like to drive?

We do love an apex at Detour. Not just the kind that has you clipping corners, but those boundary-reaching drives which lead to a limit. In previous excursions to the extreme we’ve driven both the bendiest road in Britain and one of its straightest. And now it’s the turn of the steepest.

Rosedale Chimney Bank is actually tied with the Lake District’s Hardknott Pass when it comes to grinding climbs. In less than a mile it rises 568 feet, with an average gradient of 13 per cent, peaking at 33 per cent, or one-in-three. Local masochist cyclists call it “The Chain Breaker.”

Its location in the heart of the Yorkshire Moors means that whichever way you get to Rosedale Chimney Bank you’re in for a delightful drive, but we’d especially recommend the route from York.

Leaving the ancient walled city I head north east on the A1036, which is always busy with shoppers headed for the Monks Cross retail park. When I hit the A64 at Stockton on the Forest the traffic picks up its pace, but it’s rare to find the road to Scarborough anything but occupied. Fortunately, I don’t need to stay on it long, turning off at Barton Hill on to Mains Lane.

After a few zigs and zags the road sets its sights due north and, now known as The Stay,  doesn’t deviate from its trajectory for mile after mile. This is the road to Castle Howard, the magnificent stately home that dates back to 1699 and the approach is certainly drawn out. I pass through two gatehouse along the impressively manicured avenue. No wonder it took over 100 years to finish, during which time three different Earls lived and died on the 9,000 acre estate.

These days it’s best known for starring in Brideshead Revisted, Bridgerton and numerous other period dramas. To explore the grounds or the house you’ll need to buy a ticket, or you can do what I did and have a taste of the grandeur at the café and farm shop.

Back on The Stay it remains steadfast in its straightness, but as it heads into the Howardian Hills it becomes a rollicking roller coaster ride of stomach-unsettling crests and drops.

I follow the road to beyond Welburn and join the A170 to Kirkbymoorside then take Yen Brow to Hutton-le-Hole. Named one of the 20 most beautiful villages in the UK by Condé Nast Traveler magazine, Hutton-le-Hole is another step back in time – a living museum. From its thatched cottages to an Iron Age round house and even England’s first photographic studio Hutton-le-Hole is history brought to life.

No sooner have I left the village than I’m climbing up on to the open expanse of the North York Moors. Its barren beauty is all the more haunting, if as happened on Detour’s visit the fog rolls in.

On a clear day you can see for miles, but in the dense mist its easy to lose one’s bearings. Only when the road begins its descent to Rosedale Abbey, down the infamous Chimney Bank does visibility reappear. And just in the nick of time, too. For the few turns are quite sharp and cambered, so I’m on the brakes all the way down.

In the village I turn around to tackle the ascent. Detour’s electric Kia EV6 packs plenty of torque and takes the climb in its stride, but as I stop to take photographs I hear the unmistakable sound of a small engine straining in its lowest gear as a little hatchback crawls up the bank. Rosedale’s reputation, it would appear, is justified, after all.

Words Nik Berg Twitter/X | Instagram
Photography Nik Berg & Chris Johnson

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ROADBOOK

CLASS: Amazing ascent

NAME: England’s Steepest road

ROUTE: York to Rosedale Abbey

COUNTRY: UK

Distance: 33 Miles

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