A pass in the Lake District National Park
Hardknott Pass
From Eskdale to the Duddon ValleyOne of the very best roads for 15 miles round
- Length
- 3.0 mi
- Climbing
- 1,017 ft
- Highest point
- 1,289 ft
- Steepest
- 23%
England's steepest road, or near enough: its signs famously warn of 1 in 3, and the hairpins near the top feel every bit of it. It climbs out of Eskdale past the ruins of a Roman fort, crosses the top among crags and bracken, and drops to Cockley Beck in the Duddon Valley, where Wrynose Pass carries on east.
It's single track with passing places, tight on the bends, and best left alone in ice or snow, or in a car that struggles on hills. In summer it's quieter early and late. On the steepest parts, give way to anyone coming uphill, as the Highway Code asks.
- Properly twisty, hairpins and all
- Hills either side
- Through the Lake District National Park
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