If you like the challenge of cycling up a few hills, then you will enjoy the following route. It is circular so that you start and finish at any point along the way.

click on the picture for a larger view

The route is part of a ride that I used to do when living in Stoke on Trent. It doesn't include the section between my former home and Leek and reduces the ride to about 50 miles. If you don't like cycling up hills then don't bother. Even if you take the odd shortcut or two to lessen the journey you will not escape having to cycle up some large (for England) hills.

If you wish to try this route but need to drive to get to the area, there are car parking facilities at Tittesworth reservoir at Meerbrook, which is close to the start of the ride off the A53. There is a small charge but there are toilet facilities, picnic areas and a visitor centre.

As I used to approach the ride from the south, I will start the description of the route from the bottom left corner of the map. At the Moss Rose Inn, just outside Leek on the A53 Buxton Rd, follow the road sign posted to Thorncliffe. The road descends slightly until it crosses a small bridge. Apart from a few small dips the road now goes up for the next few miles.

Follow the road through Thorncliffe and past the Red Lion pub. The road dips slightly and the starts upwards again. After a couple of hundred yards the road turns sharply to the left. In front of you will see it rise steeply. This is the steepest part of the climb and as you leave Thorncliffe the climb eases slightly. About halfway up the climb the road levels and there is a double bend, after which the road climbs again. Although not as steep as the lower part of the climb I always find it the worst part.

Looking back past the Mermaid pub. The horizon is the top of the climb up from Thorncliffe.

Once at the top of the climb, you can either admire the views to the west or enjoy the respite from the uphill slog. Carry on past the Mermaid pub and don't worry about the road going upwards again. You are at the top now and it will soon be down hill. Continue straight on past the pool on the left side of the road and then take the next turning right, towards Longnor. The road is descending now but once lower down there are a few bumps and twists and turns. Turn left at a junction that has white metal fencing on the corner. At the next junction turn right. The road continues to descend followed by a small rise into the village of Longnor. There is a shop and public toilets in the village square as well as quite a few pubs.

Longnor

Turn left towards Glutton Bridge and Earl Sterndale. The road climbs gently for about half a mile and then descends steeply into Glutton Bridge. Back to the climbing now. Nicely warmed up this shouldn't be too hard. As you leave Glutton Bridge behind you, you should see the road bend round to the left. The top of the climb is somewhere up at the top of the ridge. Once over the top, you will pass by the entrance to the quarry on the descent. At the junction with the A515 Buxton to Ashbourne road turn right and then left onto the A5270. This is a wide main road so watch out for fast moving traffic. The next couple of miles are relatively flat. Once again turn right at the junction with the A6 and soon after turn left towards Miller Dale and Tideswell. Descend into Miller Dale and up out of the other side. This climb is nice and gentle and you'll soon be breezing into Tidswell. Half a mile or so out of Tidswell and you reach the junction with the A623 Chapel to Baslow road. It is a slight right left, but basically go straight on along the B6049 towards Bradwell. If the weather is reasonable you should see the sailplanes from the gliding club that is based on Camp Hill. About a mile along the road from the junction the road starts to descend down towards Bradwell with Bradwell Edge rising up to the right of you. Continue through Bradwell and Brough for a couple of miles until you reach the junction with the A6187. Turn left towards Hope and Castleton. This next section of the ride can get very busy at weekends and bank holidays with tourists, walkers and cyclists (both road and mountain). The Woodbine Cafe in Hope is popular with walkers, cyclists and hang glider pilots and is a good place to stop if you need to refuel.As I mentioned this region can get very busy and with drivers looking for parking spaces and tourists browsing the gift shops extra care should be taken.

Kellogs Tour climbing the Winnats Pass

The main road that used to climb up past Mam Tor has long since been abandoned due to the hill continually slipping away beneath it. All traffic now travels up through the Winnats Pass. The climb starts off quite easily, but once over the cattle grid it goes up steeply. The steepness of the surounding slopes seem to me to make the climb look less steep than it actually is. Your legs will not decieve you. In my youth I used a 42/21 gear (it was the lowest gear that I had) and suffered all the way up. In my 40s I swapped to a 39/23 gear (once again the lowest gear on my bike) and still suffered all the way to the top. Keep turning the pedals (count the grids at the side of the road) as the satisfaction of crossing the top cattle grid still in the saddle is immense. With the Winnats Pass behind you turn left towards Sparrowpitt. Keep your pedals spinning down the short descent or else they are liable to cramp during the equally short climb into Sparrowpitt. At the junction with the A623 turn right towards Chapel-en-le-Frith. The road descends for a mile or so until you reach the junction with the A6. Turn left towards Buxton. The road climbs up gently through Dove Holes then levels out and finally descends into Buxton. At the roundabout turn right following the signs for Leek and Macclesfield. There are a three more small roundabouts before you pass the Buxton Opera House on the left. Follow the A53 out of Buxton. As the road starts to climb carry straight on at the traffic lights and past the junction with the A54 to Macclesfield. You are now at the bottom of the Axe Edge climb. With fresh legs this would be quite a steady climb, but if they, your legs, are still back half way up the Winnats Pass, this climb will seem to go on forever. As you cross back into Staffordshire the climbing is all behind you. If you need some refreshment there is a general store by the Travellers Rest pub. The milestones will now count down the distance to the end of the route. As you start to descend past the Winking Man and Ramshaw Rocks make sure that you have still got a little energy in your legs to launch yourself off the top of the drop through Upper Hume. The road descends steeply but with no turns, so use your biggest gear to get off to a fast start and then get in to the most aerodynamic position you can to plummet down the descent. At 65 to 70 mph most cycle computers start to give erratic readouts as the reed switch starts to bounce. Fortunately these errors tend to push the maximum recorded speed up to 140+ mph which is always good for impressing your mates. Please note that there is a side road on the right towards the bottom of the hill. Drivers are not expecting cyclist to approach at speeds of 20 mph never mind in excess of the national speed limit. Take extreme care and pay attention to other road users. Even just falling off at such speeds is going to do serious damage; lycra is not that protective.
Just a few miles to go now. Nothing very exciting as all the large hills are behind you with just one more small descent followed by a small rise back to the finish of the route.

Profile of the ride starting at Leek

Maps of Winnats Pass & Thorncliffe courtesy of OS. For online maps and for further details of the route visit Get-a-Map