CYCLING CLIMB 35 SLALEY FOREST 17/10/2025
Following Wainwright's Pennine Journey, the half way point of my endeavor
Route: Hexham Station, SLALEY FOREST, Blanchland, Horseshoe Hill, Carterway Heads, Hexham.
Also includes Climb 36
This Climb
Climb 35 marks the halfway point in this endeavour, however due to a counting error where Climbs 16 and 17 got lost in the confusion of Christmas I didn't realise it at the time. This was also the first time the helmet cam was used.
OS Map Link:
Starting at Hexham Station, and following the less busy side roads up 150m to yet another Mount Pleasant at quite a challenging 10% before losing 100m of those to drop down into Newbiggin.
In fact, Newbiggin might also be a logical starting point for this adventure. A relentless climb up ever increasing gradients, with the last haul up the surfaced road requiring a switch up to ebike TOUR (2/4) mode to tackle the final 17% section, thankfully followed by an easier final section of 300m or so along the forest track to reach the top. One of those flat Pennine tops that isn't particularly obvious on the ground.
Points of Interest
This route follows where possible, or otherwise runs parallel to, a section of Alfred Wainwright’s “A Pennine Journey”.
Hexham itself is well worth a visit with lots for the cultured tourist, and always features well in the “happiest place to live” stakes. Slaley Forest gets a page on the Forestry England Website, but the only entry under “things to do” is to go for a walk.
Slaley Forest. Not particularly exciting
Newbiggin is a frequently found name of small settlements in Cumbria and Northumberland. It simply means “new house” in old English.