Ffordd Pen Llech

Ffordd Pen Llech ([fɔrð pʰɛn ɬeːχ]) is a public road in the town of Harlech which lies within Snowdonia National Park, North Wales. It was once considered the steepest street in the world,[2] although that title reverted to the previous holder Baldwin Street on 8 April 2020.[3]

Ffordd Pen Llech
Gradient warning sign at the top of Ffordd Pen Llech
Length0.2 mi[1] (0.3 km)
LocationHarlech, Gwynedd, Wales
Postal codeLL46 2YL
South endTwtil
52.85929°N 4.10779°W / 52.85929; -4.10779
North endHwylfar Nant
52.86177°N 4.10768°W / 52.86177; -4.10768
Ffordd Pen Llech, Harlech within Gwynedd

Toponym

The name Pen Llech, derived from the Welsh words pen ("head", "end", "top") and llech ("flat rock", "slab", "smooth cliff") can be translated approximately as "end of the rock",[4] "head-stone", or perhaps "stony headland".[5]

Description

Ffordd Pen Llech is one of two roads surrounding the Harlech Castle World Heritage Site and linking the higher town centre with Harlech railway station on the Cambrian Line, as well as housing and camping areas close to sea level. Its descent of the rock spur to the north of the castle gives it a tangentially measured gradient at its steepest section of 1:2.73.[6] Whilst this translates to the vertical rise being 36.63% of the horizontal going, it is normal practice for UK highway authorities to round gradients to a nominal figure to avoid confusing road users with excessive precision;[7] hence the warning sign at the top gives a slope of 40%. Previously, in common with all earlier gradient warning signs in the United Kingdom, the sign displayed an arctan ratio of 1:​2 1⁄2,[8] and was subsequently changed to the new standard of the tangent expressed as a percentage.

The street is a two-way single-track road for the majority of its length. To avoid problems with vehicles meeting on the steepest part of the slope and being unable to restart, the lower portion of the road is a one-way descent.

World record

From 15 July 2019 until 8 April 2020, the street was officially named the "World's Steepest Street" by the Guinness Book of World Records, a title previously given to Baldwin Street in Dunedin, New Zealand.[9][10][11] The Guinness Book of World Records record is measured based on the steepest 10-metre section of the road (there are no buildings on this 10-metre section of Fford Pen Llech).

On 8 April 2020 Guinness Book of World Records announced that Baldwin Street was reinstated as the world’s steepest street after determining that the best practice to calculate a street gradient is to take the measurement from the centreline.[3] The new measurements found the street in Dunedin had a gradient of 34.8% while Ffordd Pen Llech’s was calculated to be 28.6%.

The World Atlas has previously given the accolade of steepest street to Canton Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[12] Unlike Fford Pen Llech, Canton Avenue is entirely residential, homes are built along the steepest stretch of road, and the road is open to two-way vehicle traffic at its steepest point.

Cycling

With its 165-foot (50 m) drop over a short distance, Ffordd Pen Llech is popular with cycling enthusiasts seeking extreme slopes.[13] Its popularity is limited by the one-way system requiring downward travel only (UK law treats bicycles as vehicles and requires riders to observe all traffic signs),[14] meaning that a cyclist would have to defy the regulation to attempt the ascent[15] or make the upward journey via the adjacent road, Twtil, which has a less steep gradient at 25%.[16]

References
  1. "Driving directions to Ffordd Pen Llech". Google. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  2. Rob Ainsley (June 2008). "50 Quirky Bike Rides > 28 Ffordd Pen Llech". Eye Books. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  3. "Baldwin Street in New Zealand reinstated as the world's steepest street". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  4. Charnock, R. S. Local Etymology: A Derivative Dictionary of Geographical Names, 1859, p.205
  5. Blackie, C. Etymological Geography, 1876, p. 128
  6. Dr. Richard M. Green. "Road records". Department of Mathematics, University of Colorado. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  7. "Traffic Signs Manual – Warning Signs" (pdf). The Stationery Office. p. 27. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  8. "The Steepest Road in Britain? (2852)". Oliver O'Brien. 31 January 1999. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  9. McNeilly, Hamish (16 July 2019). "A day of ups and downs for the king of Baldwin St". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  10. Morris, Chris (16 July 2019). "Dunedin loses steepest street title". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  11. Morris, Chris (16 July 2019). "Dunedin's Baldwin Street loses steepest world title: Why residents are celebrating". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  12. https://web.archive.org/web/20170309150348/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/steepest-streets-in-the-world.html
  13. "Strava Segment – Ffordd Pen Llech". Strava, Inc. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  14. "The Highway Code – Rules for cyclists – Rule 69". Gov.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  15. "Hill no 89 – 92 Fford Penllech". Simon Warren. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  16. "Twtil, Harlech". Google. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
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