SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING

The format of the books has remained the same throughout, and whilst some might occasionally want to question the inclusion or exclusion of a particular climb, or the ‘rating out of 10’ given to each, you won’t find a more comprehensive catalogue of British cycling-friendly climbs anywhere – or maybe that should be cycling-unfriendly climbs, depending on your point of view.

 

The regional guides have always suffered from being relatively poor value compared to the original books, because for the same price as the original ‘100s’ you won’t receive nearly as many pages.  It is also worth noting that in some cases the area covered may not be exactly what you would expect, so might need clarification if you want coverage of a particular area.

 

‘Scotland’ was the 6th guide to appear, and there is no ambiguity about the territory covered there.  I was surprised to find that there were only 60 climbs that merited inclusion, but not surprised to see how widely spread they were across the whole country.

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Next up was the ‘North-East’, covering Teesside, County Durham, and Northumberland.  Warren accepts that the area had been “somewhat overlooked” in his previous books, but with only 50 climbs included cyclists in the area might still feel a little short-changed.  On the positive side, the area is compact enough for Warren to be able to suggest a “relatively short yet challenging” 74 kilometre circular route that takes in six worthwhile climbs.

 

The final and eighth guide to appear was the ‘North-West’, covering Cumbria, Lancashire, Liverpool & Manchester, and Cheshire; given that it covers the Lake District, Warren wanted to “save the best until last”.  The good news is that the number of climbs is back up to 75 for this volume, with more new ones than any other regional guide (at 43); the bad news is that the looped route that Warren suggests is actually the notoriously arduous Fred Whitton Challenge.