What is it like living on Britain's 'steepest street'?

People living in the steepest street in England may have to wear studded shoes in winter, and walk down the hill to collect takeaways and even washing machine deliveries, but they say they wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

Homeowners on Vale Street in Bristol - ranked the steepest road in England by Ordnance Survey - say that while the 22-degree gradient incline restricts some parts of life, they have adapted and enjoy the benefits the incline has brought them.

Despite delivery drivers refusing to scale the road and not being able to drive their cars up the street, residents say the "view and community is worth it".

Artist Benji Appleby-Tyler, 45, who has lived on the street for nine years said: "It's fine most of the time. It's the winter that is the hardest part.

"It gets very slippery so we have to wear crampons if we want to leave the house - they're like studs you can add to your shoes.

"We get a lot of people coming to look at the road. Especially during lockdown. We get groups of bikers and runners going up and down the street. We don't mind it at all."

But Appleby-Tyler admits that living on the steepest street in England does have its drawbacks.

"Deliveries can be tricky," he said. "When we got a new washing machine we had to go and collect it and bring it down.

"Takeaway drivers tend to not come to the door either - we have to meet them at the bottom of the road."

Fellow residents agree that although navigating life on the hill can be tricky, it's worth the effort.

Environmental consultant Kath Haddow, who has lived in Vale Street for 20 years, said she will only ever drive down it, never up.

"It feels like it's going to burn out the clutch so I just drive around the other streets," she said.

"In one way we're quite lucky because no one ever wants to park on this road. The only people that park here are the people who live here.

"You have to check the weather forecast though. If you don't move your car before it starts snowing you'll be stuck for weeks as the ice doesn't melt for a while.

"I will say that the bin men are incredible. They go to the top and reverse down the hill."

Neighbours in the street make the most of their unique incline - skiing down and even hosting an annual egg rolling competition.

The event sees them painting eggs then racing them to the bottom of the hill

Rouska Lundin, 43, a company director who has lived on the road for eight years said: "It's great living here and worth it for the view. It's much easier now the kids aren't in a pushchair either.

"I've never driven up the road in the entire eight years I've lived here. I've always gone to the top and driven down.

"I get a food shop delivered but I've been told by drivers there's always lots of notes in their system warning them not to drive up this road.

"I love it here. There's a nice community here that always looks out for each other."

Lundin's neighbour, communications manager Helen Loney, 49, has lived on the street for 20 years agreed. She said: "Most people on this side of the road never leave because of the view. It's stunning.

"You forget that you're surrounded by people so close to the city centre. It's definitely worth the hill and because people don't want to come up here it's quiet.

"We get some cyclists and runners. I think the funniest thing I've seen is a unicyclist trying to get up here.

"I'd never leave. I love it here."

What is the steepest hill in the UK?

While Vale Road has been named the UK's steepest street, with people living on it, the steepest road in Britain is officially Ffordd Pen Llech in Harlech, North Wales, according to Guinness World Records (GWR), with a peak gradient of 37.5%.

However, keen bikers and walkers, including cyclist and author Simon Warren, who specialises in hill climbs and is the author of the 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs series, announced in 2021 that Bamford Clough in the Peak District was steeper.

In September of that year he posted on Twitter that Bamford Clough had a gradient of 36.5% at its steepest point, prompting followers to agree that it could be steeper overall than Ffordd Pen Llech.

What is the steepest street in the world?

Ffordd Pen Llech had been listed by GWR as the steepest road in the world until 2020, when the title was handed to Baldwin Street in Dunedin, New Zealand, after GWR reviewed how it takes measurements.

The body decided that the best practice was to take measurements from the centreline of the street, which gave maximum gradients of 28.6% at Ffordd Pen Llech and 34.8% at Baldwin Street, which could mean that Bamford Clough is indeed in with a chance of taking the title after all...

The top five steepest streets in England are Vale Street, followed by Old Wyche Road, in Worcestershire, Blake Street in Sheffield, Steep Hill in Lincoln, and Gold Street in Shaftesbury, Dorset, made famous after featuring in a 1970s TV advert for Hovis bread.

Vale Street is four degrees steeper than its Worcestershire neighbour.