Hardest Climb in the UK (That Hardly Anyone Knows!) | Abdon Burf

Hardest Climb in the UK (That Hardly Anyone Knows!) | Abdon Burf

Abdon Burf — the highest point in Shropshire and one of the toughest, most underrated climbs in the UK. In Climbed & Rated Ep.12, I take on this brutal ascent with gradients that hit 25%, sharing my ride experience, pacing strategy, and what it really feels like to push up one of Britain’s hardest hidden gems.

From the steep, narrow approach to the final grind to the summit, this climb delivers everything — pain, challenge, and incredible views of the Shropshire Hills. Whether you’re a local rider or a hill-hunting cyclist from further afield, Abdon Burf deserves a place on your bucket list.

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Abdom birth is one of the most difficult climbs in the UK. It’s given me nightmares for the past three years since my last visit. For context, this climb is harder than the 33% hard not pass in the Lake District. So, this is no joke of a climb. Right, time to go through this gate. Stop procrastinating and let’s just get on with this. Abdom birth has given me nightmares for the past 3 years. A hidden brutal climb in which only 667 riders have registered a ride on Strava up abdom birth. I mentally gave up on this climb 3 years ago. Today I’m back to settle a score. Right, first aim traction. Stop this. While I go over the stats of Abdom Birth, keep an eye on the awful road surface and pair that up with the insane gradient you can see on the top left corner of the screen. Abdom Ber is just over a mile long, averages 11%, has a max gradient of 26%. It’s the highest point in Shroptshire at 1,746 ft. And Simon Warren has given it a difficulty of 11 out of 10. So, this climb is insane and will test anyone to their limit. Little bit of wheel spin there to be expected a bit though. Due to the moss, the leaves, and the gravel, I highly recommend that you tackle this on a dry day to minimize the inevitable wheel spinning of this brute. More wheel spinning again there. The reason why abdom birth was given a rating of 11 out of 10 is due to the first half a mile. The first half a mile averages 20%. Not a max gradient of 20%, averages 20% on a narrow gun barrel straight road, which makes weaving extremely difficult. And then you’ve got the loose surface making it even tougher. But luckily, the service improves dramatically once you’re out of the first tree tunnel. This climb is very overwhelming if you think of it as a whole. So, in an attempt to make this climb less intimidating to me, I created five checkpoints in my head to reach and tick off. The first one was to get to the end of the tree tunnel. Second, reach the woodland entrance on the left. Third was to get past the spot I put my foot down 3 years ago when I mentally gave up. Fourth was get over the cattle grid. And the final one was the left bend at the top where you reached a much easier second half where the enjoyment can begin. That way I had smaller goals to aim at and the end doesn’t feel like it’s a lifetime away from me. Now leaving the tree shelter and if you look at the surface is now dramatically better. So that’s one less thing to worry about traction on the floor. It’s like now I just got to concentrate on holding on, keep pushing the pedals as my heart rate is now approaching 180 beats per minute and it’s only going to get higher as this effort goes along. One of the few pluses about this section of road is that it’s closed off to public cars. So the likelihood of you ever encountering a car on this road is almost less than zero. Here on the left is checkpoint 2, the entrance from the woods. But there has been a lot of trees cut down around here since my last visit 3 years ago. So it doesn’t only look like a woodlands. Now the next checkpoint is where I mentally gave up last time 3 years ago. That moment was a blessing in disguise. I’ve used that memory of regret to fuel and complete so many efforts since. Soon as my right foot hit the ground 3 years ago, I knew I could have and should have continued. I had instant regret and it was a horrible feeling. Now, whenever I tackle an extremely challenging climb and the voice in my head says, “It’s too much. Put your foot down and show mercy on your legs.” I remind myself of that moment and how much I hated that feeling of regret. Earlier this year, I used that a lot during my effort up hard not pass in the Fred Witten. Without that moment of learning, I would have found hard not pass so much more challenging mentally. The effort is really starting to pinch now. My heart rate is in the 180s. And what I don’t need is uninvited guests on this ride. There’s a lot of flies around my head at the minute. Not very pleasant. It was here last time. I put my foot down. That’s checkpoint three ticked off. We’re mentally, not physically, I gave up. Oh god. Well, these flies will go away. There’s so many of them. And there’s checkpoint 4. The cattle grid. It’s ticked off and these flies are just not going away. I’m trying to shake the camera to get them off the camera. But just as here, the wind starts picking up a little bit as you get a little bit higher. And most of them then disappeared. There was still the odd one around, but very, very annoying. If you’ve enjoyed this episode of Climbed and Rated, why don’t you consider liking the video and subscribing so you don’t miss the next episode of Climbed and Rated. Some awesome views to the right there. We’re just reaching the fifth and final checkpoint of that hellish first half a mile, which has taken me 9 minutes and 20 seconds, where my average speed was 3.4. 4 mph or 5.5 km hour. My average heart rate was 176 beats per minute. I averaged a 351 watt, which is 3.9 watts per kilo at 89 kg. The radio mass we can see at the top there, that’s the summit. We got half a mile to it. Let’s go a bit around the Rican and that half a mile to the summit averages 4.5%. So much more gentle giving me a chance to enjoy the epic views around here. Back down to very gentle. This is pretty much flat maybe false flights two% it says. Look at that. Yes. I think in the distance I can see Birmingham. See the tall buildings. You probably can’t make it out on the video. Be mind 9:00. There’s Birmingham. Last time we went past this old battered shelter house, whatever you want to call it, abandoned building. There’s a load of sheep in here all sleeping. Must been about 20 of them. See if there any in there today. I can see one. Yeah, a fair few of them in there. Oh, bless them. Oh, what’s this one doing? Supposed to look before you cross the roads. Carry on around here. It’s going to be a nice little little pond. Very picturesque. Be on my left in a minute. Is this it? Yeah, that’s it. Very nice. I have a steep bit about to come up now, but nowhere compared to what we’ve just been doing. Just looked at cattle grid about 10:00 maybe 11. Stay there. Stay there. Good girls. You got to look at that. That is an absolute crater. We’re nearly at the summit now. And trust me, the view right at the top is incredible. Brilliant 360 view. Be able to see into Wales, back into the heart of England. It’s stunning. And here we are at the finish. All done in just over 14 minutes. Nearly 2 minutes faster than 3 years ago. And most importantly, with no feet being put down. I’m so happy with this effort. One of the happiest moments I’ve had on the bike in a while. Finally putting this one to bed and settling a score. Now it’s time for the reward of the view on a clear sunny day. That bird view. Now we’ve climbed it, it’s time to see where Abd ranks on the climbed and rated league table. Difficulty. This climb is insanity. The gradient, the road surface. Abdom birth is the first climb to claim a five out of five for difficulty in the climbed and rated series. Scenery. The second half you have epic views for miles in all directions, which you can enjoy whilst pedalling along. and you are rewarded with a 360 viewing point at the top to rival any viewing point in England. Five out of five ride environment. A big plus is that this climb is traffic free which saves it from a very low score. Only really ridable in dry weather due to the early road surface. Three out of five. Satisfaction. You will never forget the moment you conquer this beast. Five out of five. That puts Abdom Birth joint top with Fleet Moss on 18 points. Do you agree with my high score for Abdom Ber? Let me know in the comments. Also, which climbs would you like me to do next? Thanks for watching and I’ll see you next time up another climb on two wheels.