Porlock Hill is a road west of

Porlock Porlock is a coastal village in Somerset, England, west of Minehead. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 1,440. In 2017, Porlock had the highest percentage of elderly population in England, with over 40% being of pensionable ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. It is part of the A39, connecting Porlock to

Lynmouth Lynmouth is a village in Devon, England, on the northern edge of Exmoor. The village straddles the confluence of the West Lyn River, West Lyn and East Lyn River, East Lyn rivers, in a gorge directly below the neighbouring town of Lynton, w ...

and

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and is the steepest A-road in the United Kingdom, approaching 1 in 4 (25%) in places. A

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

is available which connects the same two endpoints at the top and bottom of the hill at an easier gradient.

Route

The route climbs west of Porlock to the north fringes of

Exmoor Exmoor () is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simons ...

. It climbs in just under , the steepest

gradient In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function f of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p gives the direction and the rate of fastest increase. The g ...

on any A-road in the UK. At one point, there is a warning sign advising motorists of a gradient of 1 in 4 (25%). The road is part of the A39, a long-distance road along the north coast of Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, though it is not a main through route here. Porlock Hill is not recommended for caravans or HGVs, which are strongly advised to seek another route. Cyclists are advised to dismount. The road has two

escape lane A runaway truck ramp, runaway truck lane, escape lane, safety ramp, emergency escape ramp, or truck arrester bed is a traffic device that enables vehicles which are having braking problems to stop safely. It is typically a long, sand- or gravel- ...

s along its descent, to handle runaway vehicles. Owing to its gradient, numerous accidents have occurred on Porlock Hill. The village's local museum has an archive of photographs documenting various incidents along it. In Porlock itself, burning brakes of vehicles that have just descended the hill can often be smelled.

History

There was no practical transport west of Porlock in the 18th century. In 1794, the poet

Robert Southey Robert Southey (; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic poetry, Romantic school, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth an ...

wrote that such a route was considered "the end of the world". In 1812, the local community was fined for not maintaining a good road, and builders were employed to construct a suitable route. The road opened in 1843 when a

stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

travelled from

Lynton Lynton is a town on the Exmoor coast in the North Devon district in the county of Devon, England, approximately north-east of Barnstaple and west of Minehead, and close to the confluence of the West Lyn and East Lyn rivers. Lynton sits dire ...

to Porlock successfully. Shortly after the road opened, a local landowner, Mr Blathwayt, decided to build a

further north at a more relaxed gradient of 1 in 14 (7%). The toll road was not successful initially as horse-drawn traffic could cope with Porlock Hill, but became popular owing to the increased popularity of the motor car. During a storm in 1899, the Lynmouth lifeboat could not be launched from the harbour to aid a stricken vessel, so instead it was hauled east by land, down Porlock Hill to the weir at Porlock, where it could be launched safely. The event is remembered in the song "13 Miles" by

Skinny Lister Skinny Lister are a British band formed in London in 2009. They were a five-piece band until October 2013 when a drummer was added. In August 2022 they returned to being a five piece after Sam Brace left and the decision was made not to replace ...

. On 19 August 1900,

Selwyn Edge Selwyn Francis Edge (1868–1940) was a British businessman, racing driver, cyclist and record-breaker. He is principally associated with selling and racing De Dion-Bouton, Gladiator; Clemént-Panhard, Napier and AC cars. Personal life Edge w ...

became the first person to drive a motor car up Porlock Hill, winning a £50 bet in the process. The first motor coach managed to climb the hill successfully in 1916.

Events

Porlock Hill is popular with cyclists. In 2015, over a hundred racers competed for a £3,100 prize to cycle up the hill along the toll road, followed by a series of children's races and a general fun ride. In 2022 for the first time there was also a race up the hill. It is listed as one of the 100 greatest cycling climbs in the UK.

References

Citations Sources * * *

External links

Porlock Hill Climb
– cycle race website {{^, Commented out link of video of bus climbing Porlock Hill as it does not contain the described footage. Left original source in place (commented out) in case others think it should be reinstated. - 18/3/24 Roads in Somerset Hills of Somerset

Route

History

Events

See also

References

External links