100 Climbs Route: Day 6, Bath to Aberdare

In August 2018, three Cycling UK members - Dominic Millar, Graham Salisbury and James Findlater – cycled a 3,300-mile, 29-day route around Britain to take on all 100 hills featured in Simon Warren’s book ‘100 Greatest Cycling Climbs’. This route plots day six of the journey, 104 miles from Bath to Aberdare, taking in the climbs of Weston Hill, The Tumble, Llangynidr Mountain and Bryn Du.

As you may have noticed on this route, the days tend to start with a bang and leaving Bath is no different. Weston Hill will take you away from the city and give your legs a real kickstart. There’s a kick in the tail, too, with a 20% section near the top.

The ride today is notable for two things. First, you'll be entering a new country, with the route passing around the top of Bristol then over the Severn Bridge into Wales. And secondly, while you've already taken on some mighty climbs, today is the first day you'll take on a genuine ‘mountain’ with the climb of Llangynidr Mountain.

Before you get there, though, you'll have to conquer the Tumble. Definitely not named after the CBeebies character (Mr), this is one of the most feared climbs in Wales, with cattle grids, dodgy surfaces, and an unrelenting gradient, at least initially. Things do ease off as you enter the eerie environments of the summit, though. 

In any case, it’s just a starter for what’s coming next, with a drop down to Llangynidr before you take on the mountain of the same name. From the relatively gentle and genteel start, things get wilder and rougher further up, and then there's a short dip before the summit before the final push to the top.

Just one hill to go, and this last one is right next to the destination for the day, Aderdare. Before you refuel, relax and hole up for the night, take a quick detour up Bryn Du. While it’s definitely steep to begin, it’s also smooth and the collection of twists and turns halfway up makes for quite a glorious climb.