This road is like...#1

The idea for this post started on Facebook with a discussion of UK climbs that might remind you of Mont Ventoux.

OK, so you need to add a good dose of imagination!

Great Dun Fell was the first suggestion, but I usually think of Castle Hill near Huddersfield as a contender. Obviously, the length and height gained are nowhere close to Mont Ventoux, but the silhouette of the castle on the top of the hill reminds me (slightly) of the observatory on the summit.

For me, the similarities don't end there. Castle Hill can often be spotted in views, although it doesn't dominate the skyline like Mont Ventoux. But you also see the summit and the castle as you can climb through the trees and farm houses on Lumb Lane, like you do as you ascend the mountain in Provence.

For the statisticians, Castle Hill via Arkenley Lane and Lumb Lane is about 2.8km long compared to 21.5km up Mont Ventoux from Bedoin, and the ascent is 150m compared to over 1500m. So the length and height gained is 10 times less, but the maximum gradient  is trumped with ramps on Castle Hill up to 25%, and surely steeper if you take the inside of the final hairpin. And the view? Well, I think it's special.

Next: Muur van Geraardsbergen (Belgium)