Niall was keen to visit the tower at the top of Leith Hill, so I investigated a route. The roads don't quite go to the top, but there is a track that goes from the summit of Leith Hill Road, up to the tower, and then down to Coldharbour. It looked possible, but a MTB riding friend advised against doing it on a road bike: he thought there might be quite a bit of walking involved.
On the day, Niall was unwell and couldn't join us, but I was curious so I left the group at the Coldharbour turning, and carried on up the last bit to the summit of the road, turned left, and cycled up the track, which was unsurfaced but less steep than the road. Within half a mile I was at the tower, where there is a great view, a cafe and (today) loads of Duke of Edinburgh award students, who were celebrating not being lost. You can climb the tower for an even better view. The cafe would make a good lunch stop, but I preferred the pub at Coldharbour.
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| Cafeteria in the base of the tower |
The way down was mixed. The first 200 yards was too steep for me to ride, so I had to walk. After that, it was mostly easily rideable, sometimes smooth and sometimes lumpy stones. The last bit was again quite steep and gravelly: I rode it but I'm not sure everyone would like it. In the main, anyone could ride up there and provided you are prepared to walk when you don't feel confident, the descent was OK too. I arrived at Coldharbour not long after the road group.
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| Part of the descent |
Total distance about 1.6 miles, with a mere 150ft of ascent (50m).
Niall was keen to visit the tower at the top of Leith Hill, so I investigated a route. The roads don't quite go to the top, but there is a track that goes from the summit of Leith Hill Road, up to the tower, and then down to Coldharbour. It looked possible, but a MTB riding friend advised against doing it on a road bike: he thought there might be quite a bit of walking involved.
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