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| A lovely day in the peak district |
It was a sunny start to a Sunday in October 2020, with another possible lockdown looming and 1 week till the 620mile service was due on the 390. I decided to put some much needed miles on the bike. I initially thought about going to Matlock Bath but decided to head in a different direction than I usually take, this decision took me towards the spa town of Buxton and I made my choice to ride the A5004 Long Hill road from Buxton to Whaley Bridge as I haven’t ridden it in over 7 years.
With some amazement I managed to get a clear run from Buxton to just outside of Whaley Bridge and back again without traffic. I did have cyclists to contend with but they were mostly well behaved. The route is made up of many fantastic bends and straights taking in the scenery of Goyt Valley, (which sounds like an insult) with the only let down being some questionable tarmac on a few bends. The elevation change on the road is around 230m(754ft) and I did notice this in the tighter corners because you pick up speed easily.
Riding the road down hill will have you grinning and gritting your teeth at the same time. Entering some corners can be exciting but the blind corners will have you wincing as there is only a barrier between you and a massive drop. On the uphill you just have to worry about on-coming traffic cutting the corners and worrying less about going over the edge and falling into Goyt Valley, this is because the road hugs the hills to the left side. I found the uphill a steadier pace as the bike didn’t want to run away in the corners. There are plenty of areas along the route where you can stop for a rest or turn around, just be mindful that some of theses are gravelled.
It might only be 7.8miles long but the A5004 is a real thrill ride. Get on it early, go in both directions as many times as you want and watch out for cyclists. A brilliant road if you’re in and around the Peak District. This might be in contention for my new favourite road, I think I’ll have to return to the A5004 and ride it again. What a problem to have!
The A5004 forms part of a triangle which includes the A537 Cat & Fiddle and B5470 “Highwayman” roads. I will be reviewing those roads in the future as a series so look out for that.
Here is the route
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Ride safe & Eat cake
Lardy 🧈