United Kingdom Haytor Vale (SW #9)
Haytor Vale (SW #9) Bike Climb - PJAMM Cycling

6.4
PDI
3.3 mi
DISTANCE
1,120 ft
GAINED
6.3 %
AVG. GRADE
FULL CLIMB STATS
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INTRO

Haytor Vale is Climb #9 of Simon Warren's 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs (Great Britain). Cycling up Haytor Vale has been made famous by its several hilltop finishes in the Tour of Britain.  

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Average grade is 6.3% (6.9% climb only).  55% of the climb is at 5-10% grade, 10% is at 10-15%, and a fraction of the climb is in the 15-20% gradient range.  The steepest 500 meters is 11.8%.

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Roadway:  Two lane roadway with center stripe in good condition with no shoulder.

Traffic:  Moderate for the first half of the climb and mild the last half. 

Parking:  At the car park at the top - where you can leave your hiking shoes, ride to the bottom and then do the bike climb + hike to Haytor Rocks after.  Or at the Station Road Car Park (paid parking), one km from the start of the climb (Map;  Street View). 
Provisions: The Tinpickle and Rhum is on the route at kilometer 4.5, and there are  plenty of places to get food and beverages in Bovey Tracy where the climb begins. 
Before heading out on any cycling adventure check out our Things to Bring on a Cycling Trip and use our interactive check list to ensure you don't forget anything.
This is #9 on the 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs, Britain and is one of 13 climbs in the South-West section of the book. Use the “Routes in Area” button on the menu bar to see other bike climbs in the region.  

Bring your hiking shoes because this is a hiking haven - there are many trails around the Haytor Rocks and Haytor Quary.  Also visit Haytor National Park Information Centre just down from the top of the climb at kilometer 4.7. 

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CLIMB SUMMARY

Cycling Haytor Vale - view from base of hillside looking directly up to summit, blue sky, rock formation at top, grass and shrubbery with a trail down center, Simon Warren's 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs #9 logo in corner

Haytor Rocks at climb’s finish.     

Cycling Haytor Vale - photo collage, road signs for Haytor, tree-lined lane, bike parked along side of road on hillside, view from base of hillside looking up to summit with rock formation at the top of the hill                         

Haytor Vale is a rolling 5.4 kilometer climb that beginning just east of Bovey Tracey, Devon County, travelling through Haytor Vale, and ending at Haytor Rocks.  As best we can tell, this Vale’s interesting name comes from the area of hay, as well as the word “tor,” which refers to the the rock formations in the area.  A “tor” is a “large, free-standing rock outcrop that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and gentle slopes of rounded hill summit or ridge crest” (Tor).

“Haytor, also known as Haytor Rocks, Hay Tor, or occasionally Hey Tor, is a granite tor on the eastern edge of Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. It is at grid reference SX757770, near the village of Haytor Vale in the parish of Ilsington. There is an electoral ward with the same name. The population at the 2011 census is 2,862” (Haytor).

Cycling Haytor Vale - photo collage, tree-lined lane with road curving, view of grassy hillsides from above, blue sky, PJAMM Cycling logo in corner

Cycling Haytor Vale - Road sign for Haytor, which reads in part "Please do not feed the ponies. Kill your speed, not a pony," close up view of black pony with shaggy mane, PJAMM cycling logo in corner

We ride through tree bordered roadway the first half of the climb, then into the open for the last 2 kilometers with the Haytor rocks in site.  There is plenty of hiking to be done at the top.  We saw no cyclists during our time on the hill, but many hikers enjoying the area.

Cycling Haytor Vale - photo collage, sign for Cycling Event taking place, sign for Ullacombe Farm Café and Shop, close up view of bike tire on tree-lined lane, PJAMM Cycling logo in corner 

This is a popular cycling area.

Haytor Vale hosted the British National Hill Climb Championships in 1979 (Jeff Williams) and 2019

Haytor Valel was the site of the 2019 British Hill Climb Championships

Won by Ed Laverack in 11:37

Photo:  Twitter @edlaverack 

Cycling Haytor Vale - view looking up at tall, shade trees, densely tree-covered lane with white car traveling through, PJAMM Cycling logo 

Surrounded by trees for the first half of the climb.

Cycling Haytor Vale - views from climb summit looking down upon large rock formation atop hillside, blue sky, two lane road

This is what we’re playing for, and  it’s worth it!  Bring your hiking shoes (or 33mm+ tires - 👍).

The first half of the climb is in the trees, and as it opens up, a view of the rock formations on top of the hill will be your destination. If you want, you can hike to the top of the rocks.

This Southwestern England climb in Devon County is within the Dartmoor National Park (95,312 hectares / 235,520 acres) established in 1951 as a National Park of England.

Climb begins at the northeastern edge of Dartmoor National Park, established 1997 with  95,400 hectare (235,739 acres).

Road Cycling UK writes of this climb:

“Perhaps the most famous of the climbs we’re going to cover, thanks to its reputation as a recognised summit finish in the Tour if Britain, the climb of Haytor Vale is a 5.3km-long ascent that rolls its way from Bovey Tracey up to just aside the summit of Haytor hill. It’s rolling in profile, averaging an Alp-imitating six per cent with sections that peak at 12 percent along the B3387. You’ll start with a gradually increasing grade up to ten per cent for the first 1.5km, before a gentle easing.

It doesn’t last for long though as you round the ridge at 2.5km, hitting its 12 per cent peak, before returning to ten per cent ahead of a final flat section and a final rise up to 14 per cent for the last 500m blast.”

Cycling Uphill writes of the Haytor Vale cycling climb:

“Haytor Vale is a long exposed climb from the village of Bovey Tracey up to the top of Dartmoor. It is relatively sheltered for the first half, but then as you go through a couple of 12% corners it is open to the windswept Dartmoor moors – where you may either face a strong headwind or (if you are lucky) a rarer Easterly wind.

Haytor Vale is a long exposed climb from the village of Bovey Tracey up to the top of Dartmoor. It is relatively sheltered for the first half, but then as you go through a couple of 12% corners it is open to the windswept Dartmoor moors – where you may either face a strong headwind or (if you are lucky) a rarer Easterly wind.

There is a variable gradient throughout the climb – some flatter sections for recovery. There is a final kick for the line with a finish at 10%.

The Tour of Britain has often had a stage which finishes on Haytor Vale. In 2013 British rider Adam Yates won stage 6 on top of Haytor Vale.”

Thank you Federico!!