Indefatigable Lakeland fellwalker, author and illustrator A. Wainwright (he didn't like 'Alfred', apparently) certainly wasn’t bluffing when he advised drivers coming from the east, over Wrynose towards Hardknott (using the easier pass as a warm-up), to approach with ‘the utmost concentration’. As well as being one of Britain's most scenic drives, it's also one of the trickiest to drive.
This steep, twisting, ‘Lord of the Rings’-worthy single track through the Eskdale Valley, between picturesque Eskdale and Ambleside, is often described as the steepest and most challenging drive in Britain, with gradients of up to 33% and signs that shout ‘Extreme caution’ and ‘Severe bends’.
Second gear is your friend, car-oblivious sheep are not. Yet faint heart never won fair landscape is, perhaps, what the Romans thought as they built their loneliest outpost, Hard Knott Fort, sometime between 120–138AD.
The 500 or so who travelled from the balmy Dalmatian coast to be stationed here to protect the pass probably didn’t enjoy the Lake District weather, but the spectacular views surely made up for it.
Credit: Dominic Fraser / Aston Martin
Aston Martin DBX review: The 4x4 of choice for car nuts, families and international super-spies
The Aston Martin DBX promises to be the car that is all things to all people: space, speed and style
-
Five British gardens have a starring role on the New York Times's list of 25 must-see gardens — here are the ones they forgotMultiple British gardens have topped a New York Times list.
-
Country Life 16 July 2025Country Life 16 July 2025 is our sustainability special, looking at the animals who are saving our landscape, solar power, and the best of the Proms.
-
Britain’s most scenic drives: The Black Mountain Pass, Brecon BeaconsOn a quest to find the country's most glorious roads, Annunciata Elwes explores The Black Mountain Pass on the Brecon Beacons.
-
Britain’s most scenic drives: The Atlantic Highway linking Somerset, Devon and CornwallOn a quest to find the country's most glorious roads, Annunciata Elwes is wowed by The Atlantic Highway.
-
Britain’s most scenic drives: The Road to the Isles, ScotlandOn a quest to discover the country's most glorious roads, Annunciata Elwes drives along Scotland's Road to the Isles.
-
Britain’s most scenic drives: The Snake Pass, Peak DistrictOn a quest to discover the country's most glorious roads, Annunciata Elwes explores The Snake Pass in the Peak District.
-
Britain’s most scenic drives: A meander through the North CotswoldsOn a quest to explore the country's most glorious roads, Annunciata Elwes takes the wheel in the North Cotswolds.
-
Britain's most scenic drives: The Cheddar Gorge, SomersetOn a quest to find the country's most glorious roads, Annunciata Elwes explores Somerset's Cheddar Gorge.
-
Britain’s most scenic drives: The Causeway Coastal Route, Northern IrelandOn a quest to find the country's most glorious roads, Annunciata Elwes explores Northern Ireland's Causeway Coastal Route.
