Words and photos by Craig Brophy



The first time I heard of Streatley Hill (pronounced “Street” + “Lee”) was in 2008 when I was following The Tour of Britain. It happened to feature as the last King of the Mountains competition in Stage 2 of that year’s event. When looking at Google maps one day I realised that it wasn’t that far away from where I stayed (in Brimpton, Berkshire at the time) and I should take a ride out there and see for myself what the pro riders endured going up there. For those who know their geography, the village of Streatley is found on the edge of the Chiltern Hills in the South East of England.

Now yesterday (22 December) I decided to get out on my new NeilPryde Diablo and see how it stands up against Streatley Hill, especially as it was designed for climbing. Maybe not the best day for riding especially as it has been snowing recently and the temperature was zero degrees Celsius. But warmly dressed, I made my way out.

The ride started out in the village of Upper Bucklebury and from here I headed westwards and made my way towards the village of Cold Ash. This 4km flat stretch of road gets the legs warmed up nicely for the ride to come. Once in Cold Ash there is a lovely descend (a 10% climb if you are going in the opposite direction) into the top of Thatcham.



A few small bumps and I was on my way along the busy A4 towards Reading, passing Midgham, Woolhampton, and Aldermaston before reaching the outskirts of Theale (21km mark). From the A4 you turn left onto the A340 heading towards Pangbourne. The A340 is also a busy road but has some beautiful scenery along its way. The Diablo handles the semi bumpy roads quite well with the frame absorbing a lot that is thrown at it making the ride feel smooth. Ever since my racing days I’ve preferred riding a bike that provided a lot of feedback. And the Diablo does just that! Just be careful, on a windy day, you will battle a headwind all the way from Woolhampton to Pangbourne on this road.



You will know you have reached Pangbourne when you pass by the Bentley dealership (26.5km). It’s the only English village I know that has such an exclusive, not to mention the only car dealership, on its high street. From here the road starts to slowly rise as it makes its way towards Streatley a further 6km’s away. Not being terribly fit, my legs start to feel the strain of the incline.



When you reach the Bull at Streatley, turn left and you are at the start of the climb. Not sure why but I always seem to brace myself for this climb. It may be that you cannot see the end of the climbs as it bends round the further you go up. I like to see the end goal and Streatley Hill just doesn’t give you that opportunity.



The next 2.4kms were just hell. Well, that’s what my legs kept telling me. Suppose it’s quite apt that I’m on a frame called Diablo then. The bike, well, it responded just the way I wanted it to my demands. It’s an assertive frame that pushed every pedal stroke straight into the wheels, taking you that little further on your way up. Nothing wasted!



Just my luck that my Polar monitor wasn’t working – it may have been too cold? – but according to MapMyTracks, you climb over 91m (299ft) on Streatley Hill. In the 2008 Tour of Britain, it was considered a category 2 climb. How long it took me, I don’t know. But for now I’m just happy to have made it over in one go.



Now for the steady ride home. On a bad day, you could face a head wind all the way to Newbury which makes recovery all that more difficult. But like yesterday, it was ok and there wasn’t much of a headwind to contend with. Still, with the cold weather, the legs didn’t feel too great.

It’s very scenic on the way back going through the rural landscapes of Hampstead Norreys, Hermitage and Curridge. You get to see a lot of farmlands on the way. Instead of green farms, I saw white snow covered ones. Once in Newbury I take the left turn back on to the A4 and head towards Theale. You cover the same route as when you started, except instead of going back to Pangbourne you turn off to Bradfield. Now you only have 12km’s left to look forward to.


Going towards Bradfield it’s a good steady rise towards Bucklebury village giving your legs one more stretch before you call it a day.

My ride time was just over three hours, covering approximately 84km’s and climbing just over 320 meters. Not the steepest route in Berkshire, but definitely not the flattest either.

MapMyRide Route