Top 20 highest road passes in the UK

This data is taken from the web site of OCD - the Ordre des Cols Dur. The list only includes ‘through’ roads. That is, ones that are not dead ends; what the French would call a ‘Col’ and we call a ‘pass’.

The highest dead-end tarmac road in the UK is Great Dunn Fell (2782ft, 848m) above Penrith. It goes up to the radar station and is open to cyclists but not to cars.

The list also does not include footpaths, cart tracks etc. The highest pass in the UK is High Street in the Lake District (2674ft, 828m). It is a footpath, passable by an experienced mountain biker, but it is not a road.

The ones highlighted in green are included in the Haydon Hundred route and make up 5 of the 6 highest passes in England.

Note that Great Dunn Fell, High Street, as well as nos. 7,12,13,14 below, are all within a few miles of the Haydon Hundred route. Truly we are blessed!