Cycling
Rosedale Chimney Bank
By Jon Cosson · Updated 20 September 2026
One in three at its worst, 568 feet gained in under a mile, and a name cyclists say with a certain respect: the Chain Breaker. Chimney Bank climbs out of Rosedale towards Hutton-le-Hole and shares the title of steepest road in England with Hardknott Pass.
The climb at a glance
- Type of riding
- Road climb
- Gradient
- Averages around one in eight (13%) and reaches one in three (33%) at its worst, gaining 568 feet in under a mile
- Traffic-free
- No, this is a public road
- Bike
- Road bike
- Start
- Climbs between Rosedale Abbey and Hutton-le-Hole
- Also worth knowing
- Shares the title of steepest road in England with Cumbria's Hardknott Pass. Named after a long-gone ironstone-mine chimney.
Written from what is already published on this site and the sources it cites. I have not yet ridden this one myself. The distance, the gradient and the state of the surface will be checked on the ground, and this note removed, when I do.
Checked against published information on 18 September 2026. Confirm parking charges, trail status and hire before you travel.
The numbers
The bank averages around one in eight, or 13%, and reaches one in three, or 33%, at its steepest, gaining 568 feet in under a mile. That is the whole of it: short, and brutally steep in the middle. I have not ridden it, so there is nothing here about where the gradient bites or how to pace it. The figures above are what this site has always published, and they are enough to tell you what you are taking on.
Where it is
It climbs between Rosedale Abbey and Hutton-le-Hole, on the southern side of the moors. The chimney it is named after, from a long-gone ironstone mine, no longer stands.
The rest of the moor-edge climbs
Chimney Bank is the famous one, and it is not alone. Sutton Bank rises around 160 metres in under a mile at roughly one in four, with a hairpin bend, and Carlton Bank and White Horse Bank are the other moor-edge tests. All four are on our cycling page, alongside the North York Moors Cycleway, which links the quiet lanes into a signed road route.
On four wheels and two
The same road turns up in both our Classic Car Country drives and our motorcycling guide, and the warning there applies to anyone with an engine: the bank is genuinely severe, and not the place for a heavily laden car or a marginal clutch or cooling system. High and exposed, it is also prone to sudden mist even in summer, with drifting snow in winter. Check conditions before you commit. If you are towing, it is not a route for a van at all, see caravans and motorhomes.
Rosedale Chimney Bank FAQs
How steep is Rosedale Chimney Bank?
It averages around one in eight (13%) and reaches one in three (33%) at its worst, gaining 568 feet in under a mile.
Is Rosedale Chimney Bank the steepest road in England?
It shares the title with Cumbria's Hardknott Pass. Either way it is one of the steepest public roads in the country.
Where does Rosedale Chimney Bank climb?
Between Rosedale Abbey and Hutton-le-Hole, on the southern side of the moors.
Why is it called Chimney Bank?
It takes its name from a long-gone ironstone-mine chimney that once stood at the top. Cyclists know the climb as the Chain Breaker.
Is it safe to drive an older car up it?
Our advice on the driving routes page is blunt: the bank is genuinely severe, so do not attempt it heavily laden or with a marginal clutch or cooling system, and check current conditions before you commit.
Stay at the foot of it
Rosedale Abbey sits at the bottom of the bank, which is either very convenient or very inconvenient depending on which way you are riding.
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