"There are no hills in London"

[citoyen]

As I rode the long way home last night, I pondered the route I was taking, wondering idly just how lumpy the lumpy bits are. So I plotted the route into bikely. When I looked at the elevation profile, I was surprised...



The spike at 15km is Shooter's Hill in Woolwich. Not exactly Mt Ventoux, granted, but it's more than a trivial undulation. It's not a tough climb, not all that steep, but it does go on a bit.

The steepest bit of the route is actually the first small climb at around 9km, which is Maze Hill in Greenwich.

This is the shorter route I usually take on my post-work ride:



The spike is Fountain Drive in Dulwich, with the descent of Crystal Palace Park Road.

Looks pretty much like a hill to me. And certainly feels like a hill when I'm grinding up it...  

The minor climb before it is Denmark Hill.

Of course, the graphs also show that the first 4-5km of either route are far from challenging, which I'm sure is where London gets its reputation for flatness. All I'm saying is that you don't have to stray very far from the centre to find some meaningful gradients.

d.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Is that graph actual size?

[Polar Bear]

Given the scales it looks like you've bumped a few big kerbs to me   

[Biggsy]

Those who think London is flat don't know what London means.  

[Ham]

London is surrounded by substantial hills on the north & south, and is actually built on two hills.

And of course, the scale helps make it look significant. Noting that your climb is more in absolute metres, the elevation plot of my commute always makes me smile because it looks as if there are some serious climbs in it. This is what it looks like (potted off my Garmin 305, this is London sliced West to East)


The bit that looks like a cliff face is Holland Park 

[hellymedic]

Those who think London is flat don't know what London means.  

Aren't you located near the highest point between London and York?

Those inner Londoners who approach my abode via Hampstead and Highgate do not think it's flat.

[Wendy]

Here's my commute - very fast on the way in, and not so fast on the way home, LOL!

[hellymedic]

Here's my commute - very fast on the way in, and not so fast on the way home, LOL!

That's a BIGgin in Hill!

[Zoidburg]

You poor Londonites.

Don't worry, we will start a charity and record a celebrity fund raising single so one day we will be able to buy you all new knees.

 

[Polar Bear]

200 metres gain in 20 kilometres.  Scary      

[Ian H]

When I'm in London I notice the lack of proper hills.

[Wowbagger]

In the list of English counties and unitary authorities ordered by highest point, London comes 40th out of 82. That makes it lots higher than such hilly counties as Hertfordshire and Lincolnshire, or cities like Torbay, Bristol, Brighton or Plymouth.

[citoyen]

200 metres gain in 20 kilometres.  Scary      

Well, we have to make the most of what we've got. That's all I'm saying. I'm not asking for AAA points!  

It would be nice to live/work somewhere with proper hills though.

d.

[MSeries]

So are Herts & Lincs considered hilly then ? Sheesh

[Wowbagger]

So are Herts & Lincs considered hilly then ? Sheesh

I think you'll find that the train from Kings Cross to Edinburgh goes through more tunnels in Hertfordshire than it does in Yorkshire.

[Jaded]

So are Herts & Lincs considered hilly then ? Sheesh

I think you'll find that the train from Kings Cross to Edinburgh goes through more tunnels in Hertfordshire than it does in Yorkshire.

Bloody NIMBYs.

[MSeries]

So are Herts & Lincs considered hilly then ? Sheesh

I think you'll find that the train from Kings Cross to Edinburgh goes through more tunnels in Hertfordshire than it does in Yorkshire.

The NECML doesn't go through the hilly parts of Yorkshire  

[Wowbagger]

So are Herts & Lincs considered hilly then ? Sheesh

I think you'll find that the train from Kings Cross to Edinburgh goes through more tunnels in Hertfordshire than it does in Yorkshire.

The NECML doesn't go through the hilly parts of Yorkshire  

But it does go through the hilly parts of Hertfordhire, a much smaller county with a much greater density of hilly bits. Ergo, Hertfordshire is a hilly county. It has hills and quite a few chevrons. Cycling in Hertfordshire is generally quite hard work.

[Biggsy]

It seems a strange idea to me that a hill is not a hill unless it's the steepest and longest in the country.  My idea of a hill is something that knackers you out to climb (if you're not a super-fit athlete) unless using a granny gear.  There are hundreds of those in London and Herts.

Cycle up Muswell Hill before telling me that London is flat!

[Adam]

I'm a yokel who lives in Bedfordshire and cycles a lot in hilly Hertfordshire (and Buckinghamshire).  I do venture into the metropolis though, and I'd say the centre of London is flat-ish with some slopes, but there's definitely hills in London once you move more than a few miles away from the Thames. 

Last year, I went through Dulwich and Crystal Palace for the first time, which was a bit of an eye-opener in more than ways than one, as I'd not really thought about how high that area really is.  I guess I just thought of an urban sprawl blanketing out fluctuations in the topography, which of course isn't correct.  House builders just follow the contours.  However with all the buildings, you can't see the hills so well.

There's a few more hilly bits of London shown here.

[Rapples]

Adam

Bedfordshire has it's share of hills too.  I live very near this monster climb known locally as Vinegar Hill

Gmaps Pedometer

 

[Regulator]

London is surrounded by substantial hills on the north & south, and is actually built on two hills.

...

It's actually built on seven hills, the same as Rome.

[Ian H]

London is surrounded by substantial hills on the north & south, and is actually built on two hills.

...

It's actually built on seven hills, the same as Rome.

And Bristol.

[Greenbank]

And Sheffield.

[hellymedic]

London is surrounded by substantial hills on the north & south, and is actually built on two hills.

...

It's actually built on seven hills, the same as Rome.

And Bristol.

And Sheffield.