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It's the final weekend before the 3 Peaks and i'm staying with the in-laws nr Croydon. FWIW I'm looking to do one last hill rep session shouldering the bike.
Appreciate it's not quite the Dales but wondering if anybody can recommend a tasty hill, the steeper/longer the better. Cheers
There's a steep footpath that's the direct way up box hill...
A few hills in the lanes around around Woldingham if riding from Croydon, or you could head out to Toys Hill or further afield into the Surrey Hills e.g. Peaslake or Leith Hill.
Various climbs up and down Box hill, with optional descents of either the road, or a steepish diagonal trending bridleway a mile or so east of the road. Which will be grim in the wet!
To the west, the steep southern flanks of Leith/Holmbury/Pitch Hills are better in the wet than the North Downs - greensand (sandstone) rather than chalk. Some very steep carries if you look for them, then descend easily to the nearest road crossing N-S for a non-techy option, or follow some of the easier MTB trails which you'll come across. This would be my pick, and the gentler northern slopes give lots of bridleway or forest road climbs. You can easily clock up a few thousand feet of climbing in a nice 20k route.
the escarpment which takes in Caterham/Woldingham etc is surprisingly steep and you should have a few options to ride down then shoulder up at various points.
Nothing long you couldn't ride really. There are some steep bits up to NDW, Ranmore and Box Hill off road that I may end up pushing though know people who'd still ride it.
Not really much that's open boulder rock hike type stuff I can think of. Mainly sharp tracks and bridleways.
Hike up the downhills off Pitch hill maybe 😄
Down Frensham/Hindhead way there's Devils Jumps you could hike up from the steep side but it's not long. Crooksbury hill can be a bitch but also rideable to some.
Not quite Surrey, but the steep side of Caesars Camp (Aldershot, not the one in swinley), by the viewpoint, you could try hiking up. Again not long.
Nice one, cheers all. Figured there must be something along the North Downs, even if a footpath/steps.
Not fussed about replicating the rockiness, just needs to be steep and easily repeatable.
Aye, due north of bletchingley on the north downs. There are a couple of nasty bridleways up from spring bottom lane, look for quarry cottages and rickshaw house on the land ranger map.
...thinking about it
Where are you staying? If you're riding out of Croydon and want to maximise your 'up and down' time to ride time, whyteleafe rec is a possibility.
When are you planning riding? If it's Sunday morning and you'd like a guide in that sort of area I could show you round. Not going to promise to keep up running up the hill though!
Succombs hill is bloody steep
Go up that come back down go up Burntwood lane and yoyo between the 2.
This is in caterham valley.
Cheers Swanny I'll check it out. Riding tomorrow as weather looks wall to wall grim on Sunday!
Footpath that runs from just above betchworth station (to the left up pebble hill road) and ends at the top of box hill by the static caravans.  It’s quite long with varying grade(and great views).  The bridleway that footpath meets is quite steep in places.
Chalkpit Lane.
Tarmac but hard and only 10 ish miles from Croydon
Ok. As said above, there are some pretty nasty tarmac climbs around too if you don't mind walking up the pavements- I used to live at the bottom of succombs and it is steep!
I'd not worry about fitness as there isn't much you can do. Have you got your set up right / practiced. There is a lot of walking so working out how you are going to carry the bike efficiently and comfortably up a hill is a must.
Alongside the tram tracks at Addington - not that steep, but nobody will think a bloke running along, carrying a bike, is out of the ordinary đŸ˜‰
not long, but I accidentally planned a route up this bridleway in my early days of MTBing the area, and it's throw down a rope and pull me up steep.
Loop round using the diamond marked track (Greensand way) to the crossroads with a bench marked as Somerset Hill on the map, down the bridleway (reasonably steep, rocky and loose but CX'able) to The Aldermoor, quick road spin and do it again.
Few laps of that will get the achilles stretched nicely.
Someone's already mentioned Chalkpit Lane, well adjacent to that to the East and off road, there's a bloody steep path up the escarpment. Perfect for a bit of hike 'n bike training. Someone's even created a Strava segment specifically for that purpose. Don't ride down it though as it's SSSI, instead return to the bottom via the road.