Welcome to life on England’s steepest street – where locals say they can’t get deliveries and have to wear studded shoes in winter… but wouldn’t want to live anywhere else
With its picturesque views and colorful houses, Bristol’s Vale Street looks just like any other suburban road in Britain.
The small residential street – where houses cost an average of £395,000 – is close to a park, Sainsbury’s and Burger King, with the River Avon also within easy reach.
Yet pick-up and delivery drivers are all refusing to hit the road, while those living in the red-brick houses have to walk down to collect food and parcels themselves.
And why? Because this is the steepest street in England.
The slope is so great that people drive onto the road and park their cars sideways for fear they will roll down, wearing studded shoes in winter to grip the slippery surface and avoid falling down.
Vale Street, Bristol, is the steepest street in England with a slope of 22 degrees. Delivery and collection drivers refuse to take to the road as cars park sideways for fear they will roll down
Helen Loney, 49, has been living on the streets for 20 years. “Most people on this side of the road never leave because of the view,” she said. ‘It’s breathtaking’
But you won’t hear anyone living along Vale Street complain about the 22 degree slope, as they say the ‘opinions and community are worth it’.
Artist Benji Appleby-Tyler, 45, has been living on the streets for nine years. He said, “Most of the time it’s fine. Winter is the hardest part.
‘It gets very slippery, so we have to wear crampons if we want to leave the house – they’re like studs you can add to your shoes.
“A lot of people come to see the road. Especially during the lockdown. We get groups of cyclists and runners going up and down the street. We don’t mind at all.’
Mr Appleby-Tyler admits that ‘deliveries can be tricky’ and remembered how when their new washing machine arrived he had to go pick it up and take it down himself.
‘Takeaway drivers don’t often come to the door either; we have to meet them at the bottom of the road,” he said.
Despite some drawbacks, he loves the road so much that he thinks they should have a blue sign.
His neighbors agree that while life on the hill can be precarious, it’s worth it.
Houses on the street cost an average of £395,000. Sainsbury’s and Burger King are nearby, while the River Avon is also within easy reach
Environmental consultant Kath Haddow, 49, who has lived on the streets for 20 years, never drives on the road because she fears it will blow the clutch
People drive onto the road and park their cars perpendicular to the road for fear of rolling down, while delivery drivers have been warned of its steepness
Artist Benji Appleby-Tyler, 45, has been living on the streets for nine years and says things are usually fine. But in winter they have to wear studded shoes as it gets slippery
Mr. Appleby-Tyler loves the road so much that he thinks they should have a blue plaque despite the drawbacks of the road
Vale Street, in Totterdown, was crowned the steepest street in England by the Ordnance Survey in 2019
Rouska Lundi, 43, has never hit the road in her eight years of living there, but the company director says it’s worth it for the incredible view alone
Environmental consultant Kath Haddow, 49, who has lived on the streets for 20 years, said: ‘I just drive there. I never drive there. It feels like the clutch is burning out, so I just drive through the other streets.
“We’re lucky in a way, because no one ever wants to park on this road. The only people who park here are the people who live here.
“You have to look at the weather forecast. If you don’t move your car before it starts to snow, you’ll be stuck for weeks because the ice doesn’t melt for a while.
“I will say the garbage collectors are incredible. They go to the top and back down the hill.’
The street takes full advantage of their unique slope: skiing downhill and even hosting an annual Easter egg rolling competition.
In the event, neighbors paint eggs and have them race to the bottom of the hill.
Residents say most of the neighbors know each other well and have lived there for years.
One of them is Rouska Lundin, 43, who has been on the road for eight years.
‘We have to meet them at the bottom of the road’: Deliveries can be ‘inconvenient’, while pick-up drivers also often don’t come to the door
Every year, neighbors also gather to participate in an Easter egg-rolling competition. During the event, people paint eggs and make them race to the bottom of the hill
People living along the road should check weather forecasts as if they don’t move their car before it starts to snow. They can be “stuck for weeks” until the ice begins to melt
But they called the trash pickers “incredible” as they drive straight to the top to make sure their trash gets picked up
Residents say most of the neighbors know each other well and have lived there for years. One said: ‘There is a nice community here that always looks out for each other’
“It’s great living here and worth it for the view,” said the company director. ‘It is much easier now that the children are no longer in a pram.
“In the eight years I’ve lived here, I’ve never driven on the road. I’ve always gone to the top and ridden down.
“I have a grocery store deliver, but I’ve been told by drivers that there are always a lot of notes in their system warning them not to drive on this road.
‘I love it here. There’s a nice community here that always looks out for each other.’
Rouska’s neighbor, internal communications manager Helen Loney, has been living on the street for twenty years.
“Most people on this side of the road never leave because of the view,” said the 49-year-old. ‘It’s breathtaking.
‘You forget that you are so close to the city center surrounded by people. It’s definitely worth the hill and since people don’t want to come up here it’s quiet.
“We get some cyclists and runners. I think the funniest thing I’ve ever seen is a unicycle trying to get here.
‘I would never leave. I love it here.’
In 2020, a piece by Banksy titled ‘Aachoo!!’ A woman appeared at the side of a house and sneezed out her dentures
And the street has also attracted the attention of the mysterious street artist Banksy whose artwork appeared at the bottom of the road.
In 2020 a piece entitled ‘Aachoo!!’ A woman appeared at the side of a house and sneezed out her dentures.
The entire wall was removed after the owner of the house decided to sell the artwork.
The Ordnance Survey crowned Vale Street the steepest in England in 2019, where it was declared a hill, reported The Telegraph.