Welsh town could claim steepest street Guinness World Record from New Zealand

A small Welsh town could claim the title for steepest street in the world, taking the record from Baldwin Street in New Zealand.

Harlech in north Wales could claim the Guinness World Record for steepest street, pending the official measurements.

Baldwin Street in Dunedin, New Zealand currently holds the record, hitting 35 per cent at its steepest point.

But residents of Harlech, which is in Gwynedd, believe their street Ffordd Pen Llech is steeper at 36 per cent.

Resident Gwyn Headley was the first person to notice the Welsh street’s record breaking potential.

He told BBC Radio Wales: “I was driving down it in the summer when it struck me how steep it could be.”

An official measurement was due to take place on Wednesday (January 9) with results being sent to Guinness World Records.

It could take weeks before residents know if they have been successful.

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The Guinness measurement is based on the maximum gradient over a 10 metre span, comparing the altitude rise to the distance.

Cars are warned not to use Ffordd Pen Lech, which is the steepest street in Britain.

Dunedin is proud of the world record it holds – Baldwin Street has a sign acknowledging it’s status.

The mayor of the town, Dave Cull, told The Guardian: “If Wales turns out to have a steeper one, we will just have to arrange one of our periodic earthquakes and tilt Baldwin a bit more.”

According to Stava, Baldwin Street is 0.23 miles long, with an average gradient of 18 per cent.

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The current KoM holder is John Wazowski, who reached the top in 1-19, averaging 10.5 mph and 667 watts.

By comparison, Ffordd Pen Llech is just 0.14 miles long but averages at 21 per cent according to Strava.

Mike Morris holds the KoM in a time of 1-03, holding 8.4 mph over the duration and pushing 501 watts.