With its picturesque views and colorful houses, Vale Street in Bristol looks 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 nearby.
Yet takeaway and delivery drivers are all refusing to hit the road, with residents of red-brick houses having to descend to the bottom and collect food and parcels themselves.
And why? Because it’s the steepest street in England.
The slope is such that people walk up the road and park their cars on the side for fear of falling, while in winter they wear spiked shoes to grip the slippery surface and prevent themselves from falling.
Vale Street in Bristol is the steepest street in England with a gradient of 22 degrees. Delivery and takeaway drivers refuse to climb the road as cars pull to the side for fear of rolling
Vale Street in Totterdown was crowned the steepest street in England in 2019 by the Ordnance Survey
But you won’t hear anyone who lives along Vale Street complaining about the 22 degree incline, as they say. the “views and community are worth it”.
Artist Benji Appleby-Tyler, 45, has lived on the streets for nine years. He said: “I’m fine most of the time. Winter is the hardest.
“It gets very slippery, so we have to wear crampons if we want to leave the house. They are like cleats that you can add to your shoes.
“A lot of people come to see the road. Especially during lockdown. We receive groups of bikers and runners who travel the street. It doesn’t bother us at all.
Mr Appleby-Tyler admits ‘deliveries can be tricky’ and recalls that when their new washing machine arrived he had to pick it up himself and take it apart.
“Takeaway drivers also tend not to come to the door – we have to meet them at the bottom of the road,” he said.
Despite some of its drawbacks, he loves the road so much that he thinks it should have a blue plate.
His neighbors agree that while life on the hill can be precarious, the effort is worth it.
But they hailed the garbage collectors as “amazing” because they go all the way to the top to make sure their rubbish is picked up.
Each year, neighbors also get together to participate in an Easter egg rolling contest. The event sees people painting eggs and letting them race to the bottom of the hill.
Helen Loney, 49, has lived on the streets for two decades. “Most people on this side of the road never leave because of the view,” she said. “That’s wonderful”
People take the road and park their cars perpendicular to the road for fear of rolling, while warnings have been given to delivery drivers about the slope of the road.
Environmental consultant Kath Haddow, 49, who has lived on the streets for 20 years, never hits the road because she fears the clutch will burn out.
Locals say most of the neighbors know each other well and have lived there for many years. One said: ‘There’s a nice community here always looking out for each other’
Artist Benji Appleby-Tyler, 45, has lived on the streets for nine years and says he is mostly fine. But in winter they have to wear cleats because it gets slippery.
Rouska Lundi, 43, has never been on the road in her eight years living there – but the company manager says it’s worth it just for the incredible view.
Environmental consultant Kath Haddow, 49, who has lived on the streets for 20 years, said: “I just drive. I never go up there. I feel like the clutch is going to burn out, so I ride the other streets.
“In a way, we are very lucky because no one ever wants to park on this road. The only people who park here are those who live here.
“However, you have to check the weather forecast. If you don’t move your car before it starts to snow, you’ll be stuck for weeks because the ice won’t melt for a while.
“I will say the garbage collectors are amazing. They go up to the top and down the hill in reverse.
The street makes the most of its unique slope: it goes downhill on skis and even hosts an annual Easter egg rolling contest.
The event sees neighbors painting eggs and letting them race down the hill.
Locals say most of the neighbors know each other well and have lived there for many years.
One of them is Rouska Lundin, 43, who has lived on the road for eight years.
Homes on the street cost an average of £395,000. Nearby are a Sainsbury’s and a Burger King, while the River Avon is also within easy reach.
People living on the road should check the weather forecast because if they don’t move their car before it starts to snow, they can be “stuck for weeks” until the ice starts to melt.
‘We have to meet them at the bottom of the road’: Deliveries can be ‘difficult’ as takeaway drivers tend not to come to the door either
Mr Appleby-Tyler loves the road so much that he thinks – despite the road’s inconvenience – it should have a blue plate
“It’s good to live here and the view is worth it,” said the company director. “It’s a lot easier now that the kids aren’t in a pushchair anymore.
“I have never taken this road in the eight years I have lived here. I always went to the top and came down.
“I get a grocery store delivered but the drivers told me there were always lots of notes in their system warning them not to take that route.
‘I really like it here. There is a nice community here who always look out for each other.
Rouska’s neighbor, internal communications manager Helen Loney, has lived on the streets for two decades.
“Most people on this side of the road never leave because of the view,” the 49-year-old said. ‘It’s breathtaking.
“We forget that we are surrounded by people so close to the city center. Definitely worth a visit and since people don’t want to come here it’s quiet.
“We receive cyclists and runners. I think the funniest thing I’ve seen is a unicyclist trying to get on here.
“I would never leave. I really like it here.’
In 2020, a Banksy piece titled “Aachoo!! showing a woman sneezing with her false teeth showing on the side of a house
And the street has also caught the eye of mysterious street artist Banksy whose work has appeared at the bottom of the road.
In 2020, a piece titled ‘Aachoo!!’ showing a woman sneezing with her false teeth showing on the side of a house.
The entire wall was removed after the home owner decided to sell the artwork.
The Ordnance Survey crowned Vale Street as the steepest in England in 2019, where it was declared a hill, reported The Telegraph.
