Kirkstone Pass is the highest pass in the Lake District, with three ways to the summit. The most scenic and hardest is appropriately named “The Struggle” (Official UK Climb #181, length 4.6Km, height gain 386m). Starting just north of Grasmere, ride to Ambleside where the Struggle starts. It’s tough straight away with a slope of 20% as you climb out of the town. The scenery becomes rural and then open moorland as the road climbs ever higher. Sighting the white Kirkstone Inn on the horizon signals the top is near, but there is still a final testing 20% section before the summit.