We all have to make decisions according to the area where we live. If you happen to live in Bristol on one of England’s steepest streets, then your choice is regarding how you park your car.
Bristol is a very hilly area of England and it is also home to the official steepest street in the country. Residents who live on that street have to park their cars sideways. Otherwise, they would just roll down the hill.
In 2019, the honor of being called the steepest Street in England by the Ordnance Survey was given to Vail Street in Trotterdown. It isn’t a very long road, being only about 0.2 km but in that short distance, it gains 17 meters.
In other words, it has a slope of 22 degrees!
The residents who live on the street do work together nicely with each other and they are a tight-knit community. They even have an egg rolling contest on Easter Sunday and a large crowd gathers to take part in it when they roll hard-boiled eggs down the hill.
It has also become somewhat of a challenge for runners and cyclists, who regularly stop by to try to make it up the hill.
In 2021, Vail Street made the news when a Banksea artwork was at the bottom of the hill. That artwork, ‘Aachoo’ was a mural that appeared on the side of one of the houses, depicting a woman sneezing so hard that her false teeth pop out.
A crane was eventually used to take the work from the wall so it was removed.
The drastic nature of the incline means that residents have to park their cars sideways so they don’t roll down the hill. In the winter, residents may even tie their cars to a lamppost so they don’t slide away on the ice.
It may not always be easy to live on the Steepest St. in England, but it is a desirable location.
