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The Snake Pass

Often driven in conjunction with the “Cat and Fiddle”, The Snake Pass was listed as one of the best driving roads by Auto Trader magazine in 2009 and is the name of the A57 road where it crosses the Peak District, between Manchester and Sheffield. The name usually refers to the section between Glossop and Ladybower reservoir, and at its highest point, it is 512 metres (1679 feet) above sea level.

Peak District A57

14 miles

The road has superb views and the scenery is exceptional, particularly at the start of the descent into Glossop from where you can see to Manchester and beyond on a clear day. The name of the road matches its winding route, although originally derived from the Snake Inn which is one of the few buildings on this road.
During the summer, a lot of bikers use the Snake pass, and meet up at the Cafe at Glossop, and at the Sheffield end. The road which passes over the high ground between the flatter moorland, as its name suggests is a winding twisty road with lots of elevation changes and adverse cambers, and can be very slippery in poor weather conditions.

As with the Cat and Fiddle, this road has a bad accident record, and is usually one of the first roads in the area to close when it snows.

Notwithstanding that, it is a road that every driving enthusiast should drive.

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