Defying the laws of nature and physics, cities around the world are built on mountains and hills, and their streets can often be quite steep. The American city of San Francisco is renowned for its cable cars and numerous steep streets, but do any of San Fran’s sloped roads hold the title for the world’s steepest street? Nope.
Hmm. England and Wales are two countries known for their hilly geography, so how about there? No dice. Wales is known to have the world’s second steepest street, but the world’s steepest street is not even in the same hemisphere.
Okay. So where is the world’s steepest street? Well, we’ll have to travel to a low key town in New Zealand called Dunedin. Dunedin is known for its unique history and wildlife, but it also known for Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world.
I’m going to break the fourth wall here and tell you that I’ve walked–or should I say hiked–up this street in the past, and it’s definitely steep. Even though I was in great shape at the time, I remember listening to the Pacific Rim theme song to motivate myself up to the top. I might as well have been fighting kaijus to get up there.
Did I go to Dunedin specifically for perusing its steep street? No. I went there to see penguins. But I’m an opportunist, so I HAD to go see it.
Baldwin Street is 350 meters long (which is over 1000 feet) with a maximum gradient of roughly 35%. I’m awful at math, so I’m not going to get into slope equations, but believe me, this street is steep.
There are other streets around the world with slightly steeper gradients, but most of them are much shorter than Baldwin Street.
If you want to visit this street, you’ll find it on the north side of town. Just follow North Road up to a cluster of residential neighborhoods, and Baldwin Street will be among them. It’s even labeled on Google Maps as the Steepest Street in the World.
Just, please, be respectful of the locals. Baldwin Street is a residential street, where real people live in real homes, so don’t cause a ruckus or leave any trash behind.
But I’ve said my piece, so thanks for watching! If you liked this video, please give it a like and subscribe to Tidewater Teddy! Have a great day!
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