In 1987, Baldwin Street in Dunedin was officially recognised as the world's steepest street by the Guinness Book of Records following a two-year campaign. At the time, Baldwin Street topped two competing streets in San Francisco, which until then had held the title of being the steepest streets in the world.
All was well. Tourists flocked to Baldwin Street with their cameras and their bikes. It hosted annual Jaffa cake rolling and the Baldwin Street Gutbuster. Until 2019…
..when Guinness World Records officially stripped Baldwin Street of the title and instead awarded it to Ffordd Pen Llech, in Harlech, Wales, which has a gradient of 37.45% at its steepest point – 2.5% steeper than Baldwin Street.
All was well. Dunedin residents breathed a sigh of relief and hoped they could reclaim their road from tourists and scarfie challenges, until…
...April 2020, when Guinness reverted the title to NZ, saying "in order to fairly assess the different shape of the streets, whether they're straight or curved, steepness must be measured by the central axis."
The new results show Baldwin Street to have the steeper gradient of 34.8%, compared to Ffordd Pen Llech's 28.6%. Who knows where the title will go in the future?
Of course, a tussle over steep streets isn’t the only common ground New Zealand has with Wales. Similar populations, a passion for rugby, lots of sheep, beautiful landscapes, the precious taonga of a native language - but top of our list are the amazing quality ingredients available in each of them.
We’re proud to showcase some of the best ingredients from both Aotearoa and Cymru in our Wellington on a Plate Ffordd pen Llech burger - a beef patty with lettuce, laver and aioli slaw, dill pickles, mānuka-smoked leek relish, Garage Project IPA and Kāpiti Kikorangi Blue Welsh rarebit topping in a soft bun. A World Record burger if ever we saw one, and available from 12 - 31 October.
We’re sure you’re going to vote on the burger, but we will also be giving you the chance to vote on the steepest street. Non-binding, just for fun, but if you vote when you come in for a burger you’ll go into the draw to win one of our famous Sunday Roasts for two people.
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