Cat and Fiddle Road

The Cat And Fiddle (aka Cat'n'Fiddle) is a road in the United Kingdom running between Buxton, Derbyshire and Macclesfield, Cheshire, named after a pub at its summit. Formed by parts of the A537, A54 and A53 it is famous for its scenic views across the Peak District National Park and the Cheshire Plain and for its many bends. It is extremely popular with motorcyclists, and is regularly classed as one of the most dangerous roads in the UK.

Route

The road can be considered to start in Buxton at the junction of the A53 and A5004 Long Hill road just north of the Buxton Opera House. It follows the A53 through the western outskirts of Buxton until a right turn onto the A54 at Ladmanlow. It then climbs out of Buxton in a series of sharp bends onto the flat moorland of Goyt’s Moss, where it runs along the A537 in a fairly straight line until reaching the Cat and Fiddle Inn at an altitude of 1,690 feet (515 m). From the Cat And Fiddle Inn it descends to Macclesfield via a continuous series of sharp, and often blind, bends.

Usage

It is one of the only two roads into Macclesfield from the east, and as such carries long distance as well as local traffic, including heavy goods vehicles. It is also carries tourist traffic into the Peak District National Park including bicycles and walkers. It also forms part of the well-known ‘Cat And Fiddle – Long Hill – Highwayman’ triangle, which is particularly attractive to motorcyclists because of the frequency and severity of the bends. Given this mixture of usage, the number and sharpness of the bends and the fact that it is not uncommon to encounter straying livestock on the road it is necessary to employ a great deal of caution. Bad winter weather can make the road very hazardous.

Road safety initiatives

As a result of the high number of injuries and fatalities (33 major crashes from 1999 to 2001) [ [http://www.macclesfield-express.co.uk/news/w/95/95017_killer_road.html Macclesfield Express - Killer Road] ] the speed limit on the section between Macclesfield and the Cat and Fiddle Inn has been reduced to convert|50|mph|km/h|abbr=on from the national convert|60|mph|km/h|abbr=on limit. The road is regularly patrolled by unmarked police cars and motorcycles. A police aircraft is often used in conjunction with these to enforce the speed limit.

In June 2008 the road was yet again named as the most dangerous road in Britain by the Road Safety Foundation. This single-carriageway route was the location for 21 fatal and serious crashes, and was rated in the EuroRAP report as Black, the highest risk rating. This is in spite of a number of countermeasures installed by the road authority, including motorcycle-friendly barriers. The Foundation attributes this high number of accidents to road-user behaviour; indeed, when motorcycle-related collisions are removed from the results the road becomes one of the safest in the country. [ [http://www.eurorap.org/gb2008 EuroRAP GB Tracking 2008 Results Revealed] ]

Cheshire County Council also point the finger at motorcyclists' behaviour: "The fact is that it’s an attractive road to motorcyclists – they see it as a challenge to ride with its hairpin bends, limited views, downhill descent and uphill ascent.

"The thing that angers us most is not the fact that it’s dangerous, but that there are a group of people on that road who knowingly push the boundaries.

"We have tried to get the message across, that it is the emergency services that have to pick these people up off the road and have the duty of telling their families that they have killed themselves." [ [http://www.macclesfield-express.co.uk/news/s/1056393_finger_points_at_the_bikers Finger points at the bikers] ]

See also

Cat and Fiddle Inn

References

External links

* [http://www.derekmobbs.com/CatAndFiddle/intro.asp A photo tour of the Cat & Fiddle ]

*mmukscaled|SK001719|10|Map sources for Cat and Fiddle
* [http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=macclesfield&ie=UTF8&z=12&ll=53.250426,-2.025604&spn=0.070047,0.271225&om=1 Map showing the Cat and Fiddle Road]
* [http://www.bestbikingroads.com/motorcyclegps.php?n=A537-Buxton-Macclesfield-The-Cat-Fiddle&code=8e81 On Bike Film of Cat And Fiddle and more details]
* [http://www.roadsafetyfoundation.com/ Road Safety Foundation]