Some residents of Baldwin Street in Dunedin suggest resurfacing top of street to see off challenge from Harlech in Wales

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The Welsh town of Harlech is challenging New Zealand’s claim to the steepest street in the world, forcing the city of Dunedin to contemplate losing one of its most famous and lucrative tourist attractions.

Baldwin Street in Dunedin draws in thousands of tourists a year since being crowned the steepest street in the world by Guinness World Records, with an exhausting 1:3 gradient.

Located in an otherwise quiet valley of the South Island city, Baldwin Street has attracted daredevils and adventure sports enthusiasts, prompting the local council to upgrade infrastructure and local residents to launch cottage industries selling food, drinks and souvenirs. The street has also become a hit on Instagram and social media.

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Now, the residents of Harlech in Wales are laying down a challenge, claiming Ffordd Pen Llech is one degree steeper than Baldwin Street, with a gradient of 36% to Baldwin’s 35%.

Measurements are being taken on Ffordd Pen Llech and will be submitted to Guinness World Records, with a decision expected later this month.

On social media Dunedin’s residents were contemplating a life without their treasured title. “We would have to change signage around the street and reprint a lot of brochures around town,” wrote Joseph on Facebook. “I have a great solution though, we just redo the signs and reprint the brochures with the title ‘the world’s first steepest street’ tourists wouldn’t know the difference.”

Another suggested Baldwin Street reinvent itself as the world’s steepest cycle lane, while another mooted idea was to resurface the top of the street to increase the gradient and retain the title.

Dunedin mayor Dave Cull said the street had faced challenges before and had promptly “seen them off”.

“If Wales turns out to have a steeper one we will just have to arrange one of our periodic earthquakes and tilt Baldwin a bit more” said Cull.

It takes about 10 minutes to walk up the 350-metre long Baldwin Street, but residents often do it in seven.

“I have angina and climbing 276 steps is cheaper than going to the gym,” said Bindi Bezar, who operates a gift shop at the bottom of the street.

The increasing popularity of Baldwin Street has been a mixed blessing for residents, with some enjoying the novelty of popularity, and others fed-up with tourists going to the toilet in their gardens and peering into their houses.

“I think a lot of tourists don’t know this is a real street, that people actually live here,” said Beverley McClay, a resident for nine years. “It’s very social, very busy. I often come out in my dressing gown to meet people, and the tourists like to watch me stacking wood, they ask me what I am doing.”

Dunedin City Council is undertaking a series of upgrades to strengthen the street and help residents cope with the thousands of tourists who visit every year.

In the past two years Baldwin Street has also become a sought-after destination in an unusual social media trend to snap pictures at odd angles, which create the optical illusion of the houses being severely lopsided.

The trend has significantly increased visitor numbers – especially during the winter season when tourists usually avoided the area because of frost, ice and occasional snow.