Guinness World Records changes rules to use road’s centre rather than sides for measurements

Last summer the townsfolk of Harlech, in north-west Wales, were celebrating the accolade of having the steepest street in the world.

A mere eight months on, they are in the doldrums after being informed by Guinness World Records that a New Zealand rival for the title has usurped them.

Baldwin Street in Dunedin has reclaimed the record after persuading Guinness to update its rules on measuring inclines.

Gwyn Headley, who led Harlech’s campaign to claim the title for Ffordd Pen Llech, did his best to be generous to Dunedin but the loss clearly hurt. “Blinking back the tears, we would like to congratulate Baldwin Street for winning the record under the new dispensation,” he said.

Headley said he was upset that Guinness had decided to rule in favour of Dunedin before giving Harlech a chance to argue its case.

“We are disappointed that Guinness World Records gave us less than 24 hours’ notice of the change in their regulations, and that under different precedents the award had already been made to Dunedin before notifying Harlech and giving us the opportunity to compete for the record under these new terms and conditions.”

Residents in Harlech, best known for its castle and the rousing song Men of Harlech, had long battled for the record. Myrddyn Phillips, a surveyor and expert on mountain measuring, did much of the on-the-ground work. He used a combination of hi-tech (a satellite dish) and low-tech (chalk to mark out key points, and bricks to keep a tripod steady) to take a series of measurements.

Play Video 0:56 Street in Wales wins record for world's steepest – video

To qualify for the title, the street or road must be a thoroughfare that is commonly used by the public, who must be able to drive vehicles across it. Ffordd Pen Llech is flanked by 300-year-old houses and is an ancient route to the castle.

Baldwin Street in Dunedin, located in an otherwise quiet valley of the South Island city, has long attracted daredevils and adventure sports enthusiasts, prompting the local council to upgrade infrastructure and residents to launch cottage industries selling food, drinks and souvenirs.

Last summer Harlech celebrated after it was established that its street had a gradient of 37.5% at its steepest point, compared with Baldwin’s Street 35%.

In November a Dunedin surveyor, Toby Stoff, visited Harlech on a fact-finding mission and made the case to Guinness that the best way to measure a street’s gradient was from the centre line of the road rather than at any point along the sides.

Guinness agreed and concluded that Baldwin Street had the steeper gradient, 34.8%, compared with Ffordd Pen Llech’s 28.6%.

Craig Glenday, the editor-in-chief at Guinness World Records, said: “We’re very grateful to the Baldwin Street appeals team, led by surveyor Toby Stoff, for making us aware of a rare gap in our stipulations, and we’re pleased to see the title return to New Zealand. We’re also very grateful to the Ffordd Pen Llech team for their application and good humour throughout this process.”

Stoff said: “There was no bad feeling toward the people of Harlech. I had the great joy of visiting last November. It is a wonderful heritage town full of friendly people.”