What it is
Baldwin Street runs about 350 metres from North Road up to Buchanan Street, climbing from 30 to 100 metres above sea level. It was laid out on a grid plan that ignored the terrain, and its steepest point, about 70 metres from the top, reaches a gradient of roughly 1 in 2.86, or 35 percent. The lower part is asphalt, while the steep upper 200 metres is concrete.
Guinness first recognised it as the world's steepest street in 1987. The title passed to Ffordd Pen Llech in Harlech, Wales, in 2019, but was returned in 2020 after a survey by local residents. The street, named after the provincial councillor William Baldwin, hosts the annual Gutbuster running race. It is a lived-in street, so visitors walk on the footpath and respect residents' driveways.
Getting there by bus
The nearest stops are on North Road at the foot of the street: North Rd, 275 (stop 634) and North Rd, 329 (stop 637), about 230–250 m away, and North Rd, 338 (stop 648) and North Rd, 292 (stop 635), around 270 m away, are served by route 8 in both directions.
Route 8 runs through the city centre, making it the direct connection. Route 10 also stops on Signal Hill Rd, 139 (stop 884) and Signal Hill Rd, 138 (stop 887), about 4 minutes' walk away.
