The fight is on. The title for the world’s Steepest street is under challenge.

For some years the burghers of Dunedin in New Zealand have been able to rest on their laurels (and their haunches) secure in the knowledge that their Baldwin Street has been acclaimed by no less an authority than Guinness World Records as the world’s steepest street.

But the residents of Harlech in Wales have just woken up to the fact that their 300-year-old street, Ffordd Pen Llech, which takes you up to the castle, may be even steeper. A challenge has been made, measurements taken, results sent off and the verdict is eagerly awaited.

Not any old footpath can qualify. There are high, if not steep, standards to be met. The street must be paved, be a thoroughfare and have houses. The highest gradient over a 10-metre stretch is the crucial piece of data which will settle the dispute.

The steepest stretch of Baldwin Street has a gradient of 35%, enough to make me puff and pant. But unofficial measurements taken in Harlech suggest that the steepest 10-metre stretch of Ffordd Pen Llech is a breath-taking 39.25%

I will await the result with some interest.