If you’ve ever nearly lost a lung climbing Lincoln’s Steep Hill and still stopped to take a photo halfway up, this one is for you.
New research has revealed the UK’s most Instagrammable streets, and somehow — despite stiff competition from half of London — Lincoln’s Steep Hill has officially made the list.
Yes. That cobbled, leg-destroying hill you swear about every time you walk up it is now being recognised for its aesthetic contributions to the nation.
The study, carried out by online casino Winz.io, analysed how often famous UK streets appear on Instagram. Researchers compared the number of hashtagged posts with the length of each street to calculate a truly cursed metric: hashtags per metre.
Because apparently vibes can be measured mathematically now.
Steep Hill came in at 20th place overall, which might not seem huge at first — until you realise it was the only street in the entire East Midlands to make the list. Nottingham? Leicester? Derby? Nowhere to be seen. Only Lincoln, standing tall (and steep).
And honestly, it tracks. Between the medieval buildings, independent shops, and the constant impending sense of cardiovascular collapse, Steep Hill is basically an influencer playground.
At the very top of the list is Neal’s Yard in London, a street so short you could miss it if you blink. Despite being just 50 metres long, it’s racked up a ridiculous 183,000 hashtagged posts, working out at 3,660 hashtags per metre. Insane behaviour.
Second place goes to Carnaby Street, also in London, which spans 256 metres and has somehow generated 424,000 Instagram posts — that’s 1,656 hashtags per metre, in case you were curious.
In third is Savile Row, with 333,000 posts across 270 metres (aka 1,233 hashtags per metre), followed closely by Brick Lane, which manages 1,222 hashtags per metre thanks to its 1.1 million posts and 900-metre length.
Rounding out the top five is Victoria Street in Edinburgh, famous for its colourful buildings and Harry Potter energy, pulling in 590 hashtags per metre.
But still — none of them require you to physically question your life choices just to reach the top, so consider Steep Hill the real winner.
Commenting on the findings, Hardy Heberle, CMO at Winz.io, said that what really matters in today’s Instagram economy isn’t size, but impact.
He said: “In the digital age, a street’s influence isn’t measured by how many shops it has, but by how much history or colour it packs into a single frame.”
He also pointed out that Neal’s Yard generates nearly seven times more Instagram activity per metre than Oxford Street, proving that being small, colourful and chaotic is the true recipe for going viral.
Which, frankly, makes Steep Hill feel right at home on the list.
So next time you’re halfway up, out of breath, questioning everything — just remember: you’re walking one of the UK’s most Instagrammable streets. And yes, it absolutely deserves its moment.
