Personally I can't see what the problem is.
The A686 is a mix of 40/50/NSL before Alston already and plod sometimes sit at the bottom of the hill before the bridge before Alston, if you're still over the limit there you've got a problem!
As for Oxford style reductions, not up here mate. They don't need to, the roads are too bumpy, rippled, pot-holed and generally too poorly maintained to bother with speed limits.
Also I watched a tractor go up Hartside last week [1], he wasn't hanging around, bloody things wreck the roads.
[1] in the fog, under 10degs in July FFS.