trans pennine trail

[catherine martin]

hi can anyone tell me if they have done the trans Pennine trail from Southport to Hornsea, myself and my husband are doing it in June, would like some information on places to stay overnight please, were going to allow 4 days. Also what training is needed as we haven't been on our bikes since last summer. Any advice or information would be great. Thanks Catherine

 

[ufkacbln]

Very rough and wet in parts, it will be especially muddy now.

I would give a lot of thought to this route if the weather does not improve

 

[Soltydog]

The TPT isnt the best of the Sustrans routes, as posted its rough in places & can get muddy with wet weather. The Way Of The Roses is probably a nicer & maybe easier route.
I've done the TPT twice, 1st time camping & 2nd time with 1 overnight stay at the old post office, Worsborough? which was very good & I'd recommend that.
Training wise, if you're looking at 4 days, ,you need to build up to be able to do 50 miles a day, but remember if you are carrying all you clothes etc the extra weight takes a lot more effort to get up the hills

 

[catherine martin]

Thanks very much for that information much appreciated. we both have a week off work so thought why not give it a go, we thought 4 days as we were in no rush to complete. would any type of bike do, my husband has a mountain bike and myself was going to use my classic lifestyle one. we were going to take a back pack bag with light clothes in, and also I was going to get bike bags for the back of mine. would any of these do. thanks .

 

[fossyant]

A mountain bike is fine. If it's like a 3 speed sit up and beg, then no. If it's a multi geared hybrid, then it should be OK.

As said some of it is really good, semi tarmaced but there are sections where it's not much better than a muddy rutted path, and other sections where it's rough terrain. Mountain bikes would be best. The other point, is you will need to take some rags and oil to clean the drive chain (cassette, chain and chain rings) at the end of the day, if the conditions are like they are now. It's very boggy in South Manchester.

 

[wiggydiggy]

http://www.hikers-and-bikers.co.uk/
http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/details.asp?revid=6736

Done it twice, once from Aintree, once from Leeds. Stayed in one of these each time as B&B and would return as both were pleasent enough.

The only thing I will mention that hasn't been mentioned is from Selby>Hull its very very very dull. Flat but dull.

And dull.

 

[catherine martin]

http://www.hikers-and-bikers.co.uk/
http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/details.asp?revid=6736

Done it twice, once from Aintree, once from Leeds. Stayed in one of these each time as B&B and would return as both were pleasent enough.

The only thing I will mention that hasn't been mentioned is from Selby>Hull its very very very dull. Flat but dull.

And dull.

Thanks for the information I will remember the bit from Selby - hull . looking forward to doing it I know it will be tiring but it will be a big achievement or my husband and I thanks again...

 

[boysgonebiking]

Not sure if you've done this now or not but a friend and I did this last year for charity in May. A great ride. We did it on hybrid bikes with touride tyres on - we were lucky with the weather as it didn't rain on us once - it might have been tricky in a few spots in the wet but most of the trial is well made so a hybrid is fine. We were in much better condition at the other end than some guys doing it on MTB's at the same time ;-) We stayed in travel inns in Stockport / Doncaster / Hull which worked fine. be careful coming out of Doncaster - the route it shows across the bridge doesn't exist!

 

[catherine martin]

Not sure if you've done this now or not but a friend and I did this last year for charity in May. A great ride. We did it on hybrid bikes with touride tyres on - we were lucky with the weather as it didn't rain on us once - it might have been tricky in a few spots in the wet but most of the trial is well made so a hybrid is fine. We were in much better condition at the other end than some guys doing it on MTB's at the same time ;-) We stayed in travel inns in Stockport / Doncaster / Hull which worked fine. be careful coming out of Doncaster - the route it shows across the bridge doesn't exist!

 

[catherine martin]

Hi we havent done it where going the 14th october over 3 days, where staying in glossop, selby, hornsea. I was wondering whats the best food to eat on the way and also drinks. Any information about the trail would be good .
Thanks catherine.

 

[Soltydog]

After leaving Selby, there's not much in the way of refreshments. Howden & Hull will be best places to replenish supplies & when you are at these places there's a fair bit of choice. After leaving Hull the next place to stop would be the Wrygarth at Hatfield, but you are only 3 miles from Hornsea then so may not need to stop off. if you are stopping overnight in Hornsea there is plenty of places to eat & drink. There's a new steak/grill bar on the main street which we havent tried yet but looks nice. Marine on the seafront is cheap for food if you are on a budget. There's also the Alexandra which was recently refurbished, we went in for food after it reopened & although the food was very nice the 45 min wait when it was very quiet put us off a little, but things may have improved with the service. If you fancy a few drinks in the evening there's a new bar 'Stackhouse' just opened. Great real ales, ciders, craft beers & lagers, well worth a visit

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I wrote up a report on it (here) - . We did it last month on off-road touring bikes, you will need Day 1, the end of day 11, 12, 14 & 15 plus the epilogue on my journal.

• We did Runcorn to Southport on day 1 - great but there are steps involved twice and you will be going up them not down - you will cycle passed a Sainsbury's along this section so café. toilets and supermarket in one place...) just south of Aintree - otherwise we didn't see much - but were not really looking for shops/cafes etc either. Surface was good on the whole - but there are sections that after rain are going to be muddy and one bit of track that will have plenty of water in it!
• Yesterday we finished the middle bit we hadn't previously done (Stockton Heath to Runcorn)... there is a Morrison's in Stockton Heath that has café, toilets and shopping... Surface was fine on the whole.
• Day 15 - that was hard for us because of the distance involved that the fact that we stayed religiously to staying on the TPT... that was basically just west of Barnsley area to Stockton Heath for us. There are plenty of cafes around along this section, but it was also hard and will be harder for you going up what we came down. Some of it, had I have been going in the other direction, I would have stayed with the road - especially near the Woodhead tunnels - I don't think my mtb skills even without panniers would have got me up that. The bit between Sale and the top of the Woodhead pass has some really bad, loose gravel climbs (in your direction) and is hard. It is nowhere near as good on this side of the Pennines as it is on the other. This was probably the worst section for the surface, will be muddy in places, very muddy in others, has the potential to be awful as well - some steps (down in your direction), lots of hard climbing and hard work... Café wise, there are plenty of areas to stop and have drinks!
• Day 14 for us was York to Barnsley... few places to stop for supplies along here - we ended up with a small diversion to get to a supermarket (TPT Leeds branch to find a Tesco's) - surface was fine on the whole - one or two areas where it will be muddy though.
• Day 12 was campsite to York via TPT in Hull (we had a minor diversion after Selby to take in York for a day...) There are some rough areas in Hull that you go through - we didn't like the area around Asda but that probably had more to do with the 'character' we met there - there was a Sainsbury's later on that was great in a much nicer (safer) area. There is also a café at the village hall at Blacktoft which is a help yourself for a donation - good selection of books as well. Surface - OK most of the time, but around Hull the tarmac is badly rutted with tree roots and it seriously slows you down and it has the potential to be really muddy around Hornsea.
• Then Day 11 involved Hornsea to the campsite we use a few miles down the road...

Overall, the TPT does a really good job of avoiding all cafes, supermarkets and places to buy food... It is hard in places and very testing.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Hi we havent done it where going the 14th october over 3 days, where staying in glossop, selby, hornsea. I was wondering whats the best food to eat on the way and also drinks. Any information about the trail would be good .
Thanks catherine.

do you have the TPT maps? I ask because I can post you ours if you want to borrow them - not sure if they would arrive in time now, but drinks/cafes and the likes are marked on the maps (you don't need them for following the route other than if you actually manage to loose the route and then they come in handy. They are the official TPT trail maps but we would like them back afterwards please, if you want to borrow them.

 

[catherine martin]

do you have the TPT maps? I ask because I can post you ours if you want to borrow them - not sure if they would arrive in time now, but drinks/cafes and the likes are marked on the maps (you don't need them for following the route other than if you actually manage to loose the route and then they come in handy. They are the official TPT trail maps but we would like them back afterwards please, if you want to borrow them.

Thank you so much for the offer that's very kind but they wouldn't arrive in time but really appreciate the offer. We are looking forward to it and i know it will be a lot of hard work, i was wondering wat are the best foods and drinks to carry to keep energy levels up

 

[catherine martin]

I wrote up a report on it (here) - . We did it last month on off-road touring bikes, you will need Day 1, the end of day 11, 12, 14 & 15 plus the epilogue on my journal.

• We did Runcorn to Southport on day 1 - great but there are steps involved twice and you will be going up them not down - you will cycle passed a Sainsbury's along this section so café. toilets and supermarket in one place...) just south of Aintree - otherwise we didn't see much - but were not really looking for shops/cafes etc either. Surface was good on the whole - but there are sections that after rain are going to be muddy and one bit of track that will have plenty of water in it!
• Yesterday we finished the middle bit we hadn't previously done (Stockton Heath to Runcorn)... there is a Morrison's in Stockton Heath that has café, toilets and shopping... Surface was fine on the whole.
• Day 15 - that was hard for us because of the distance involved that the fact that we stayed religiously to staying on the TPT... that was basically just west of Barnsley area to Stockton Heath for us. There are plenty of cafes around along this section, but it was also hard and will be harder for you going up what we came down. Some of it, had I have been going in the other direction, I would have stayed with the road - especially near the Woodhead tunnels - I don't think my mtb skills even without panniers would have got me up that. The bit between Sale and the top of the Woodhead pass has some really bad, loose gravel climbs (in your direction) and is hard. It is nowhere near as good on this side of the Pennines as it is on the other. This was probably the worst section for the surface, will be muddy in places, very muddy in others, has the potential to be awful as well - some steps (down in your direction), lots of hard climbing and hard work... Café wise, there are plenty of areas to stop and have drinks!
• Day 14 for us was York to Barnsley... few places to stop for supplies along here - we ended up with a small diversion to get to a supermarket (TPT Leeds branch to find a Tesco's) - surface was fine on the whole - one or two areas where it will be muddy though.
• Day 12 was campsite to York via TPT in Hull (we had a minor diversion after Selby to take in York for a day...) There are some rough areas in Hull that you go through - we didn't like the area around Asda but that probably had more to do with the 'character' we met there - there was a Sainsbury's later on that was great in a much nicer (safer) area. There is also a café at the village hall at Blacktoft which is a help yourself for a donation - good selection of books as well. Surface - OK most of the time, but around Hull the tarmac is badly rutted with tree roots and it seriously slows you down and it has the potential to be really muddy around Hornsea.
• Then Day 11 involved Hornsea to the campsite we use a few miles down the road...

Overall, the TPT does a really good job of avoiding all cafes, supermarkets and places to buy food... It is hard in places and very testing.

Thank you so much for all the information it's always worth knowing wat we will be up against