Travellers’ tales: Trans Pennine Trail tale

Where: Northern England
Who: Ann Shrimpton
When: August 2025

There is something special about traversing the country from one coast to the other.

The TransPennine Trail is less well known than some of the more popular coast-to-coast (C2C) routes. It’s longer, at 215 miles, certainly flatter and almost all on traffic-free paths or quiet lanes. It’s rideable on a gravel bike or hybrid, having no technical sections.

Each day brought something different, and we really appreciated the diversity of England’s landscapes as we crossed the country.

Starting in Southport on the shores of the Irish Sea, we passed through Liverpool, along the Mersey Estuary, through the Peak District, Barnsley, Selby, the Humber Estuary and Hull. We reached the east coast and the North Sea at Hornsea. The path was signposted the entire way and largely followed old railway lines, canals and cycle trails.

We enjoyed riding across the longest single-span suspension bridge in the UK: the Humber Bridge Ann Shrimpton

Views en route included the beaches of Southport, the Antony Gormley statues on Crosby Beach as we approached Liverpool, and the beauty and wildlife of the Mersey Estuary.

Then there were incredible Victorian railway bridges, the pretty Longdendale Trail through the Pennines, and the spectacular and remote sections of the moors as we passed through the Peak District National Park.

After we traversed the Pennines, it was predominantly downhill to the east coast as we followed the New Junction Canal. There were vast expanses of low-lying and empty agricultural terrain approaching the Humber Estuary. We enjoyed riding across the longest single-span suspension bridge in the UK: the Humber Bridge.

There were many sections where it was so remote and rural that it was easy to think we were hundreds of miles from any urban sprawl.

Read more at VeloAnn.