Cycling the Trans Pennine Trail E-Book

Nicolas Mitchell

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 135

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

The Trans Pennine Trail (TPT) is one of the finest long-distance cycle rides in England and tackling the route over four days is a marvellous mini-adventure that should appeal to all sorts of cyclists. Every stage of this 205-mile long cycle route, from Southport on Merseyside to Hornsea in East Yorkshire, is described by author Nicolas Mitchell, including fascinating accounts of its rich industrial heritage and details of many opportunities to explore its glorious natural history. This new book includes detailed route maps to help you keep on track; full-colour and archive photographs of all the sights along the way; detailed listings of accommodation, places to eat and drink and local bike shops and advice on how to prepare yourself and your bike for the trip. Of great interest to all types and level of serious cyclist, as well as tourists from UK and overseas and fully illustrated with 50 colour and archive photographs of all the sights along the way; 25 route maps and 5 elevation graphs.

Leseprobe

Cycling theTrans Pennine Trail

Nicolas Mitchell

First published in 2015 by The Crowood Press, The Stable Block, Crowood Lane,

Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire SN8 2HR

Text copyright ©2014 Nicolas Mitchell

All photographs are by the author, unless specified otherwise

Nicolas Mitchell hereby asserts and gives notice of his right to be identified under Sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as the author of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

About the Author

Nicolas Mitchell is passionate about cycle touring. He has thousands of cycling miles to his credit and is a veteran of numerous long-distance cycle rides. This book explores the Trans Pennine Trail, a route growing in popularity. When he isn’t in the office writing up cycling routes, Nicolas can usually be found out on the road guiding long-distance cycle tours.

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this book. However, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. The Publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions or for the consequences of any reliance on the information given in this book. We advise readers to check such things as accommodation and transport before setting out to cycle the Trans Pennine Trail.

As with any outdoor activity, accidents and injury can occur. The Publishers accept no responsibility for any injuries which may occur in relation to using or following the route described, or the information contained within this book.

Frontispiece: Sustrans volunteers at work on the Trans Pennine Trail. (Photo: Nicolas Mitchell)

ISBN: 978 1 84797 876 9

CONTENTS

FOLLOWING THE TRAIL

INTRODUCTION

ESSENTIALS

NAVIGATION

NUTRITION AND FITNESS

WHEN TO GO AND WHAT BICYCLE TO TAKE

WHAT GEAR TO TAKE

TRAVEL

STAGE 1: SOUTHPORT TO LYMM

MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL

STAGE 2: LYMM TO WENTWORTH CASTLE

THE LONGDENDALE VALLEY

WOODHEAD TUNNEL

STAGE 3: WENTWORTH CASTLE TO SELBY

DEARNE VALLEY RSPB OLD MOOR NATURE RESERVE

CONISBROUGH CASTLE

CONISBROUGH VIADUCT

RAF BURN

SELBY ABBEY

STAGE 4: SELBY TO HORNSEA

HUMBER BRIDGE

RESOURCES

INDEX OF VILLAGES, TOWNS AND LANDMARKS

FOLLOWING THE TRAIL

The book is divided into six sections. The Essentials section deals with preparation and gives advice on navigation, type of bike, what to take, what to eat, what to wear, weather conditions and getting to and from start and finish points. The next four sections of the book comprise the route description of stages 1-4 of the Trans Pennine Trail. The final section is Resources, which includes a list of places to stay to suit different budgets, cycle repair shops and mechanics along the way, transport information and also useful websites.

STAGES

Each stage section is colour coded and opens with an overview map, a description of the terrain, distance covered and OS maps required. The route description includes a complete series of grid references to aid navigation. There are also features on the flora and fauna encountered on the route, fascinating insights into the industrial heritage of the area plus full-colour and archive photography to illustrate the main points of interest.

MAPS AND ELEVATION PROFILES

There are twenty-five maps covering each stage of the 205-mile route, plus five elevation profiles showing the height gain and loss (in metres) along each stage of the route. As well as the route, the maps also show public houses and cafes recommended for a stop and points of interest along the way.

ELEVATION PROFILE OF TRANS PENNINE TRAIL

KEY TO MAPS

INTRODUCTION

The Trans Pennine Trail (TPT) is one of the finest long-distance cycle rides in England. Tackling the route over four days is a marvellous mini-adventure that should appeal to all sorts of cyclists from the newcomer, to long-distance tours, through to the ‘roadie’ looking for something different. The TPT route described in this book is approximately 205 miles long and it starts on the seafront close to Pleasureland in Southport, Merseyside. It progresses through Aintree, into Liverpool, to the south of Manchester and the north of Sheffield, traversing Doncaster, Selby, Hull and then finally out to Hornsea, a small seaside town in the East Riding of Yorkshire. It is sensational, combining some of the very best urban cycling and some fantastic ‘big sky’ riding as the route pushes north towards Selby and onto Hull and Hornsea.

The base of the Seamark obelisk. (Photo: Terry Eaton, Eaton Waygood Associates)

The TPT may lack the instant recognition of Lands End to John O’Groats. It doesn’t boast the consistently spectacular moorland scenery associated with the Sea-to-Sea or Way of the Roses nor the unfolding drama of the Coast and Castles. Yet the TPT has a character all of its own. It is predominantly off-road. It is brimming with traces of the Industrial Revolution and it offers a glorious opportunity to explore the natural history of England in some very surprising locations.

In 2006 the TPT won the coveted Amazing Space award presented by the National Lottery for the remarkable manner in which the trail makes innovative use of the trackbeds of disused railway lines and canal towpaths. These former trading arteries which pierce the towns and great cities of the North were revitalized and transformed with an investment of around £30 million before the TPT was officially opened in 2001, giving the keen leisure cyclist the chance to ride for miles without coming into contact with motor vehicles.

As you progress from the Irish Sea to the North Sea you will encounter areas where Romans and kings, Victorian industrialists and gifted civil engineers have all left their mark. For those cyclists who enjoy natural history, the TPT traverses numerous nature reserves, including Pickerings Pasture, Reddish Vale and RSPB Old Moor, to name just three. Overall the topography of the ride is relatively flat, played out on traffic-free cycle paths and country lanes. There is one significant climb which begins after approximately 80 miles (Stage Two) with a steady ascent from Hadfield along the Longdendale Trail to the Woodhead Tunnel. From the Woodhead Tunnel there is a short, steep ascent onto Gallows Moss at 1,372 feet above sea level, followed by a long exhilarating descent into Dunford Bridge.

This book has been designed to act as a guide and an aid to riding the length of the TPT from west to east over four days. It is divided into a number of short sections which cover navigation, fitness and nutrition. The guide highlights when to go and what gear to take and includes a kit list. We have also devoted a short section within the book dealing with bicycle transport. This should be useful when planning your arrival at the start point and your departure after successfully completing the ride. Within the main section of the book, each stage of the ride is fully described and you will find sketch plans of the route and elevation graphs throughout. The sketch plans contained within each stage have been designed so that they are naturally orienteered to the direction of travel.

In addition to the practical details of the ride there are a number of vignettes which relate to points of interest along the route, such as the Manchester Ship Canal, Conisbrough Castle and Selby Abbey. There is also some information on the various species of birds that you may see along the Longdendale Trail and a more detailed introduction to the RSPB centre at Old Moor in the Dearne Valley, one of the outstanding locations of the TPT.

The TPT signboard.

Towards the end of the book you will find a list of resources, including tourist information websites that cover the TPT and a comprehensive list of accommodation arranged geographically from west to east. There is a list of bicycle repair shops, mobile bicycle mechanics and more general cycling links. The reader will find an ‘at a glance guide’ to the key villages, towns and landmarks, which will help when setting up electronic navigational tools. We are confident that through this combination of practical advice, route description and the information contained in the Resources section, the budding adventurer should have all the tools required for an exciting and rewarding cycle tour along the TPT.

ESSENTIALS

NAVIGATION

One of the outstanding features of the TPT is that the route is extensively signed from start to finish. The signs are well designed, clear and numerous, and it is quite straightforward to cycle the entire 205 miles relying entirely on the sketch plans within this guide and the National Cycle Network (NCN) and TPT signposts.

For those riders who enjoy more detailed planning and navigating, then mapping will be an important aspect of your tour preparations. We believe that the most suitable maps for cycle touring are the Ordnance Survey Landranger series 1:50,000. This scale fits perfectly with the rhythm of long-distance cycling at a steady pace of anything from 10 to 14 miles per hour. They include just enough detail but not too much. You will need seven Landranger maps to complete the TPT and full details are listed under Resources at the back of the book. You should be able to save money by borrowing the maps from your local library. Alternatively you may find second-hand copies on eBay for a pound or two.

Navigating with a physical map on your handlebars is great fun and very rewarding. For those riders who enjoy this aspect of touring we have included every significant turning and junction as a grid reference throughout the body of the book; these references are denoted by two letters followed by six digits for example SD 326 175, SJ 895 908, etc. It should be a simple matter to transfer the references from the book and plot the route onto the Landrangers before commencing the ride. Additionally, grid references are used to mark the location of hotels, bed and breakfast accommodation, youth hostels and cycle repair shops. If you are a little unsure about how to plot a grid reference onto a Landranger map, Robert B. Matkin’s book Map Reading (ISBN 978-1855680968), published by Dalesman in 2008, is a very user-friendly introduction.

With the revolution in information technology, many riders will choose to navigate the TPT using a Global Positioning System, smartphone or tablet rather than a traditional paper map. To do this you will need an open source mapping application. There are some excellent free resources on the internet and we believe that the best is Google Maps. Since September 2012 there is also an iPhone app for Google Maps, although Open Street Map, Garmin Basecamp, Ordnance Survey OS Open Data are all tremendous resources. You may also find the National Cycle Network app from Sustrans and their online mapping of the National Cycle Network very helpful. Many cyclists who have already completed the TPT have uploaded their routes and maps to the cycling website Map My Ride and it is quite easy to download the GPX files from this resource directly to your computer, GPS, smartphone, etc. Finally the website nearby.org.uk will convert a grid reference or postcode into a physical location onto a host of open source mapping resources such as emapsite.com, Streetmap or Magic Defra. This should prove invaluable when searching for a bed and breakfast, youth hostel or cycle shop.

NUTRITION AND FITNESS

You do not need to be super-fit to complete the TPT nor will you need to prepare for weeks with a specially designed diet, but giving some general thought to your fitness and what you eat before, during and after each day on the bicycle will make the whole TPT experience more enjoyable. In this section of the book we want to try and help our readers with nutrition and fitness. It hardly needs saying that you will need to be in robust health before attempting the TPT. Although not the toughest ride in the pantheon of long-distance cycle tours, the TPT can still deliver a surprise, especially on the climb to Gallows Moss. With this in mind we recommend that you visit your General Practitioner for a health check-up before undertaking the ride.

With regard to fitness, there are some excellent resources on the web which will help you personalize your training plan. One of the best is Do It For Charity, where you will find a section on the website dedicated to cycling fitness. The British Heart Foundation has also produced a clear and concise beginner’s fitness programme. We believe that there is no substitute for being out and about on your bicycle. If possible make it your preferred mode of transport, use it for commuting or going to the shops, and you will soon build up some cycling fitness. Around two weeks before the start of the TPT try and do two consecutive days of around 20 to 30 miles in the saddle. If you have never undertaken a long-distance ride before, this is a good way of assessing your general fitness whilst giving you a little extra time to get a final few miles under your belt. The best cycling fitness books and websites we could find are listed at the back of this book.

Long-distance cycle touring can be divided into four key elements. These are route preparation, equipment (bicycle and clothing), fitness, and finally nutrition. It is a great feeling to undertake a challenge and know that you are very well prepared. We work with many cyclists who are passionate about their sport. They have the finest GPS devices, they invest thousands of pounds on their bicycles and cycling kit. These dedicated riders will religiously go out into the hills on training rides yet they give little, if any, thought to their cycling diet. In this short section we want to highlight why nutrition is a very important aspect of preparation for and execution of a long-distance cycling tour such as the TPT. It is vital that you have the stamina and endurance to complete the ride. Running out of energy 6 miles before arriving at your hotel in the dark will make the TPT memorable for all the wrong reasons.

A colourful selection of healthy cycling food. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

A good place to start your nutritional preparation is to adopt a healthy balanced diet for everyday living and the National Health Service website gives some sound advice. All that remains is to decide what to eat during the course of the adventure. Without becoming too technical we have highlighted foods with a low, medium and high glycaemic index (GI). The GI ranks food and fluids by how carbohydrate-rich they are and how quickly they affect the body’s blood sugar levels. This is important on the TPT. You should look for a slow release of energy, especially for breakfast and for your evening meal. With this in mind, try to choose foods with a low GI. For a short burst of energy choose a food source with a high GI. The paragraphs below give an indication of the GI of common carbohydrates.

Low GI: Legumes such as beans (kidney, white, black, pink and soy) and nuts (almonds, peanuts, walnuts and chickpeas). Seeds (sunflower, flax, pumpkin, poppy and sesame), most vegetables (beets and parsnips) and most intact grains (durum, wheat, millet, oat, rye, rice and barley) as well as honey, muesli, sweet corn, kiwi fruit, banana, baked beans, peas, carrots, grapes, apples, pears, plain low fat yoghurt, rye bread, boiled potato, spaghetti, barley, orange, lentils, skimmed milk, and peanuts.

Medium GI: Pitta bread, basmati rice, potato, grape juice, raisins, prunes, cranberry juice, croissant, instant porridge, raisins, rye crispbread, muesli bar, pizza, porridge, pineapple, sultanas, Rich Tea biscuit, oatmeal biscuit, couscous, Power Bar, sweet potato, ice cream.

High GI: Dates, white bread, most white rice, cornflakes, potatoes, baked potato, mashed potato, chips, Weetabix, watermelon, Rice Krispies, bagel, Bran Flakes, Cheerios.