The longest continuous section available to horse riders is just over 40 miles and links to the Pennine Bridleway. The sections that are available to horse riders are marked on the Trans Pennine Trail maps, which are available from either by telephone from our office or from the Shop section of our website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the map above, the blue sections give an overview of which parts of the Trail are available to horse riders, although this includes on road as well as off-road sections of the route. (There is a link to a list of these sections below) The off-road sections include many miles of path on old railway lines as well as existing public bridleways and permissive bridleways. Often there are step-over stiles at the start and along each section.  Where space has allowed, facilities have been provided for parking suitable for horse boxes and trailers to enable riders to visit the Trail. At some locations there are also hitching rails and mounting blocks

Why isn't the full TPT route available to horse riders?  Although the route was originally envisaged for walkers and cyclists, it was quickly realised that much of it would be suitable for horse riders and where possible an equestrian route was provided. However routing the Trail through built up areas and along canal towpath created sections of the route where this could not be achieved. For example horse riding is not allowed on canal towpaths which the Trail follows in a number of places. In built up areas, the physical constraints of the route used by the TPT does not allow sufficient room for a bridleway route, as well there being busy road crossings and on road section that are too busy to recommend as a horse riding route.

New - The TPT Equestrian Guide 

We are in the process of developing a series of guides to the horse riding sections of the Trans Pennine Trail. These have been developed for horse riders by horse riders and are designed as an accompaniment to the TPT maps to help other people discover these sections of the Trail on horseback.  They included details such as the features and hazards on the route, the proportion of off and on road in each section, and the availability of parking areas suitable for horseboxes. So far guides have been produced for 6 sections of the Trail, but this is an ongoing project so guides to more sections will be added once the details have been collected. Any riders want to volunteer to help produce a guide to their local section of the Trail should contact the TPT Office

We are publishing the first six sections of the TPT Equestrian Guide. These are available to download (as PDF files) here, by clicking on the appropriate section, or can be requested from the TPT office. The sections available are:

The full list of all the sections of the TPT that are open to horse riders is available here.

Riding Breaks in Barnsley - a new mini guide highlighting the riding opportunities available in the central section of the Trail where various route options provide for 2, 3 or 4 days riding on the Trail along with other bridleway routes. (300Kb pdf file)