Getting There: Travel and Parking Information

Please reduce impact on the environment by using public transport to get to the TPT wherever you can. Much of the TPT can be easily accessed by bus and train and covering a linear stretch of the route is easier with no need to retrace your steps! You’ll be helping to support local services too. Railway stations near the trail are clearly shown on the maps.

If you do travel by car – car parks are sparse on many parts of the route. Please be considerate and be do not obstruct farm gates or residential access points when you park.

Western Section Hornsea to Penistone

Cycles on trains: local trains take cycles free (no need to book). May need to book on other services. Manchester Metro (tram) does not permit cycles.

If you do travel by car – car parks are sparse on many parts of the route. Please be considerate and be do not obstruct farm gates or residential access points when you park.

Central Section Penistone to Sprotbrough and Leeds to Sheffield

Cycles on trains: local trains take bicycles free (no need to book). Sheffield Supertram does not permit cycles.

Eastern Section Sprotbrough to Hornsea

Cycles on trains: local trains take bicycles free (no need to book). Some peak time restrictions on York-Hull.

Trans Pennine Trail and E8

The Trans Pennine Trail is part of European Long Distance Footpath E8, which is a route under development in 10 European Countries, including Britain. E8 currently ends at the Polish Ukraine border. The Trans Pennine Trail was the first designated E route in Britain and is the only section of the E8 that is multi-user. The rest of the E8 route on Continental Europe is for walkers only.

The E8 is already available for walkers in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Poland and part of Bulgaria.

The European Ramblers Association has identified the walking route of the Trans Pennine Trail as the British leg of the E8. Daily sailing’s between the King George Dock in Hull and Rotterdam by North Sea Ferries form a vital link between the mainland sections of the route. From Liverpool, the Dublin ferry makes Ireland accessible for walkers, where the E8 route from Dublin to Kerry, following the Wicklow Way, is almost complete.

Walkers can take up the E8 route from the Europort at Rotterdam. The route then passes through the Netherlands, crossing into Germany to Bonn, through the Rhine Valley. It then crosses north Austria and rejoins the Danube from Vienna to the border of Slovakia. Here the route rises through the mountains and leaves through the Dukla Pass, passing through the southern tip of Poland into the Ukraine. It then travels south through Romania and Bulgaria. It is hoped that it will eventually continue through Turkey on to Istanbul, on the Bosporus, but there is no set timescale for this at the moment.

The Long Distance Walkers Association has set up a web site covering E8. Their Internet address is: http://www.ldwa.org.uk/.

The Trans Pennine Trail national office in Barnsley does not publish a guide to the rest of the E8 in Europe.

Feedback

We would love to hear your comments on the TPT, good or bad, whether you use only the section of trail near your home or have travelled the TPT right across the country !
Please contact us at the TPT office.

TPT Stamping Scheme - Been There, Done That, Now get the T-Shirt!

If you plan to complete the TPT from Liverpool or Southport to Hull or Hornsea or the full trail including north and south sections, you can collect stamps on your card at set locations as you walk or ride across the trail to keep a souvenir of your journey or to apply for an official free certificate to prove you’ve completed the trail!

Notes for Horse Riders

There is not a continuous TPT route suitable for horse riders . The needs of different horses and riders vary dramatically so we have shown sections of the TPT where the route is generally accessible for most horse riders on the officeial map. You will encounter step over ‘horse stiles’ at many access points – designed to BHS guidelines when the TPT started. Parking suitable for horseboxes is indicated where we know it exists, again on the maps. The British Horse Society is investigating the best routes to link gaps in the TPT horse riding route and the TPT office will be publishing a short guide for riders. Please contact the BHS for more details:-

Barbara Haigh
Greater Manchester County Access & Bridleways Officer
British Horse Society
Broome Cottage
285 Greenacres Road
Oldham, OL4 2DP
Tel: (0161) 6333004

The official TPT Accommodation Guide contains details of some stables across the TPT.

TPT on a Recumbent Bike (coast to coast)

Surfaces

Surfaces are very varied. Over 60% of the coast to coast route is 'off road' on traffic free paths. This is usually crushed stone, surfaced paths with off road tarmac surfaces in some places (disused railway lines, canal towpaths etc.) Sometimes you will be on the highway but over the whole length of trail this is quite low and much of the 40% is quiet county lanes - e.g. long stretches on lanes in east Yorkshire - but there are a few urban bits too. The quality of the purpose built crushed stone paths varies - the TPT is not designed for road bikes as it is for walkers and horse riders too so the surfaces used have been a compromise between what the different users like ! In a few places you follow farm tracks and these can be a bit rough.

Access Controls

Some sections of the TPT have problems with illegal use by motor vehicle (esp. motor bikes) so the local authorities who have built the Trial have installed access controls at access points along the route.

There are several different types. You may find some of these difficult to get through on a recumbent depending on how wide/long it is.

There are wide variety of access controls on the TPT and you will find some easier than others to get through. Some are an 'A frame' type design. There is no length restriction on these and the width is wide enough for most pushchairs/wheelchairs. There are others that have an upside down 'U' shape designed for pushchairs, wheelchairs etc. with no length restriction.

In some places there is a chicane type barrier or kissing gate type - you will probably find these most difficult and may have to lift you bike over some of them - so be warned !

We are aware of the problem these barriers cause some legitimate users - they are real nuisance for some people. But the motorbike issue is also a big problem too on some parts of the TPT and although they don't stop the problem, the access gates have been shown to deter some motorbikes and at least slow them down - so the Local Authorities who have developed and look after the TPT will not take the gates out in the foreseeable future.