Hornsea Rail Trail Traffic-free Cycle Route

Hornsea Rail Trail Cycle Route Overall Rating: ⭐⭐

The Hornsea Rail Trail links the centre of Hull with Hornsea, 15 miles further along a disused rail trail. Just over half of the route is tarred, with the remainder quite decent compacted gravel. This trail forms part of the Trans Pennine Trail, and is signed as National Cycle Network route 65 (NCN 65). Though traffic-free, it crosses the busy A165. Do note that the traffic-free part only starts from Damson Lane South – if starting from the city centre, you will be cycling on on-road, painted cycle lanes, and on quiet roads. The total length and the map below shows the route from the Hull train station.

Once you get to Hornsea, there are some on-road sections to contend with, and do pay attention to the No Cycling signs along the promenade.

Surface

The surface is tarred slightly over half the total distance, but the tar is very bumpy in places because of tree roots. The unsealed part is mostly compacted gravel, but in winter it can get muddy in places.

Bikes

The Hornsea Rail Trail is better suited to bicycles with thicker tyres, but it’s possible to ride it on skinny road bike wheels.

Toilets

There are toilets at the station, as well as at some pubs along the way, and at the end of the route in Hornsea. As expected with a rail trail, the route is very flat.

Points of Interest

Look out for the Hornsea Market, for some local produce. Along the way, there are the South and Sigglesthorne Station local nature reserves.

See also  Dart Valley Cycleway

Routes in Yorkshire

Barriers

Unfortunately, at the Hull end, there are several A-frame barriers, and some of them are quite tight to get through.

Ratings

Safety: ⭐⭐
Hilliness: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Refreshment stops: ⭐⭐⭐
Barriers: ⭐
Surface: ⭐⭐

Overall: ⭐⭐

The grading system I use is explained here.

Forecast for the Hornsea Rail Trail

What the Hornsea Rail Trail looks like

Hornsea_geograph-5401984-by-N-Chadwick
previous arrowprevious arrow
next arrownext arrow
Shadow

Interactive map for the Hornsea Rail Trail

You can download the GPX file from the map below, simply by clicking the GPX button. Hovering over the elevation profile will show the elevation for that point along the route, in both metres and feet. It will also show the gradient.

Hornsea Rail Trail Moderate 2.5
Calculating stats...
Slow (8-10 mph): Calculating...
Medium (10-12 mph): Calculating...
Fast (12+ mph): Calculating...
LIVE
<3%
3-6%
6-9%
>9%

And finally…

If this route guide was of use to you, it will be of use to others, too. Don’t keep it secret! Share it with everyone, on social media, in Facebook Groups, on chat forums, and elsewhere.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

🌙