Schools are out and so is the sun (occasionally) - it's officially summertime, and a great time to get out and about.
The Transpennine Trail is one of the longest walks in England - stretching coast to coast and coming in at just over 200 miles from Southport all the way to Hornsea. To try to make the most of the first bit of warm weather in July, I spent one morning walking down part of the former rail route from Hull to Hornsea.
Read more:
- I spent an hour in one of East Yorkshire's ghost train stations that sees fewer than 600 passengers a year
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The Hull to Hornsea rail line officially opened in March 1864. In 1914, 14 trains ran daily. The line was closed following the Beeching Report, which saw closure to lines connecting rural towns across the country, with the last passenger service running in October 1964.
On the walking route, heading east will see ramblers towards the Hornsea coast, and heading west leads all the way to Manchester and eventually Southport - although walking it from my starting point on Tweendykes Road takes in a whopping 199.75 miles.
The first landmark I came across was an iron bridge that was dated 1863. A part of the old Sutton Village station - long gone and replaced with a play park on the Barbara Robson field - the bridge has a bit of its own folklore, given that over the years there have been plenty of sightings of one particular "ghost".
The White Lady of Sutton Bridge, according to legend, would appear and follow passers-by. I've heard this legend/myth a few times over the years, but have yet to see her with my own eyes.
I strolled through another underpass - this one having a mural of Biggie Smalls and not a Victorian ghost - and through 'dog muck' alley, and once I passed Kestral Avenue the surroundings changed from bricked homes to greenery.
With the land surrounding the route opening up into fields, the relatively straight track is ideal for bike riders. It's estimated to take just over an hour to cycle the way all the way to Hornsea, as opposed to more than four hours on foot. Plenty of cyclists were out in the morning sun, all greeting me as they went on by.
The next landmark would've been missed had it not been for an informational post. I had nearly obliviously walked by the site of Bransholme Castle.
Though the castle is long gone, a gate leads through to the noticeable mount where the micro-estate would've been hundreds of years ago.
As I reached the first village between Hull and the coastline, Swine, I used the opportunity to tuck into a "picnic" - aka a Sainsbury's meal deal - and have a wander around the village that so many who have done the trail will have gone through. Though I just scratched the surface of the trail before heading home, I still saw an almost millennia worth of history in just a few hours. Those who've got a bike and love a bit of the seaside will no doubt have taken on this ride, but, whether you have or not, it's still a great way to spend a day during the summer holidays.
