Transpennine Trail - Selby to York (★★★☆☆)

Today would be my first trip out on the Transpennine Trail, which is a mixed cycling, walking and horse-riding route that mainly makes use of canals and old railway paths to cross England from coast-to-coast - with spurs off to Leeds, York and Chesterfield along the trail.

The plan today was not actually to walk any of the coast-to-coast route, but to walk one of those spurs - up an old railway line between Selby and York.

The railway line in question was the original route of the East-Coast mainline, before the route got diverted due to the risk of subsidence issues caused by planned coal mining activities underneath this route. 

And on the map you'll notice that geographically this was a more direct route between York and Doncaster than the current route of the East-Coast Mainline.

And so, as I head down by train to Selby today, I find myself taking the indirect route via Sherburn-in-Elmet - rather than the older, and more direct route, I will be walking today.

Selby itself is an usual town - it doesn't feel very wealthy, but it has some very grand buildings, such as Selby Abbey (which we pass upon leaving the station).

Selby Abbey

This town grew up around the Abbey - which was founded in 1069, shortly after the Norman invasion. And Henry I (fourth son of William the Conqueror) is believed to have been born in Selby in 1068.

But otherwise, the town seems to have had a fairly quiet history - albeit with more activity in the 18th century as a sea port, in the 19th century as a railway centre, and then later as an area of intensive coal mining activity.

But these days all these activities are no longer of such importance, and it does feel like it sits in a bit of a sleepy backwater.

From Selby, we head out through Barlby, and then have to endure a not so enjoyable stretch as we follow the A19 (which has been built over the former route of the railway), up to Riccall.

Here we make our way through that town and then - with the A19 diverting off to the east - we finally get to start walking along the old railway route, without the hindrance of a busy road.

Along the old railway

From here we are on the old railway route consistently until we hit Bishopthorpe, and whilst the countryside is fairly flat without too much changing, it is still a pretty walk with open fields on both sides.

Here we are walking above the Selby Coalfield, which was a large underground mine, built out in the 1970s. 

These mines produced their first coal in 1983 (making this quite a late arrival on the mining scene), without output peaking in 1993-94, with 12 million tonnes of coal being produced in that year.

But the mine did not last too long, and had closed by 2004 - having mined 121 tonnes of coal over it's lifespan.

The problem with this mining activity is it increased the risk of subsidence - and in response that previously mentioned diversion route (that East Coast Mainline trails still observe today) was added in 1983 - with this line closing as a result.

But today there is little evidence left of those coal mining activities, and our walk continue on across the countryside as we enjoy the peace and quiet of the area.

Crossing a water channel

Coming up to Bishopthorpe

As we start to close in on Bishopthorpe, the path starts to get busier as we start to meet up with both cyclists and walkers coming down from York - and here we cross over the River Ouse, and head up past Bishopthorpe itself.

Here I had originally thought of turning off to follow the Ebor Way into York, but with the river in flood, and without wanting to swim the rest of the way, I decide to stick to this trail.

This means heading under the A64, and then cutting across York Racecourse - before arriving at the outskirts of York.

York Racecourse

Here I make an early attempt to join up with the river (in line with the route of the Transpennine Trail), but finding that the river is too flooded, instead head down to the Millennium Bridge (via the houses) - and cross over the river there.

Bit too wet to stick to the official route

Millennium Bridge

My ownward route is decided more by which paths are possible than anything else, and there's not much of the riverside that can be walked today - so instead I head away from the river, and pass by Clifford's Tower on my way to York Minster.

Clifford's Tower

York Minster

And after a bit of a poke around town, I head off to the train station and head home.

This isn't a walk you would go too far out your way to do, but given how wet it has been, the dry surface has been very welcome - and it does make for a good winter walk on a day as wet as this one, when there aren't too many other walks you would want to do.

Total Distance: 15.1 miles

Total Ascent: 341 feet

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐ ★ ★ / 5

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 105 OS Landranger map - while there is also a Transpennine Trail guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon).