England : East Yorkshire The ride through nowhere to somewhere - Spurn Head, Sat Sept 16

[Pale Rider]

This ride is a 50 mile circuit from outside Hull through a famously featureless landscape to Spurn Head.

Or as close as we can get, given the last half mile of the road having been all but washed away.

We will start at 10am from the visitor/viewpoint car park at Paull, and track the estuary as close as we can using minor roads.

The landscape may be devoid of interest, but there are some cracking place names to ride through.

Crossing Thorngumbald Drain drain sounds fun, and I'm already looking forward to Sunk Island, assuming it hasn't sunk any further by the time we get there.

My provisional route turns around at Kilnsea.

Joint ride leader @EasyPeez (Andy) intends to do a recce when he returns from his hols at the end of the month, so we may get further info about precisely how close to Spurn Head we can reasonably get without drowning or becoming stuck in a mire.

The proposed return is via Withernsea and along a B road to Hedon, then Paull.

Andy is also going to scope out refreshment opportunities.

There looks to be a few caravan parks at Kilnsea, so I'm guessing there will stuff available which is suitably seasidey and unhealthy such as chips, burgers, and ice cream.

We may not pass much in the way of shops/cafes on the way to Kilnsea, so while I doubt anyone has ever died of hunger or thirst while cycling out there, it would be wise to bring some snacks and plenty to drink.

This ride was mentioned in another thread a couple of months ago when several members expressed an interest, so hopefully we can get a group together.

Link to start point: https://tinyurl.com/y88gqacv

Link to route: https://tinyurl.com/y9k7jdte

Rider list:

@EasyPeez
@Pale Rider
@Supersuperleeds

 

[Slioch]

Spurn Head's been on my todo list for a while now, so potentially interested. Just need to check the logistics with my better half.

 

[BrynCP]

There are places to stop/eat in Patrington, Easington, Kilnsea (Blue Bell Cafe) and Withernsea for sure. From Paull to Patrington nothing though.

 

[growingvegetables]

This ride is a 50 mile circuit from outside Hull through a famously featureless landscape to Spurn Head.

Wow - the hard sell?

Seriously, lads and lasses - it's just that the features are ... "different". Looking UP at tankers heading for Immingham. Feeling the throb of huge marine diesels in your gut. Using distant steeples for navigation. BIG skies.

[edited to add - and The Queen of Holderness. Quite stunning ]

I've done that route, and similar, a few times. Includes an overnighter, out of Hull after the last train; where I fled Spurn Head before sunrise ... just cos it was so eerily beautiful, I didn't want to have it spoiled by a bit of sunlight.

Definitely interested - but not sure how dates will work out for me.

 

[anothersam]

Wow - the hard sell?

Well, between the OP and your post, I’m sold, but not a chance I can do this. Have put St Patrick’s on my list though – “over 200 faces of people, animals and grotesques looking down at you from the walls and arches” sounds like a colosseum where your soul will either triumph or be torn apart for the pleasure of an audience frozen in stone.

 

[Pale Rider]

Here's the original thread, which includes a picture or two.

The area is dull, featureless, eerily beautiful, strangely compelling, or possibly all of those, depending on your view.

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/hull-to-spurn-point.219689/

 

[EasyPeez]

Looking forward to the ride. Fingers crossed for a calm, dry day as there is absolutely no shelter from wind or rains out there. I'm hoping to do a recce this weekend so will add to the thread in the next few days if any tweaks to the route are required.

I think @User46386 @Gixxerman @Supersuperleeds @NorthernDave @Buck @ColinJ and @MarkF expressed interest previously.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I did and am still am interested. I've just got to find out which weekend I am committed to a scouting event, but I'm pretty sure it is the weekend after

 

[MarkF]

That day coincides with the Saltaire festival which I always enjoy with MrsF. Will have to see if I am allowed out east.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I've noticed some of the route is off road, I was planning on using my road bike, will it be okay? Also what sort of pace is the ride expected to be? I might be bringing the missus up with me and I will need to give her an indication of when I will be able to meet her at the end of the day

 

[BrynCP]

I've noticed some of the route is off road, I was planning on using my road bike, will it be okay?

Definitely not on that old Withernsea Rail line. My hybrid couldn't do it.

I would stick on the B1362 instead of using the off road bit on your road bike or even hybrid. The B1362 is fine, mostly 40mph roads, a bit windy, never had issues with cars though. In red below:

And I would stick to Thorngumbald road instead of whatever the route is trying to take you; I am not 100% sure if you're allowed to cycle on that track. I haven't though, so can't comment on its suitability for road bike.

 

[Pale Rider]

@BrynCP - thanks for giving the route the once over.

I'm sure your suggestions will be taken on board by @EasyPeez who is doing a recce to come up with the final route.

'My hybrid couldn't do it' is no good for me or any of us, so that old railway is definitely out.

For what it's worth, my reading of the OS map is we could leave the car park via the path in front of Paull fort.

But as it's only about a mile, it will be no biggie if we have to use Thorngumbald Road all the way.

@Supersuperleeds - we will know more after Andy's recce, but the plan is to stick to hard, well-made surfaces which would be suitable for a road bike.

What we don't yet know is how far out to Spurn Head we will be able to get.

Last intelligence was the road was partially washed away, but still suitable for 4X4 motor vehicles.

Off roading is no good to me, and I won't want to get the bike filthy because it will have to go back in the car.

I'm prepared to wait a bit if other riders want to ride/push further out towards the Head.

Pace will proabably be 12-14mph-ish, although I'm guessing if we get a head wind out there it would knock us back significantly.

We will aim for one proper lunch stop of up to an hour, and short regroup/snacking stops as required.

Hard to give a time estimate because I don't know what will happen at the turnaround point.

A likely scenario would be lunch from 1pm to about 2pm, with about 25 miles/a couple of hours riding to get back to Paull, giving a return time of 4-5pm.

 

[EasyPeez]

Further to the info above, I did the ride this weekend and very pleasant it was too - although I did have light-ish winds and blazing sunshine; fingers crossed for something similar on Sat 16th Sep!

A few notes on what I found -

Starting Point
On arriving in Paull, immediately after passing the sign for the town, you will come to this fork in the road.

Either option is fine - going left will take you straight down Back Lane towards our start point, going right bring you to the same spot but via the small village itself, allowing a look at the squat little lighthouse before curving round to a junction where you will need to turn right.
Whichever option you choose, you will then need to look out for this building -

The track which you can hopefully just make out to the left is the one we are aiming for. It's signed as a private road, but don't worry about that. Whether arriving by bike or car, watch out for potholes as you go down there. It leads to a free car park, which has a splendid view over the Humber, and where cars can be left indefinitely, free of charge -

The Route
@Pale Rider is correct in that we can leave the car park by following the path next the Humber past Fort Paull, however it soon gets pretty rocky with big lumps of limestone, so I think it will be preferable to stick to Thorngumbald Lane as @BrynCP suggests. The rest of the route given in @Pale Rider 's opening post is pretty much spot on, though after leaving Paull we can take the earlier right down Newlands Lane, rather than flirt with Thorngumbald itself, if we prefer.

Unfortunately once at Spurn we won't be able to get very far down the spit at all I'm afraid. The road dissolves into very soft sand after a short distance, and by my eye it is at least half a mile (the YWT guide I chatted to on Saturday reckoned more like a mile) before the tarmac reappears. There's no way we will be able to ride, or want to carry our bikes, over that. A shame, as the far end of the spit, with it's teeming wildlife, water on both sides and eerie RNLI village is definitely worth visiting.

On the way back I found the B1362 by far the least interesting section of the route, so tried heading south to pick up the old railway trail just north of Ottringham. It was very narrow at that point, with some deep potholes - I managed it at a snail's pace but would not recommend we pick it up there. However, from Keyingham onwards I'd beg to differ with @BrynCP - I was on my road bike with 25mm slicks and managed it no problem, albeit trimming my speed down to 11-12mph. There are significant stretches where we'd have to ride single file, but it wasn't particularly rough I didn't think - all compacted cinder - and I don't recall any narrow gates etc. We can decide on the day anyway, but assuming the preceding days haven't been too wet we will have the option to get away from the cars and the wind and join the rail trail either at Keyingham (via a short section of the A1033 from Ottringham) or at Burstwick.

My ride came in at 89 miles at an average of just over 15mph, but that included nearly 12 miles each way to get to Paull and back, plus some to-and and fro-ing checking out different tracks and lanes. I pushed hard on certain sections and was lucky with minimal winds. It's likely we will take longer rest stops on the day and face a stronger headwind for a fair chunk of the ride at some point - as an estimate I'd say if you bank on 55 miles of riding and a return time of circa 4.30pm (including several decent length rest stops) that won't be too far off the mark.

Rest Stops
There is nowhere to get food, drink or shelter for the first 20 miles of the ride, so come prepared for that.

Patrington has a bakery with indoor and outdoor seating which looked quite nice, as well as a big convenience store and several pubs. A coffee and slice of cake here would be my suggestion. As @growingvegetables suggests, St Patrick's church there is a beauty and well worth a quick look inside, especially if it's a sunny day as the windows refract the light rather beautifully.

The Blue Bell cafe at Kilnsea, again with seating in and out, has a simple menu but is very friendly and the food is well prepared. I'd suggest either here for lunch or fish and chips at the beach in Withernsea, depending on how soon people get hungry and how the weather is.

After that things are thin on the ground again, though Burstwick has on ok pub and a small shop if any additional liquids/carbs are required.

Sights
As mentioned upthread, the landscape is a bit one-dimensional between Paull and Spurn, and though there is slightly more tree cover and a few bumps between Withernsea and Hedon, it's not exactly varied on the way back either. However, there are great views of the Humber at the start, Spurn is a real highlight, and there are a few things to keep an eye out for en route, including the aforementioned Queen of Holderness, her companion the King of Holderness in Hedon, a crossing of the Greenwich meridian outside Patrington and a statue near Welwick commemorating the Gunpowder plot (2 of Fawkes' key henchmen grew up in the village, apparently).
I also encountered lots of wildlife on Saturday - martins and swallows swooping all around the farms, great egrets roosting at Sunk Island, a weasel skipping across the road at Spurn and a deer running at full pelt right alongside me for a few exhilarating moments as I passed a field of scrub outside Paull.

Any other questions feel free to give me a shout. Looking forward to it.

 

[Soltydog]

I won't be able to make the ride, but one of my favourite cafe stops is Amy's at Patrington, very reasonably priced cafe, open till 2pm but also has a fully licensed bar, normally with a few sensible real ales (under 4%) at £3 (iirc) a pint . I normally leave my bike by the window to keep an eye on it, but you can hide them down the side if there's a few of you.

 

[BrynCP]

However, from Keyingham onwards I'd beg to differ with @BrynCP

It could be the worst section from my point of view was West of Hedon (which you won't be going as far), it was just very deep potholes as I recall. I kept on it until Keyingham but all the earlier vibration caused my shifter to unscrew itsself and fall to pieces so I took the exit at Keyingham and returned to Hull by road. (If anyone is cycling to/from Hull, there is a cycle path all along Hedon road and around the roundabout at Salt End).

though after leaving Paull we can take the earlier right down Newlands Lane, rather than flirt with Thorngumbald itself, if we prefer.

There is no public right of way between half way down Newlands Lane and Cherry Cobb Sands Lane - it's a farmers land; there is a gate at both ends, often closed and locked at the latter.