Cycle the Trans Pennine Trail to the Longdendale Valley

A leisurely cycle from Marple into the Peak District.

We follow the Peak Forest Canal to join the Trans Pennine Trail in the Tame Valley near Hyde, and follow a mixture of Bridleways, Rail Trails and Roads to Hadfield at km 22. 

Want a shorter option, join us at Hadfield - Cycle the Longdendale Valley | OutdoorLads 

Hadfield is now the terminus of the former Manchester Sheffield Woodhead route closed in the 1980s. The former route now converted into a shared use trail. After we meet any members on the shorter route, we follow the old rail route for some 10km passing the 3 reservoirs of the Longdendale Valley, before arriving at the Entrance to the Woodhead Tunnel. We then retrace our route a short distance before detouring around the lower reservoirs back to Hadfield, where the shorter route ends.

To return to Marple we take a much more direct route, mainly follows roads, before taking a detour on tracks through Etherow & Brabyns Park. If you arrived by train, there is the option to return by train to Manchester from Hadfield and shorten your ride by about 12km.

Whilst the ascent may appear significant, many of the ascents are gradual given the nature of the route following old rail routes, the only significant climb is out of the Tame Valley, and can be walked if necessary. No need to worry too much about your fitness, we will ride at the pace of the slowest, wait at the top of climbs should you need to walk and no one we be left behind.

For this ride a Mountain Bike, Gravel, Hybrid or Road bike is suitable. 

Should you have any questions about the route please message the leader.

OutdoorLads Cycling Events Calendars
You can now go directly to our events calendar pages by bookmarking the follow links:

• All ODL Cycling Events Calendar
• Gravel Cycling and MTB Events Calendar

IMPORTANT! - Participation Statement

You MUST complete the Cycling Participation Statement in addition to booking your event space before attending a cycling event. You only need to complete this Participation Statement once, not for each cycling event you attend. 

Want to keep in touch with what's going on in the Midlands / ODL Central Region?   Sign up for Central Region Events Notifications (Telegram Channel) and the Central Region Telegram Chat Group, and bookmark our upcoming events list via the short link:  https://outdoorlads.events/central.

Image credits: All photos provided by leader.