A Windy ride back from Hull and forgot my Swedish Fish!

£3.50 for an epic gravel adventure… yeah, not quite.

That was the plan anyway.
Back in January, me Saul and Clare Smith jumped on some dirt-cheap train tickets to Hull with a simple idea ride it all the way back. Humber Bridge, Trans Pennine Trail, a few solid gravel sections stitched together into a 90-mile day out.
Clean plan. Looked great on paper.
We rolled out of Hull just after 9am blue skies, sun out, everything pointing to a perfect ride. Then we hit the Humber… and got slapped by the wind.
Not a breeze. A full-on, in-your-face, why-did-we-do-this headwind.
Every pedal stroke felt like double the effort.
The Humber Bridge was unreal massive views across Humberside and North Lincolnshire but staying upright was half the battle. Proper type-2 fun.
Once over, the riding was actually decent. Wide gravel along the south bank, loads of runners and dog walkers… all being blown the opposite way. Must be nice.
We pushed through lanes and villages into North Lincolnshire an area I’ve never really rated for off-road riding. But after a coffee stop in Alkborough, it completely flipped. A couple of miles of flowy, rolling trail with views over the Trent. Didn’t expect that at all.
Then it was wind turbines, pylons, and the endless flat stretch of the Isle of Axholme which, despite the name, is about as “island” as Halifax town centre.
At Gunness, we joined the Stainforth & Keadby Canal towpath. Ten miles. Straight into a headwind. No shelter, no features just grinding it out and questioning life choices.
Things picked up after Thorne. Proper fun again flowy singletrack, dry trails (the one upside of the wind), and some tree cover to take the edge off. Fast, smooth, and actually enjoyable on a gravel bike.
By now though, time was getting away from us.
We rolled into Barnby Dun just after 3pm, absolutely ready for a proper feed. The café set inside a big teepee with fairy lights looked spot on.
Kitchen closed at 3.
Pain.
We made do cheesecake, sausage rolls, pasties, quiche from the farm shop. Solid, but not quite what we had in mind. We’ll be back… just earlier next time.
After that, the wind dropped a bit, but the trade-off was a few miles of wet, boggy bridleway across open fields. Bikes and kit went from clean to completely written off in minutes.
Then came the real problem.
The bridleway crossed the Selby–Doncaster rail line… except it doesn’t anymore. Fully shut by Network Rail fences, barriers, no way through.
So yeah turn around, back through the mud.
At least the wind was finally behind us.
The detour cost us time and added a few miles, but things lifted when we hit the Trans Pennine Trail. Fast, flowing, and actually fun again. Rolling past Doncaster and through old mining towns like Sprotborough, Conisbrough and Mexborough—good mix of surfaces, little undulations, and a few unofficial lines to keep things interesting.
By now the sun was starting to drop, and reality kicked in.
That full 90-mile route back via Barnsley, Wakefield and Huddersfield? Not happening unless we fancied getting home stupidly late.
So we called it, Barnsley Interchange.
We pushed to make the 19:03 train… and missed it. Obviously.
£5.79 later, we had an hour to kill wandering around, dripping mud, watching the full Saturday night chaos unfold around us.
Eventually made the 20:03. Sat down. Reflected.
Did it go to plan? Not even close.
Would I do it again? 100%.
So yeah, wasn’t quite the £3.50 adventure I’d planned. But even with the extra train fare, still one of the best-value days out you can have on a bike.
Just… next time, I’m checking the wind.

Strava
https://www.strava.com/activities/17892911835

Swedish Fish song
https://suno.com/s/u35sGBhE3TiNR8Kr