The Maritime Weekender at Hull Marina drew me to a City I normally only pass through on the way to the Ferry. Despite cool blustery weather the Sea Shanty singing along the Marina wall was in full flow despite the hands in pockets approach of one of the singers from Hissyfit. Bitter End had all the audience participating, Shellback Chorus had at least 15 singer and Kimbers Men sang in powerful bass. As a music event in several pubs and outdoor stages it was fast moving, entertaining and well supported. Beyond the music there was other daytime entertainment and retail therapy set against Hulls seafaring history. 2017 is when Hull will be the UK city of culture
Walking from the railway station to the marina involved negotiating a street food market thronged with folk buying Yorkshire grub with the odd bit of exotic cuisine. This must have been specially designed to tempt me but I waited for Fish and Chips at The Green Bricks pub one of the singing venues on Humber Street. Moving on to The Minerva for more music and sustenance you got a good view of The Deep one of the ‘Visitor Attractions’ I didn’t have time to visit. This is home to 40 sharks and over 3000 fish in an area called a ‘submarium’.
Not Dull Facts From Hull
- Its official name is Kingston upon Hull, it has two rugby league teams Hull FC and Hull Kingston Rovers.The premiership football team is Hull City Tigers and surprisingly after England Euro defeat we discover Hull is twined with Reykjavik Iceland.
- People from Yorkshire’s only waterfront city are “Hullensians”
- The boiled sweet and the liquid crystal display (LCD) were invented in Hull
- It is the birthplace of Lemsip, Humbrol modellers paint, Bonjela and Gaviscon
- Aunt Bessie has the largest Yorkshire pudding factory in Hull
- Famous people from Hull include, J Rank (Rank Hovis Mcdougall), Philip Larkin the poet, Amy Johnson the flyer, William Wilberforce who led the bill that freed slaves, former deputy prime minister John Prescott and the Beautiful South.
- Hull’s Fair is the largest travelling fair in Europe and one of the oldest
- Telephone boxes are cream and the telephone company is independent.
Hull Museums & Exhibitions
- Streetlife Museum of Transport with motor cars,bicycles, steam locomotives and even an old mail coach.
- Hull & East Riding Museum with spectacular natural history but for Dinosaurs you need to visit Dinostar a commercial exhibition.
- Hands on History Museum from Egypt to Hull
- Maritime Museum when Hull dominated the Arctic whaling trade and gave vent to many of the whaling songs heard at the festival.
- Houses to visit include Maister, Wilberforce and Blaydes
- Arctic Corsair is an old trawler you can climb on board. This ship was rammed by the Icelandic gun boats during the 1970’s Cod Wars. You can also visit the Spurn Light ship and hear about the Humber Conservancy Board.
These locations are free (except Dinostar) and shown on a useful walking map from the tourist information in Queen Victoria Square. What the hell, Hull is a great place for a varied weekend trip.
