Kingston upon Hull is a proud port city with a spectacular aquarium, a free museums quarter and a bridge that was once the longest of its kind in the world.
Kingston upon Hull, known to everyone simply as Hull, has always faced outwards to the sea. For centuries it was one of Britain’s great ports, sending ships to Scandinavia, the Baltic and the Arctic, and home to one of the largest fishing fleets in the world. That seafaring spirit shapes the city’s character, which is independent, down to earth and very friendly.
Hull has a history of standing apart. In 1642 its governor famously shut the city gates against King Charles I, one of the first acts of the Civil War. It even has its own telephone company, which is why its phone boxes are cream rather than red. In 2017 it was UK City of Culture, and the year transformed how the rest of the country saw it. This guide covers six things to see and do.
1. The Deep
The Deep is one of the most spectacular aquariums in Britain. It opened in 2002 in a dramatic angular building on the point where the River Hull meets the Humber estuary, designed to look like a shard of rock rising from the water. It is one of the most recognisable modern buildings in the North.
Inside, you begin at the top and work your way down through the story of the oceans, from warm tropical lagoons to the dark and cold of the deep sea. The centrepiece is a huge tank, one of the deepest in Europe, where sharks, rays and shoals of fish swim past a long viewing tunnel. A glass lift carries you up through the middle of the tank, so you can see the creatures from every angle.
Other highlights include a colony of gentoo penguins, jellyfish lit in glowing colours, and displays about the polar regions. The Deep is a conservation charity, and its work to protect the oceans is explained throughout. Children are fascinated, and adults usually are too.
Allow at least two or three hours. Tickets are cheaper if booked online in advance, and they usually let you return for free for a year. The Deep is a short walk from the Old Town, across a footbridge over the River Hull, and there is a café with views over the estuary.
2. The Museums Quarter
Hull’s Museums Quarter, in the Old Town near the River Hull, is a group of excellent museums that are all free to enter. It is one of the best clusters of free museums in the country. You can easily spend a whole day here.
Wilberforce House is the birthplace of William Wilberforce, the Hull born politician who led the campaign to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire. The museum tells his story and the story of the transatlantic slave trade, the people who suffered it and those who fought to end it. It is a powerful and moving visit.
Next door, the Streetlife Museum of Transport has a collection of old bicycles, cars, carriages and trams, with a recreated street from the past. The Hull and East Riding Museum has archaeology from the region, including an Iron Age log boat and beautiful Roman mosaics found in the area. Both are great for families.
The Arctic Corsair, a former deep sea trawler, tells the story of Hull’s fishing fleet and the dangerous lives of the men who fished the Arctic waters. The Hull Maritime Museum, in the grand Victorian former dock offices, has been restored as part of a major project on the city’s maritime history. Check which are open before you go, as some have been closed for restoration.
3. The Humber Bridge
The Humber Bridge spans the wide Humber estuary to the west of Hull, linking Yorkshire with Lincolnshire. When it opened in 1981, it was the longest single span suspension bridge in the world, a title it held for seventeen years. It is still one of the longest in the world.
Its two towers rise more than a hundred and fifty metres above the water. The towers are so tall and so far apart that they were built slightly out of parallel, to allow for the curve of the Earth. Seen at sunset, the bridge is a beautiful sight.
There are footpaths and cycle paths on both sides of the bridge, and walking part of the way across is free. The views along the estuary are wonderful. It can be very windy, so wrap up warm.
At the northern end of the bridge, the Humber Bridge Country Park is a lovely area of woodland, meadows and old chalk quarries, with walks and a nature trail. There is a visitor centre and a café near the bridge. The bridge is about five miles west of the city centre.
4. The Old Town, the Fruit Market and the Marina
Hull’s Old Town, between the River Hull and the marina, has cobbled streets, grand Georgian and Victorian buildings and some of the oldest pubs in the North. It is a lovely area to explore on foot. Look out for the cream coloured phone boxes, unique to Hull.
Ye Olde White Harte, tucked down an alley, is a sixteenth century pub where the decision to refuse King Charles I entry to the city is said to have been made, in a room known as the Plotting Parlour. Other historic pubs in the Old Town are full of character. A pub crawl here is a history lesson in itself.
The Fruit Market, near the marina, was once the city’s wholesale fruit and vegetable market. It has become a creative quarter of independent bars, restaurants, galleries and music venues. Humber Street, at its heart, is lively in the evenings and at weekends.
The marina, with its yachts and waterside walkways, is a pleasant place for a stroll. The Ferens Art Gallery, in the city centre, has a fine collection of art and is free to enter. The poet Philip Larkin worked as the librarian at Hull University for thirty years, and a trail marks places associated with him.
5. Hull Minster
Hull Minster, formerly Holy Trinity Church, is one of the largest parish churches in England. It stands at the heart of the Old Town, beside the Market Place. It was given the title of minster in 2017.
Parts of the church date back to the early fourteenth century, and it is one of the earliest major buildings in England to use brick on a large scale. Its tall central tower rises above the Old Town. Inside, the church is light and spacious, with fine stained glass and carvings.
The minster has been restored and opened up in recent years, and it now hosts concerts, exhibitions and events as well as services. There is a café inside. It is free to visit.
Around the minster, Trinity Square and the old streets have cafés and restaurants. Hull Trinity Market, a covered market nearby, has street food stalls from around the world. The area is a good starting point for exploring the Old Town.
6. The coast and the Yorkshire Wolds
Hull is close to the Yorkshire coast and the rolling hills of the Yorkshire Wolds. Beverley, a lovely market town about eight miles north, has a magnificent minster that many people think is finer than some cathedrals, and a racecourse. Its old streets and market square are charming.
The Yorkshire Wolds, an area of rolling chalk hills north and west of Hull, were made famous by the paintings of David Hockney. The landscape of quiet valleys, fields and villages is lovely for walking and cycling. It is one of the least crowded parts of Yorkshire.
The coast north of Hull has seaside resorts and wild cliffs. Bridlington is a traditional seaside town with a harbour and beaches, and Flamborough Head has towering white chalk cliffs and seabird colonies, including puffins in early summer. Spurn Point, a long, thin spit of sand at the mouth of the Humber, is a remarkable nature reserve.
These places are all within an hour of Hull, and a car or a driver by the hour is the easiest way to explore them. Hull is also a port, with overnight ferries to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
Where to eat and drink
Hull has its own food traditions. The Hull pattie is a local speciality: a mix of mashed potato and sage, shaped into a round, battered and deep fried, and served from fish and chip shops. It is best eaten with chip spice, a seasoning salt that Hull people sprinkle on their chips and that is hard to find anywhere else.
Fish and chips are excellent in a city built on fishing, and there are good chip shops all over Hull. For a meal out, the Fruit Market and the Old Town have independent restaurants and bars, and Hull Trinity Market has street food.
Getting there and getting around
Hull Paragon station is in the city centre, with direct trains to London King’s Cross in around two and three quarter hours, and to Leeds, York, Sheffield and Manchester. The A63 and M62 link the city with the rest of Yorkshire.
Humberside Airport is on the other side of the estuary, about twenty miles away across the Humber Bridge. Leeds Bradford and Manchester airports are around one and a half and two hours away by road. Ferries to Rotterdam leave from the port each evening. A car booked ahead is the easiest way to travel between Hull and the airports and ferry terminal, and to explore Beverley, the coast and the Wolds.
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