Places I Love - The Hull Edition

Rugby to Hull. Not an obvious journey but one I've been making at least twice a month for the last 3 years. Long distance relationships take to places you might never go!

An easy if lengthy journey from the middle of the Midlands to the muddy banks of the Humber, the Northeast coast, a journey where I can listen to my favourite podcasts for a good few hours and this is where the charm begins with Hull.

There are many reasons to love a place not least because of excellent people you know that live there and Hull in totality is a place FULL of excellent people. I have never been to a friendlier place. Shops, streets, neighbours, petrol stations, taxi's, restaurants, pubs, family members and their friends, everyone is a joy. Cheerful, funny, interesting and interested. Always mildly teasing in an overwhelmingly welcoming way, even if they do take the piss out of your accent "is that your posh voice?" An absolute delight....you are immediately at ease.

In the year that Hull has been the City of Culture the number of people visiting has shot up - people are discovering the unmitigated joys that can be found. Obviously the injection of cash to regenerate the city has helped and I've seen quite a dramatic transformation in the short time I've been visiting. Newland Avenue, the Marina and Humber Street are super cool and in my opinion can rival the bigger more popular places in the country. Hipster chic (Christ almighty, I actually just typed that....I apologise!) and a gin bar with table service - Oh god, yes please!! Although my advice is to stand up once in a while when there, you have no idea how potent those gins can be and after an evening of people bringing you drinks, standing up and falling straight over is a very distinct possibility!

The city has a delicious mix of old and new, the museum quarter is easily one of my favourite parts, cobbled streets that breathe history, you can almost hear the wooden carts laden with produce straight from the boats. Then, right up the road is The Deep, a futuristic mirrored glass and metal marvel that was built to resemble a whale rising from the waves. It houses an aquarium and penguins...I bloody love a penguin and these guys are, well, very penguin-y. 

History, like love (as Marti Pellow sang and yes, The Troggs too but I'm not THAT old!) is all around in Hull and here are a few nuggets

• They flipped the bird at Charles I, basically kicking off the Civil War when he outrageously attempted to take over the cities arsenal. No chance pal!!
• HMS Bounty was built in 1748 - that went bloody miles across the Pacific and had a mutiny (seriously I'm not going into it....look it up if you must)
• William Wilberforce, MP, wit, abolitionist, and all round cool dude was a Hullensian. His part in the movement to abolish slavery was very significant. The bill to ban slavery in the British Empire was passed in 1833 three days before he died. There is a museum dedicated to him which is really interesting. There is also a festival held every year named in his honour. The Freedom Festival
• Hull was almost fully flattened thanks to bombing raids in WW2. It was the most heavily bombed UK city after London

OK lesson over and yes.....I do realise I am a nerd but this is the stuff of dreams for me so Shhhhh! 

Anyway, anyway, anyway.

Present day Hull now exports culture. It has a life force all of its own...a unique style, festivals galore, music most nights, art and galleries. The Ferens Gallery is hosting the 2017 Turner Prize - Brilliant. Whilst we're on the subject, The Ferens Gallery is not only one of my favourite places in Hull but in the UK. It has brilliant, interesting and unusual permanent pieces and unique temporary exhibitions and its free - ACE

Sport is a thing too....it's also a thing I am wholly unqualified to talk about and any information I have gleaned about this has come from the rants of the man-friend. It is thus - 2 Rugby League teams (none of that wet southern Union game where they just hug each other!) and 1 football team. I have also learnt that Rovers are king, City's owners are twat's and 'NO....you are not allowed to cheer for the black and white team Kate, I don't care that you like their team colours, they are the enemy!!' Calm down dear!

As the eagle eyed amongst you may have gathered, the man-friend is a full on, born and bred East Yorkshire Hullensian so I get a good insider guide to the city and all its glory. I get taken to the places the locals go and isn't that always the best way. I spend a good deal of time in Hull and it gets better and better, there is always something new and yet nothing changes and I like that. The adoption of changes seems to be fluid, like nothing phases Hull and her residents, they just crack, cheerfully as the always have.

I highly recommend a visit and if you time it well, I'll meet you on Humber Street for a beer and/or a gin and a wander. Whatever your preconceptions are, dissolve them. Hull is bloody great.

As the locals say 'get yoursen' 'ere'

City of Culture
Visit Hull
Hull Museums
The Sesh
Fruit Market