You can find trails around public squares, shopping streets, parkland, the Old Town, the free Museums’ Quarter and the former dock, from post-industrial riverside areas to the swanky marina and Fruit Market.
En route, you’ll be able to find out all about Hull’s impressive maritime heritage, inspirational stories and our city’s rebellious history at the exact spot on Beverley Gate where we allegedly sparked the English Civil War by refusing to allow King Charles I entry to the city in 1642.
Pick up a City Walking Trail leaflet from the Welcome Information Centre at Paragon Interchange. It includes:
- The Fish Trail (follow the 41 fish in the pavements, from the weird – we’re looking at you, Warty Doris and Lumpsucker – to the wonderful – or to be precise – the Brill).
- The Blue Plaque Trail.
- The Ale Trail (always inexplicably popular, this one).
- The Wilberforce Trail, a chance to follow in the footsteps of William Wilberforce.
- The Statue Trail.
- The Museums and Galleries Trail.
- The Lord Mayor’s Centenary Plaque Trail.
- The Larkin Trail, for an insight into the “different resonance” that one of the 20th-century’s best-known poets saw in Hull, and the settings that inspired him to write some of his most famous poems.
If a guided walk’s more your thing, our English Heritage accredited, highly recommended and extremely knowledgeable guide runs daily tours from Hull City Hall every day from 2pm from 1st April to 3rd November. Tickets are £4 per person, no need to book, just turn up!
TOP TIP: Looking for a good picnic spot? The lush central parkland of Queen’s Gardens is the obvious choice – you can’t miss it in between the BBC’s Hull HQ and the towering monument to William Wilberforce. The Peace Gardens in the Museums Quarter, the hidden garden behind Wilberforce House and the stepped seating of Stage @The Dock in the Fruit Market are also perfect for picnics.
DON’T MISS
Queens Gardens: A 9.75-acre former dock that until 1930 was filled with the water of Queens Dock. It’s now a series of gardens, and hosts touring and permanent public artworks, and large-scale events, from cultural extravaganzas to festivals such as Pride In Hull, Yum! Food Festival, children’s National Play Day and Freedom Festival.
Riverside views: To get an authentic feel for Hull’s maritime past, a stroll around the riverside and marina is a must. Follow the River Hull, past the tidal barrier to the The Deep aquarium where the River Hull meets the Humber Estuary, and walk along Victoria Pier, where passenger ferries used to cross the Humber before the Humber Bridge was built in 1981. Be sure to pause to take in the relaxing sights and sounds of Hull Marina – we get a great sunset
DID YOU KNOW? Wondering what the old Oss Wash near Victoria Pier is all about? Oss Wash is simply ’ull speak for Horse Wash, where the city’s traders used to scrub their horses clean. The name is now used by a gelateria and café on the pier.
The street art scene: Bankside Gallery is the name of a growing legal graffiti and street art movement that sprung up to celebrate Hull’s existing graffiti scene. Bankside Gallery was triggered by the overnight appearance of an authentic Banksy artwork on the disused Scott Street Bridge in early 2018. New pieces now appear every week, adding bursts of legal colour from the central Old Town, to Clough Road, north of the centre. Although the Banksy is temporarily out of public view due to safety issues with the bridge, the Bankside Gallery volunteers have put together a map of the legal walls, available from the Welcome Information Centre at Paragon Interchange.
