Welcome to my home town: Learning to appreciate Hull, the UK’s ‘crappest town’

Its cultural transformation may have surprised the rest of the country, but residents have always known the city’s true worth, says Nick Quantrill

Hull City Hall (Getty Images)

During lockdown, many of us made the pilgrimage back to our family homes – and rediscovered them through fresh eyes. Part guide, part love letter, “Home towns” is a new series in which we celebrate where we’re from. After all, it could be a while before we can go anywhere else…

Hull is either the start of the line or the end of the line, depending on whether you’re an optimist or a cynic. The city will forgive you for being either. Fifteen or so years ago, my place of birth was crowned the UK’s crappest town by a travel guide book. It was the classic case of punching downwards, the target an easy joke, but within a decade the place had reassessed and transformed itself into the UK City of Culture. The county laughed, but the residents didn’t.

The chocolate brown sludge of the River Hull splits the city down the middle. I was raised on the east side of the divide, my father working for most of his life at Reckitts, still one of the area’s flagship employers. It was a tough city in the 1980s, the decay tangible even to me as a child. The fishing industry had all but gone, never to return, with nothing on the horizon to replace it. Out of sight and out of mind, it became smaller - a shadow of itself.

Culture changed me and changed the city. Hull has always produced artists; the likes of Philip Larkin and Paul Heaton weren’t born here but, crucially, its isolation allowed them to flourish and create. Lockdown has been a chance for me to walk the streets again and think about the people it produces and how, in turn, that has shaped me. Nowhere did I find a better glimpse of this relationship than in the majestic East Park. Its Grade II-listed splash boat, almost a century old, stands silent but looks exactly as it did when I was a child. Closing my eyes, I can hear my own excited screams echo through the years. Heading deeper into the park to find a more recent addition, the new metal sculpture of Mick Ronson’s guitar is all sweeping curves and angles. The musical brains behind David Bowie’s imperial Spiders from Mars phase, Ronson’s world-class talents maybe weren’t fully recognised at the time, or even after his premature death - but it’s pleasing to see that the city remembers.

Nowhere sums up the complexity of Hull, and its struggle to reconcile its industrial past with a desire to create a new future, than the Fruit Market area. Adjacent to the city centre and nuzzling up against the picturesque marina, it used to be a mishmash of derelict warehouses, a place of black and white photographs depicting back-breaking work. It’s now home to a collection of high-end restaurants and independent shops, maybe somewhere to live if you can afford one of the many apartments within the ongoing development. The suggestion it’s a mini-Shoreditch isn’t as ridiculous as it first sounds. Is it change for the better? Ask me again in a decade’s time. Walk to the end of Humber Street and you see Thieving Harry’s, a ramshackle cafe refusing to leave the area quietly; turn the corner and you find The Minerva, a proper throwback of a pub, proudly jutting out to the water at the point where ferries once ran between the banks of the Humber. If you listen carefully, you can still hear the ghost of drinkers like Ted Lewis, who would go on to leave the city to write his groundbreaking noir novel, famously filmed as ‘Get Carter’.

Closing my eyes, I can hear my own excited screams echo through the years

Further along the water sits the Siemens green technology development and, not far from here, ‘Blade’, one of the City of Culture’s surprise hits. Once situated centrally in Queen Victoria Square, the sleek contours of the mammoth wind turbine part are effective in demonstrating just how small we all are. Track back to its original home and the colossal Three Ships mural perched nearby on the side of an empty department store dominates the skyline. It’s a place to stop and reflect that the local council wanted to demolish it recently, but the city mobilised to retain its presence. If the residents say something is art, it’s art.  

Yet for all its forward-thinking resilience, I’m reminded that Hull voted overwhelmingly to leave the EU – more complexity to add to the mix, perhaps fuelled by an independent streak it just can’t shake off.

Things change, time moves on. But I do know the city will never need a title to know its own mind.  

Hull is currently in Tier 3, with strict restrictions in place to limit the spread of Covid-19. Click here to find out what the rules are.

Take a stroll

Hull and the surrounding area is deceptively sprawling, but it’s also essentially flat, making it ideal for walking or getting on your bike. The city’s municipal parks retain charm and interest, but time your visit right to see the sunflower fields in the Yorkshire Wolds, or check out Spurn Point, a wildlife lover’s paradise.

Eat up

Don’t hesitate to head to the newly-refurbished Trinity Market in the Old Town. There’s something for everyone’s palate and pocket, but Alessandro’s Italian Bakery and Pizza Cone Queen always hit the spot. The city also has a lot of love for Tapasya Kitchen and Only, a plant-based street food outlet whose mac n cheese is to die for. Treat yourself to the city’s best coffee from Caffeinated and then head into Hepworth Arcade to browse the retailers. Call in at local institution Beasley’s for vintage clothing and JE Books for that hard to find second-hand title.

Have a pint

One thing Hull certainly doesn’t lack for is cosy pubs, especially in the Old Town. Start with Atom Bar on North Church Side and sample their own brews before heading deeper into the narrow cobbled streets, taking your pick from numerous cosy bars full of dark wood and even darker snugs. Finish up at Ye Olde White Hart on Silver Street to visit the chamber where the plan to deny the king entry to the city was hatched, kick-starting the English Civil War.  

Bed down

If you want to stay close to the Old Town action, Hideout Hotel is the perfect choice. Sleek and modern with glorious views of Hull Minster, a one-bedroom serviced apartment starts at £98 per night.  

Attached to the train station, The Royal Hotel like many Victorian era builds shows signs of wear and tear, but retains incredible warmth and charm. Visit during the holiday season and you can imagine that, with all the Art Deco features, you’re stepping into the pages of an Agatha Christie novel.