We have been on the move again. It really makes us appreciate staying in one place for three weeks – and not moving suitcases.
When planning we aim for accomodation near train stations, so we don’t have to walk far. This time we are staying above a grill & rooms… and they appear to have good looking dry aged steaks. But we will have to let you know after dinner!
It’s cold here in Birmingham. – just in case you are sitting in sunny Australia and thinking you are not looking forward to summer.
Well here in England, I would not be looking forward to winter. Thankfully I’m only here for another week.
Yesterday at this time it was a warm 2 degrees – and the wind is cold! While it is cold – at least it’s not raining. To stay warm while cycling yesterday I was wearing seven layers of clothing – and two of the shirts were heatech clothing (Japanese brand of thermal, I should of pack the ‘extra warm’ shirt), a puffy vest (the down was obtained responsibly), and a jacket. I understand now why Europeans have very warm jackets and wear tshirts underneath. Clearly I’m not used to living in this climate!
The final day of our Slow Tour of Yorkshire allegedly involved a loop around the city of Hull. We did have a GPX file to follow. But we quickly abandoned that route and followed something more random.
Part 1 of the route broadly followed the River Hull and then moved towards Hull University. Coffee and food provisions were bought from Newland avenue.
Part 2 of the route involved a random ride towards Helen’s Uncle’s House. If you follow it pop in and say hi to Bob.
Part 3 of the route involved a direct ride back to the Hideout Homebase along Anlaby Road in the wet!
The first two parts of the route are provided below, The last part, unfortunately, was not recorded. You know how it goes with tech. Works 95% of the time but let’s you down for the last 5%.
We spent three weeks in Hull. We found a city with a group of people that are taking the history of Hull and making something with it. There is a good theatre and music scene. There is also good food and coffee.
Frankly, the Hull City Council has continued to improve the shopping and old town areas. Everywhere is having a tough time with commercial properties given the disruption of retail by the internet. But I wonder whether Adelaide is a one-trick pony. Rundle Mall in the 1970s can not be all there is to be done? So many of our city streets are run down and there are indeed things that our Adelaide City Council could learn from Hull.
If you’re in Yorkshire – visit Hull – it might be at the end of the train line – but it has much to offer. Here are some photos to tempt you.
Like the Tour de France, the Slow Tour of Yorkshire demonstrates its success by leaving its namesake for this stage of the tour. While starting at Hessle, most of Day 9 was actually conducted in neighbouring Lincolnshire after crossing the Humber Bridge. Overall the ride was about 49km.
The Humber Bridge is:
Most of this figure 8 ride was undertaken on quite country lanes. While there were some steady climbs the downhills were the best of the ride.
The views included farming, ports, industry and mining. A truly worthwhile ride. Barton upon Humber was the only significant urban area that we traversed.
The route has a special loop into Ulceby so you can visit the team rooms for lunch. Te@6 offered a lovely ploughman board and soup for lunch. Along with some good tea!
The villages had some fine buildings and a nice duck pond.
The ride back over the Humber Bridge in the afternoon was better than the ride in the morning. Less wind and more sun.
We finished off the ride by heading into the village of Hessle. This is a well serviced area with a range of shops and coffee shops. It has plenty of bus services to Hull and is serviced by train services.
It’s going to be a hot 8degrees today – no cycling today! Some of the bargains I did not bag at the book sale at the local public library
On Day 8 we visited the Goole and Howden area. Surveyed the region with a loop ride. Howden is:
The ride was made up of a number of distinct segments which we found on a nationwide bicycle route and group ride site called Let’s Ride. The first map shows the route we took from Goole to Howden. We then returned to Goole to catch the train back to Hull.
The route from Goole to Howden was largely traffic free path alongside (for the most part) a faintly busy minor road. But it did the trick of getting us to Howden. Crossing both the motorway and the Ouse River.
Howden is certainly dominated by its Minister. Part of the Minister is a ruin.
Howden seems to be well served with trendy eateries and wine bars. But this ride was on Monday, so some where closed. The ones open were doing good business. We went to the Kitchen – which seems to make the biggest cakes in the world. Our lunch was HUGE – I had to put the wide angle lens on my iPhone to fit in the boards.
After lunch we did a loop ride from Howden to Howden. It was quite country lanes, which meant that the ride was fast and fun! They are certainly the best routes to ride.
Overall the ride was about 30km. We did visit the Goole Library when we returned. If you are concerned that we are not getting enough libraries in.
Strolling through Debenhams I saw this lovely piece of trendy furniture. So pleased Australia’s native wildlife has inspired someone to be creative.
Even with 20% off not buying it!
Day 7 sees the Slow Tour return to Hull for start on a special route created by us based on bike maps and Google. The route leaves from Hull on a rail trail towards Hedon ending at the Fort Paull Musesum, which is:
The ride starts in the old town of Hull. We stayed at the Hideout Hotel in the old town – well located near markets and good food.
The ride moves to the Museums Quarter of Hull, with the Streetlife Museum, William Wilberforce House and the Hull and East Riding. We checked these museums out as part of this ride.
The ride towards Hedon is mostly traffic free following the Humber River east. Thus taking in some industrial sites including the Siemens factor making wind turbines. The route then transfers to a rail trail, after a crossing the busy A63 road.
After crossing over the rail line with a bridge, the rail trail starts of quite well with a pleasant tarmac surface. About halfway along, however, it turns to a very narrow mud track, great fun if you have a BMX. This where Google let us down – the Sustrans paper map did have an exclamation mark on this part of the route suggesting that it might be rough!
Hedon is a pleasant village with a nice church and shopping area. It has all the services (and a range of barbers) that a local village needs. I had a Hawaiian gammon for lunch!
Paull is a Humberside village that includes the Fort Paull Museum. I think the dot points above fairly summarise this place. Below are some photos for you.
We caught the 79 Bus back to Paragon Hull interchange. Be careful they are infrequent.
Taking advantage of the good weather, and in search of old historic houses we decided on the final destination to be Burton Agnes Hall. However, to get to the start required a train trip. Please ask Kym about transport costs, it will be a rewarding conversation.
Why Burton Agnes Hall?
Starting out at Driffield, had us going through the centre of the town. It was also market day – so we had a look around the stalls which comprised of bread, pork pies, tarts, olives, Turkish delight, cheap clothes, shoes, toys, concrete garden objects and plants.
Getting out of Driffield was pretty simple (oh … love small towns), and we were soon on the country roads. Surprisingly we did encounter traffic lights near roads works and building development on the edge of town.
The country roads are truely a pleasure to cycle. They may be one lane in both directions, but the drivers so far have been respectful. Once you get even further out from the little towns the roads are really only wide enough for one and a half cars. The below picture is a prime example. There were hardly any cars, and the most traffic we encounter on this day one these types of roads were two cars, a tractor, a couple of cyclists.
As you expected Kym had found the perfect stop for lunch at St Quintins Arms – menu below.
While the menu looked good – we both went for the lamb specials (apologies non meat eaters – on the bright side these people knew how they were looked after, where they came from etc). The taste was incredible, and match with sitting outside we were not disappointed by the entire experience at this place. If you are in Yorkshire – GO HERE.
While we enjoyed sitting outside we had to get going… back on the bike to the hall.
Along the route there were two occasions where we had to cross railway tracks through gates. These required checking to ensure no train was coming before going across the tracks. We were saying “I bet they hardly ever get used… “ when we crossed we saw lights down the track.. just to prove us wrong. These are only used by locals based on the signage.
In addition to the house, there is also an old church and and Norman building (at least I think that is what it was). The art works are of a broad range, as the family collects art and fine furniture. They even commissioned famous English tapestry designer Kaffe Fasset (yes Vivienne!) do create an original for their house >> see below.
The grounds are large and have a walled vegetable section – with maze. We only got lost once. In addition there is a children’s outside playground and woodland correct with wooden carvings. Like many of these places you can also grab a bite to eat and purchase plants. We had a quick food stop before catching the bus home – yeah for folding bikes! After 4pm it gets cold quickly and its best to be on the way home.
Truely a fabulous day on the Brompton bike
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