Navigation

I mentioned a few day ago the difficulties of getting into the old harbour of Hull [ 1 ]. This barge skilfully managed the trick. It was coming upstream from the right of the picture but the current of the Humber meant that it had to go past the entrance to the river Hull on the right and the do a u-ey and let the current push it into the river. Turning a 55m tanker through 180 degrees in the Humber's current is no mean feat. This tanker is the Rix Eagle and plies from Immingham on the south bank carrying oil.

View across the river

I had to poke my camera through a security fence on Tower Street to take this view of the Arctic Corsair moored up by the Transport Museum. One of the effects of the current financial depression is that the redevelopment of the east bank of the Hull has been put on hold (possibly indefinitely) so it remains fenced off and inaccessible.

Billy Blue

Here's a nice speed boat because I've got nothing better to show as I've not been able to get out and about for a while for reasons which I won't bore you with. Good job I've got loads of unposted pictures. You might say this particular Billy is a bit blue.

Red Fred

The lock-keeper's cottage at Hull Marina has been taken over by a design and marketing consultancy, well, ok, a PR firm called Fred, it's as good a name as any I suppose.

Wet day in Hull

This is the view from the Streetlife Transport Museum. As you can see it was a very rainy day. The trawler you can see is the Arctic Corsair which I've shown before here. You can go and look around the boat with free guided tours, details are here.

P & O x 2

Did you know that over a million passengers use the port of Hull every year? No, nor did I. P & O have ferries to Zeebrugge and Rotterdam. The ferry terminal is way over in east Hull so everyone has to go through the city to get where they want to be.
Here's two totally different shots of roughly the same scene.

Sea of gold ...

alas no, just a fancy sunset on the Humber earlier this month.

Humber Barge

The Humber is a mile wide at this point but the navigable channel is tucked up near the foreshore which is handy if you want to see barges passing by. This barge is called the Seagull and for bargephiles there's more pictures here.

Making waves

You can call me Al

Big wave

There I was taking a few snaps of Bridlington harbour when I see this guy standing up in his little fishing boat waving at me. I tried to wave back but nearly dropped the camera; then he sat down, put on the gas and sped out of the habour. I hope he had a good catch.

Red and white

Boat Lift

This odd looking device is a boat lift used for cleaning and repairing  fishing boats.

Red Boat, Bridlington

Decomposed on Myton Bridge

 

Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
  A sight so touching in its majesty...

 

Well, maybe not.

In June I showed you the construction of the bridge across the river; since when very little seems to have been done so we await developments here.The buildings on the left form part of the Museum Quarter which I admit I haven't been to in all the years I've lived here. The trawler parked up on the mud is the Arctic Corsair which is also a museum piece. There's more about that here. Towards the centre the dark brown tower is, or was until recently, a flour mill, the Clarence Flour Mill. There are some stunning shots of the mill here. This building is due to be demolished to make way for something or other, a hotel, I believe, but I'm not really that interested. Poking out from behind the mill is the Shotwell factory. If you've fired a shotgun chances are the cartridge came from here, they trade under the name Gamebore. The right bank is due for development but kindly don't hold your breath.

As you can see not much is going on here, I know it's low tide but there's only one barge tied up and no activity at all, the river as a working entity seems to have pretty much died. The only thing moving is the river and the only business now seems to be gazing at our collective past with far too many museums to be healthy.

...The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!

Grafter