Here's one I did earlier

Somehow this one didn't get posted in August when I took it. It's underneath Chanterlands Avenue rail bridge. It was at about this time (and those of you with a weak stomach may wish to leave now) that the local rag ran a story of "inch long maggots" falling from this bridge onto the heads of unsuspecting pedestrians. It seems the rail company (or the Council, it was never clear who) had put up netting to keep pigeons from nesting but which instead trapped said birds (I saw at least two there may have been more) and led to a prolonged death by starvation and with the warm weather an inevitable host of maggots which left the rotting corpse when ready to pupate, falling like some biblical plague on the sinners below. The Council was informed and the Council sent an officer round to inspect and to write a report and then the Council undertook to study the report carefully and the Council said it would take swift and appropriate action should it be deemed necessary ...

North Bridge

After two hundred and fifty years or so of going by ferry across the river the good citizens of Hull decided to move with the times and invest in the new-fangled technology, a bridge. As the bridge replaced the North Ferry it naturally became known as the North Bridge. Quite what the ferry men thought of this early example of displacement by new technology and subsequent loss of trade is not recorded. That was back in the boom times of 1541 and obviously the bridge has been rebuilt several times since then; the latest being in the late 1920's when this was put across a few yards further north than the previous bridge. The remains of that bridge are still just about visible next to this converted warehouse.

The Weekend in Black & White is here.

East Park

As I often do at this time of year I visited East Park to see if the goosanders had arrived but I didn't see any. However I have heard that there several at another park over in west Hull maybe they just fancied a change of scenery. There were still plenty of seagulls on the lookout for a free lunch.

The weekend in black and white has snooken up on us again and it's here.

Short term view

The recent demolition of Wellington House and the clearances made for the new C4DI buildings have made a little space for a this view of the tidal barrier and the Millennium footbridge. Enjoy it (or not) while you can for new buildings will sprout up soon to block out this vista. The security fence around the site has images of what is planned, something new and definitely different.

River Hull

From North Bridge the reflections look almost pleasant but they are, of course, virtual and inverted images of a not quite so attractive reality.

Weekend Reflections are here.

One side of Beverley Beck

Been a while since I've had a walk by Beverley beck. Hasn't changed much.

My plan to cross over at this bridge and come back on the other side was thwarted by Balfour Beatty's  security fencing, something to do with repairs to the bridge.

More weekend reflections here.

"He's fallen in da water ..."

Many years ago on the radio the Goon Show had a catch phrase or running joke, I suppose you might call it, where someone (little Jim?) would say (in a strange voice) "he's fallen in da water". This would for some reason have the audience in paroxysms of laughter. Ah those were the days, long ago, when there was probably some water to fall into at this point on the river, nowadays you'll most likely get a concussion from the mud and that's no joke.

Millennium Bridge

There seems to have been a bit of  a bridge building craze at the fag of the last century with the result that there are lots of Millennium Bridges spanning rivers up and down the country. Some like the Gateshead Bridge have a stunning original design whilst another suffered well known design failings. Here in Hull we got a simple lift up bridge with a bright yellow counterbalance. I read in a recent article that looking at the bridge one could almost imagine being in Copenhagen. I don't know whether that's good thing or not.

The Weekend Reflections are here.

Witham & I

Yesterday I had an appointment on Witham otherwise I would not normally spend any time there at all. I have mentioned before that it's a bleak and dismal space occupied mainly by car sales, small auto related businesses and various night time attractions. I don't think anybody actually lives on this street. There is an isolated pub that has somehow survived Hitler and the demolition crazies. In this desolate landscape there's a big Council office which was where I was bound.

Upstream and down

From Drypool bridge to North bridge and vice versa.

The Weekend in Black and White is here.

Glorious mud

The river Hull as I may have mentioned before is filling up with mud and there are no plans, as yet, to dredge it. So if no-one's prepared to shift the stuff we may as well learn to appreciate it. These three were taken near the new bridge.

And finally just for kicks and giggles:

Expensive Toy

You'll no doubt be familiar with Hull new £7 million award winning toy. I know some call it a bridge but basically it's a toy that the Council plays with every Saturday at 11am and 3pm and on Sundays at 12.45pm. Here's a video of them playing (the sound track is somewhat odd). I'm sure that it's a truly unique experience ....

Now the bridge swings to allow shipping to go along the river but the river is silting up and there are at present no plans to dredge it so sooner or later no shipping will go up or down this river; indeed the river itself may choose to go somewhere else (and who would blame it?). There's supposed to be a cafe/shop on the bridge but no-one daft enough has been found to take up the tenancy. The windows give good reflections of Hull's flood barrier.

I'm told it looks pretty at night.

This Weekend's Reflections are here.

"Even the mud is beautiful." Yeah, right ...

Here, for completeness, is the view from the new swing bridge looking south towards Myton Bridge and the flood defence thingy. 

I've heard of plays, films and books and so on being reviewed but never a bridge; that is until I came across a piece on the Guardian website reviewing the new Scale Lane Bridge. It's full of the usual meaningless reviewspeak phrases, "As well as being a place, it's an event ..."(?), "Scale Lane bridge is not just a way of getting from A to B, but something in itself. "(???) and the usual 'Hull is really a dump but we're not allowed to say so' comments, "Hull is the city whose misfortune is to sit on a word ladder between dull and hell, and whose associations with Philip Larkin and John Prescott link it to misery and unloveliness, most of which negativity is unfair."(Oh no it's not!) What is missing is any sense of the sheer ugliness of the thing, the massive waste of money and it's complete and utter uselessness apart from being a place to take pictures like this. 

OK rant over.

Meditations on Mud and Myton Bridge

One of the features of the river Hull as it approaches the Humber is the large accumulations of muddy silt on the banks. Presumably when the river was busier this would have been dredged but as hardly anything of any size now uses the river it has been left to its own devices with the result you see here. Upstream the silting means that there is barely room for one barge to navigate the channel. Clearly if the river is going to feature as an attraction this cannot go on. The mud banks are impressive but they are a worrying symptom of neglect. Understandably there is little incentive to clear up the river any  time soon but there is really no time to lose to clear up the mess that is Castle Street which crosses the river here at Myton Bridge. The Government has said the money is available and plans are being drawn up and work will start, if ever, in 2015 and last for  four years.(Imagine four years of road works on one of the busiest roads in the country, that is even now prone to gridlock at the drop of a hub cap.) I think Hull might have been consumed by the mud before that particular problem is solved.

For more monochrome delights visit the Weekend in Black and White.

Rusty

In need of a bit of restoration is this plaque on the Drypool Bridge. The date 1888 refers to the opening of an older swing bridge which bore this plaque and which was replaced in the 1960's by the current bridge[ 1  2].

Spiral Path

This spiral ramp takes you up to the east side of Myton Bridge or down to the east bank of the river depends which way you want to look at it.

The waiting is over

Regulars to this blog will appreciate the long, long wait (is it really over three years?) that we have endured for this event, the opening of the new swing bridge on Scale Lane. [1 2 3 4 5 6 ] So now we can hop, skip and jump across the river from the Old Town to, well, basically not very much. It's handy for the hotel that sits at the east end and I suppose you could get to the Deep and Victoria Dock and so on but there's really nothing close to the east side to merit any attention unless tarmac turns you on. If I told you the price of this you'd only whistle through your teeth ....

Scenic Route

The usual route to east Hull is a pretty straight forward trip along Clough Road and Mount Pleasant. The last time, however, the taxi driver had other ideas and off we went down the byways of the back of beyond. I managed a few shots as we went along. They're in black and white 'cos the windows had a gaudy blue tint.

The Weekend in Black & White is here.

Shadows

This is the path that leads under Myton Bridge from Castle Street.

If you like your weekend in black and white click here.

Underneath the arches

Here's the underside of Myton bridge; with its numerous columns it could be some latter day  temple dedicated, no doubt, to Hermes. I like this place but not enough to make it my home. Carefully placed between the heaps of pigeon guano someone has set up a bed.