Take the Hull Train

It seems Hull is to have its very own land train. Here it is parked up just off High Street. This colourful addition to the city scene is to take people around the city from the Deep past the Marina and Old Town finishing off at Queen Victoria Square; the exact route has yet to be determined. Personally I'd rather walk but then I'd miss the alternative history of Hull that the enterprising owner promises he will be telling his passengers.

Bridlington Visitor

Here's something a little different; a knot on Bridlington's north beach. There's some old tale about these birds being named after King Canute who, as you know, tried to stop the tide coming in and got his feet wet for his troubles or maybe he was named after the birds. I don't know, it doesn't matter all that much. These birds don't breed in this country but thousands fly in for the worms and such like on our shores every Winter.

Dunswell Road and Creyke Beck

Dunswell Road runs north of Cottingham, there's little of interest on this road, some new housing and a caravan factory that may have closed down for all I know and a few ducks on horseback. The beck also has little going for it except that it gives its name to the Creyke Beck electricity substation whose pylons dominate the land between Cottingham and Beverley. In urban Hull becks and drains like this have been culverted and covered in grass and the only sign of what was there are the ground down stubs of the concrete posts at regular intervals. In rural East Riding they seem to like a more natural approach which, while it may be prettier, is probably an insurance nightmare.

Stepping Up

Blanket Row

This is the oddly named Blanket Row near the Arc buildings. The building with the windows used to be a Post Office, if my memory serves me right, but it's empty now and behind that wall lies an empty space. The rest of the street is made up mainly of parking lots, some of which are no longer in use and at the other end there are a few warehouses. It's a place that could use a bit of regeneration.
If you follow the link on the advertisement you come across a group calling itself Hullbondholders. It's a collection of 190 companies and individuals who have paid to promote Hull and all things Hull. Now I'm sure they do a magnificent job in this respect with their networking and so on. What struck me as odd, however, was the make up of this group; so many law firms, accountants, media types, communications specialists (?), business coaches (???) and businesses that help other businesses find places to do business and so on and so forth. It's a whole eco-sphere of creatures, call them entrepreneurs if you must, making a living from each other's existence but seemingly not actually producing anything tangible at the end of the day. Maybe I'm missing something but whatever it is they are doing none of them seem to want to step up and regenerate Blanket Row any time soon.

Puddle tree

Snuff Mill Lane, Cottingham

The Weekend in Black and White is here.
Weekend Reflections are here.

Priory Cottage

What does word 'cottage' conjur up for you? A small, thatched affair maybe or perhaps some artisan's dwelling; certainly not, I suspect, something like this substantial five bedroomed quasi-mansion that sits on Northgate in Cottingham. Built around 1854 it comes with very large gardens. It's for sale and should you be tempted  the asking price is just a shade under £400,000, but you get a lot of 'cottage' for all that.

Unlimited chips and more ...

Sign at the local pub offers a gastronomic delight ... just wondering what the 'more' tastes like and if there'll  be room left after the french fries...