Old Dock Offices

Right next door to the entrance to Queen's dock that I posted yesterday stands this late Georgian building, the former Docks Office. It was built in 1820 but as trade grew and the docks expanded new offices were built at the other end of Queens' dock now the maritme museum. Well that's the story on the blue plaque, personally I think they just wanted somewhere just a tad grander, if you click  here you'll see what I mean.

At one time, if I remember rightly, this place was a pub called the Mutiny on the Bounty then it was used by some youth training scheme. At the moment the place seems to be empty and unused.

Queen's Dock Basin

Back in the days of the late eighteenth century this was the entrance to what was then the world's largest dock. Getting sailing ships to turn  a right angle from the river to get through those gates must have been fun. Queen's dock was closed down in the 1930's, bought by the Council and filled in to give us Queen's Gardens. This entrance basin was retained as a dry dock until the 1990's.  Like a lot of places near the river it has silted up. The old crane remains; I expect it's got some sort of preservation order on it otherwise the scrap iron boys would have taken it years ago.

Mr Toad meets Gandhi

Seems this toad has found its way across town, a short hop you might say, into the Transport Museum's gardens with convenient access to a suitably large pond. A much more tranquil site than next to the Arc building on Castle Street where I last saw it; and peace, as someone once said, is its own reward.. 

Back seat driver

The bus service to Cottingham was, until recently, a bit of a joke with timetables serving a mere decorative function. With the introduction of  a second route and a spruced up timetable the service seems to be much improved, so a quiet vote of thanks to EYMS. The fares, however, are still a bit eye-watering.

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:

By Paragon Station I sat down and wept ...

Today being the first day of the month (March already ...) it's the theme day for City Daily Photo and, by what passes for democratic choice these days, it has been decided that 'People on the street' shall be the thème du jour. So here a motley crowd having safely negotiated the crossing between St Stephens and Paragon Station is making its way home or in the case of the guy with the box of Budweisers to a pleasanter place by far, I hope ...


Weekend Reflections are here.

Poem 25

Long before all this City of Culture malarky the river Hull had its own 'poems' .... This rusty old barge has been moored here by itself for years or so it seems, it was there three and half years ago when I posted this. I came across a picture of Poem 15 here, part of a site that has hundreds of images of Hull's old harbour filled with barges which, if you're interested, you can find here. 

The Weekend in Black and White is here