The Knowhere Guide

Best and Worst in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire*

Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire Triumphs and Tragedies

Favourite Building

• The soon to be finished DEEP (well the artists pics look nice)
• There's a very impressive building on Alfred Gelder Street which I think is the "Guildhall".
• Town Docks Museum
• Boothferry Park.
• Princes Quay, Boothferry Park, and for some reason Yorkshire Bank on the corner of Saville Street.
• The Bull Hotel on Beverley Rd. Lovely brick work.
• The Mission Public House, Posterngate (Beautiful converted church)
• St Patricks Church , Patrington just East of Hull - 'The Queen of Holderness' and worth the journey especially if you can get inside. Also although nowt to look at from the ouside go INSIDE St Charles Catholic church down Jarret Street in the city centre. Fantastic Borroque interior. You've never seen anything like it - guaranteed.
• princess quay- shopping centre

Demolish It Now Building

• The guildhall (pref. with councillors in it! I now know why the germans call it a RATHAUS)
• The horrible sixties office block on the front of the station. And the bus station. In fact the entire area between Ferensway and Park Street. It gives outsiders a terrible first impression of the city.
• Paragon Station-an eyesore. It's probably the ugliest station in the whole of England
• Northern Foods
• Bransholme.
• Craven Park (Home of Hull KR)
• The Lord Line building.
• The multi storey on the corner of Ferens Way And Freetown Way.
• The old bingo hall on Bev Rd.
• Kinston House - Bond Street. The ugliest building in the world. An empty space would look much nicer.

The Best Things

• Birds
• Hull has got an AMAZING accent.
• The accent - 'er ner!!'. The people, the cheap cost of living, the Marina, the Humber Bridge, being so close to the seaside, the pubs and clubs, the Old Town, its history, the fishing industry
• Erm, definately East Park, it's a great place to be. Gone a bit downhill in the last few years, vandalism and all but great all the same. Take your dog for a walk or just go on the swings!!! Hull City are pretty special as well, may not be the best footy team in the world, even in Yorkshire or whatever but I love them all the same!!!
• Being able to slowly dawdle along on a sunday afternoon in the city centre, looking in shop windows and generally chilling, relaxing in planet coffee with... a coffee. Getting a big mac, fries and shakes and sitting in the car overlooking the Humber at midnight on a clear night - the stars and lights of the south bank and the bridge make a fantastic sight.
• There's something amazing about Hull which is hard to describe. You have to live there for a while. It's good for your imagination and creativity.
• Our own telephone company Kingston Communications which gives Cheap calls.
• Loads of young (and old) slappers who'll do anything on the first night. Some good massage parlours (Mercury comes highly recommended) The M62.
• The best thing about Hull is the friendly atmosphere, there aren't many places in England where you can go in to a pub on your own and leave three hours later feeling like you have gained new best mates
• Paragon train station Spiders Welly The Land of Green Ginger
• Hull City FC. Despite what you may read, the best supported, and most important sports team in East Yorkshire. It's fans are among the most loyal, vocal and humourous around.
• Newland School for girls.. anyone with kids planning to move to Hull: send your girls there! altough Hull is known for it's poor GCSE results, look at Newlands plus it's probably the only one in North/west Hull that isn't having the problems and won't be shut dowm on the next 2 years!
• Definately, the cheapness.
• the people are friendly
• Fish and Chips - fried in real beef dripping. The Hull and East Riding Museum on High Street with its Roman mosaics and iron age chariot burials. Pubs in the Old Town.
• Hull Truck Theatre at Spring Street, behind the bus station, with its resident playwright John Godber. If you haven't seen a Godber play (generally Northern down to earth humour) you haven't lived! Keep the West End - go to Spring Street!!
• Hull is... Watching a Hull and Rover Derby match, local pride at war, with a sell out crowd and 60 year old women threatning to run on the pitch and lynch the ref.... Hull is... Walking home on a warm summers night down Beverley Road after a night round town, eating a kebab and waving it at all the taxis trying to flag one down.... Hull is...driving home on a night on the M62, onto the bit where the black road turns to white with the Humber Bridge all lit up in the distance and the Beautiful South playing loud and proud on the car radio...
• A very cheap cost of living. Just look at Newland Ave.
• The City Hall = great atmosphere as its generally standing only down stairs
• P&O ferry to Holand - an all night party.
• The people
• Get up at 9am, go around town with the kids. Take them for a pub dinner in The Fair Maid. Drive out to Beverley Westwood for a brisk walk across the hills. Go into Ringside pub to watch hijacked Premiership soccer from the Norway satellite feed . Go shopping in Princes Quay, grabbing a quick pint in the Baltic Wharf. Walk around the beautiful indoor flower market in the old town. Go to the Docks to wave off the ferry to Rotterdam. Then go into my shed at around 7pm and have a sauna for half an hour.Cool off with a chilled bottle and a sausage cooked on the stones in foil. Come out well relaxed and run to the Wildfowler pub in 10 seconds. Down 2 pints of Tetley's whilst watching soccer on the big screen. Get on my cycle and go to the Highway pub and win a tenner on the quiz machine. Go home and get our lass to drive me to the Tropicana where we both have an Indonesian sambal. Go to Tap and Spile and sink a Titanic Wreckage, then on to the Ringside to watch live world title boxing for free. Oh what a perfect day.
• Isolated place-keeps the riff-raff out Ferry to Holland and Belgium on your doorstep. Surrounded by beautiful countryside Lazy afternoons on the riverbank Very compact city centre, can get anywhere on foot or bike quickly Over 230 pubs Hardly rains compared to west of England Halfway up country, equally easy to visit London and Scotland. Down to earth people.
• The Hull Daily Mail. Voted the best regional newspaper in England. And second in the UK behind the Belfast Telegraph. The 'Mail' campaigns for local issues and gets things done, unlike the city council who sit on their asses and let London trample all over us. Another good thing is the cycle lanes springing up all over the place.
• the skate park- "Rock City" on Hawthorn Avenue
• Seconded: personally I like the smell of the Cocoa Mills.
• I think the smell of the cocoa mills is one of the great things about Hull - for chocolate lovers.
• Hmm, The Humber Bridge, surrounding area's quite nice.
• Old side of the city - the Market.
• Fairly cheap bus service (50p anywhere)
• Queens Gardens: large open garden in the city centre.
• Princess Quay... Excellent big shopping centre.
• And possibly the very best thing about this city is the bakers at the end of Beverley Road, near Vermont Street where they make fantastic breakfast sandwiches with piles of bacon, sausages, tomato, mushrooms and egg all for the bargain price of £1.45. Hull: it's not dull.
• As well as clubs the best thing about Hull is that there are no hills and so you can cycle everywhere instead of having to rely on smelly public transport.
• Hull Fair, Europe's largest travelling fair held in early October.
• The Marina area.
• The old town. Very atmospheric, old, dark and dingy.
• Hull ice Arena, OK it might be sad, but it's a good laugh none the less.
• Princes Quay shopping centre (brilliant).
• The nightlife, Hull is not boring as Phillip (Very interesting person, NOT!) Larkin once said. Every weekend the city is full of revellers. As mentioned there's something for everyone.
• The people, although largely poor are the most down to earth, unpretentious people you could find.
• First and Foremost Hull is the best city in the UK by miles. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
• Best thing coming out of Hull is me and the M62.

The Worst Things

• Hull has little employment,loads of slappers,heaps of loosers,and in general is just a downer,no future,have a nice life.
• Small mindedness. Lots of people in Hull have never been anywhere else and are far too insular as a result. The secondary school GCSE results are the best adveritsement for private education.
• Sydney Scarborough's is closing down quite soon, not sure of the exact date. AAAAARGGGH
• hull smells
• Smackheads in the bus station.....not where you wanna be at night
• Hymers School. Damn poshos invading our city.
• The place is a joke, been there once. Never again. It's cold, it's ugly, and it smells disgusting. Why live there?
• It reputation - yeah some parts are rundown but theres plenty to see and do, friendly people and its very cheap. The fashions are 10 years behind. Train service slow. All the traffic lights on Bev Road. Having to leave to find a job.
• We have the highest level of drug related crime in the country (oops), saying that however, I've never been subject to it so it can't be all that bad! Erm, there are a lot of townies but it is getting more alternative etc. Unfortunately, that appears to be the new towny thing, to wear Korn etc so that may not be such a good thing!!!
• lots of scallys/townies
• The idea that Hull consists soley of Hessle Road and the estates - what about the suburbs, holderness road, the avenues, sutton? we don't all live in council house or work on the docks! The idea that people in Hull actually like Joe Longthorne and John Prescott!
• The route from the Ferry port to the town - one big line of miserable post-holocaust type buildings. you have to come from Hull to know it's going to get better. maybe it's just a ploy to ward the Dutch ferry tourists away??
• Too many of the students don't leave the student areas and pubs etc. If they did they would get so much more out of their time in Hull and would have a much better impression of it.
• The weather. The isolation-being miles away from civilization. Locals who often ask students for money for their "bus fare". The slappers' brigade- out in force every night of the week. The bullshit propaganda you hear about Hull being a friendly place.
• Oh yes, all you wimps complianing about the smell of linseed factories, drains etc. You should have been there in the seveties in the general vicinity (ie within 7 miles) of the fish docks at Hessle Road. Now that WAS a smell.
• Theiving smackhead scum. If you dont believe me try working in a shop in the town centre. The traffic in a morning. For gods sake, if you live in Hull get the bus or bloody well walk if you can.
• St Johns Pub if you ever go there you will know why
• The smell of the drains ayt the top of Whitefriargate
• The surrounding villages are full of arseholes. The southern media's impression that Hull is like Grimsby. It isn't! The Hull Daily Mail's obsession with Joe Longthorne.
• The Hull Daily Mail's obsession with Joe Longthorne! The surrounding villages. Generally the people who live there are arseholes.
• The Hull accent - aaagh! (it's even worse when someone trys to disguise it with 'posh' vowels)
• Its grim up North is what somebody once said, but what you say depends alot on what you've read. What I say to them is 'Hull sense' and to me crystal clear, come and have a look yourself and don't believe all the crap you hear!
• The city hall (again) = the worst acoustics in the country (possibly!)
• Tips for Car Drivers: Do drive in the right hand lane of a dual carriageway. Even when you want to turn left in half a mile. Don't drive in the bus lane, even if it's not in use for 22 hours. Do use your front fog lights, even when you can see 10 miles. It's considered macho and lets everybody know you're cool. Don't indicate at roundabouts or junctions
• The smell- linseed factory smell mixed with a burnt chocolate smell- not good when ya gotz a hangover
• The Shopping Centre at Bransholme contains more theives that live at the gipysville caravan site at the other end of Hull. The que for the post office at Bransholme can stretch half way round the shopping centre on a tuesday and wednesday, (social day)
• The cities poor reputation. Again from people who have never been here. Please visit here before commenting on it.
• The lack of funding for Hull's football/rugby teams. Hull City have and can be far better than they are. So come on stop calling our city teams and start supporting them.
• There is only one road in and one road out.
• Far too much traffic.
• Unemployment. The city suffers high unemployment.
• The cities link with fish. Hull doesn't smell of fish and never has in the 21 years I've lived here.
• People who live in the suburban areas who constantly slag the city and it's estates off. Contrary to popular belief you do not get shot if you walk on Bransholme, Greatfield Bilton Grange or Orchard Park. People who say this have never even been on either of the estates, don't know anyone who has and just invent horror stories to make themselves sound interesting. I live on one of the estates, my best friends live on estates, we all have good jobs, do not sell drugs or have iron doors on our houses.
• Always cold and grey.
• The worst thing about Hull is the stench that sometimes floats over the city from the cocoa mills. It is a most disgusting smell and I have had to miss many lectures this year because of being unable to step outside the front door of my house without retching.
• Difficult to get to, always cold.
• Erm... not much I can think of... Not many trees, so the air quality's a little poor.

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Last updated: 2007-08-30