WHEN I told friends and family that I was spending the weekend in Hull, I was met with puzzled looks and bemused questions like “Why are you going there?”
But while Hull has been the object of ridicule in recent years – when it was crowned 2017’s UK city of culture it faced a torrent of snide jokes – it’s experiencing something of a renaissance and was even named one of Time Out’s best places to visit in 2024.
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As part of our new Best of British travel series, we’re visiting some of the country’s most underrated cities and towns – and showcasing some of the best they have to offer.
This week we’re in Hull, a port city in East Yorkshire that overlooks the Humber Estuary.
It takes just two hours and 45 minutes to reach Hull on a direct train from London Kings Cross, and it’s even closer to the likes of Sheffield and Birmingham.
In recent years, Hull has enjoyed a taste of showbiz with the Old Town being used a backdrop for blockbusters and hit Netflix TV shows like The Crown and Bodies.
In fact, it’s now so popular with film and television directors, that the city has launched It Must Be Hullywood – a walking route that’s been designed so visitors can find exactly where their favourite show was filmed.
The Old Town’s cobbled high street has four stops on the tour alone, featuring in everything from Enola Holmes 2, starring Millie Bobby Brown and ITV’s Victoria, starring Jenna Coleman.
And the William Wilberforce House Museum doubled as a background for Dickensian London in the Personal History of David Copperfield movie, starring Dev Patel, Hugh Laurie, Tilda Swinton, Peter Capaldi and Game of Thrones actress Gwendoline Christie.
Armed with a map of the It Must be Hullywood Trail, I made a beeline for the cobblestone high street to ogle at the filming locations.
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Despite sets and props being added, it was easy to imagine the hit TV shows playing out before my very eyes.
Visitors to Hull can download a guide or grab a leaflet to follow the It Must Be Hullywood Trail at their own pace.
Long before it gained popularity as a top filming location other celebrities also found themselves heading to Hull, including The iconic TV star Timmy Mallett.
The ’90s TV presenter and I have something in common – we’ve both climbed Hull Minster 170 steps to reach its roof.
While Timmy Mallett treated Hull locals to a rendition of the hit song, ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’ on the church bells, I climbed Hull Minster for its panoramic views for just £7.50.
The grand medieval building, which was built more than 700 years ago, was England’s largest parish church until recently, when it became a minster.
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Gasping after climbing the 150-foot church tower’s 170 steps, we were rewarded with a bird’s eye view across the Humber Estuary.
The view was magnificent, thanks to the sun finally showing its face in 2024 on my weekend break.
Paying to tour the tower was the only time I found myself reaching for my purse on my bargain weekend getaway in Hull, as the other attractions in the old town are completely free.
A Bargain Break
Hull used to be a wealthy English port town, fuelled by trade routes with the Dutch in the 13th and 15th centuries,.
You can still see that in the imposing, Dutch-influenced architecture buildings that line the streets of the quaint Old Town.
The city was heavily bombed in WW2, but they rebuilt some buildings brick by brick, and in parts you feel like you could be in Dickensian London… with a Netherlands twist.
To avoid aimlessly gazing at buildings, I booked myself onto a free guided walking tour.
The tour are led by some of the most enthusiastic locals I’ve ever met.
My own tour guide Dave, who has lived in Hull for more than 80 years, took me all across the city at a pace that left me out of breath – despite being 50 years his junior – and taught me more than a museum exhibition ever could about the area, in just 60 minutes.
Little details, like the lines worn into the Old Town’s cobblestones from hundreds of years of horse and cart traffic, would have totally passed me by otherwise.
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Key stops along the way include the William Wilberforce House Museum, the Museums Quarter Gardens, Trinity House, Hull Marina and Humber Street, with Dave sharing pieces of local history at each stop.
After being led through Hull’s key landmarks by Dave, I’d safely worked up an appetite, so stopped for a bite to eat at Trinity Market – Hull’s indoor food market that’s home to street food from around the world.
Just like the line of locals, I made a beeline for Caffeinated where I opted for a chai latte and croissant.
On another morning, I made a quick pit stop at the Wonky Tulip Coffee House for breakfast, where a cappuccino and a cheese and tomato toastie set me back an affordable £8.30.
Independent Shopping
Humber Street is one of my favourite places in the city, a road near the marina that used to be lined with fruit and veg traders, who’d buy their produce from the docking ships in the 19th and early 20th centuries and transport it across the country.
But after the area went into decline at the end of the last century, it gained new life as a shopping and bar district.
Nowadays, it houses a range of cool independent clothing and homeware shops, an art gallery and some of the city’s trendiest restaurants, including Hygge.
I found myself drawn to 19Point4, a colourful boutique clothing shop, while I didn’t find my dream dress, I did snap up two silver rings, which were just £4.50 each.
A nice quirk is that most of the stores have maintained the old fruit and veg shop signs, giving the street a unique feel.
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Amusing attractions
Humber Street is also home to Dinostar, an interactive dinosaur museum designed specifically for inquisitive kids – i.e, there’s nothing you can’t touch.
They have everything from a Tyrannosaurus Rex skull to Triceratops bones, and a virtual sandpit where visitors can create mountains and even volcanoes by shifting the sand around the box.
Dinostar costs £4 to enter, but the rest of the city’s museums are free, including the Streetlife Museum, the William Wilberforce House Museum and the Hull & East Riding Museum of Archaeology.
The William Wilberforce House Museum was the birthplace of the famous anti-slavery campaigner, and it has now been turned into a museum, winning several awards for its exhibitions that chart the harsh realities of the transatlantic slave trade.
I also paid a visit to the Hull & East Riding Museum of Archaeology, which does a fantastic job of engaging children – and journalists – with the wonders of archaeology.
It has collections of everything from Roman mosaics to the only dinosaur bones to have been discovered within East Yorkshire, and a life-sized replica of a woolly mammoth.
I’m a sucker for a Roman mosaic – let’s just blame that on the endless amounts of Time Team I watched as a child – and I could’ve spent hours staring at the Rudston Venus Mosaic.
Its intricate and detailed design was simply mesmerising, and helped to satisfy my urge to fly to Italy for at least one weekend.
You can book free guided tours of both the museums and the Ferens Art Gallery, which is located alongside Queen Victoria Square.
Regarded as one of the best regional art galleries in the country, Ferens is home to a huge collection of paintings from the Dutch Masters – thanks to its links with the Netherlands from the old trade routes.
The standout piece had to be the giant inflatable artwork of Jason and the Argonauts by Jason Wilsher-Mills, simply because I had to suppress a child-like urge to jump headfirst into the installation every time I walked by.
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Pubs and pints
After all of that culture, I deserved a pint.
Thankfully, Hull has masses of great pubs, both on the waterfront and tucked into the quaint alleyways of the Old Town.
Two of my favourites were the Lion and Key, an old school-style pub with walls lined with old shop signs and maritime memorabilia, that serves proper pub grub, cask ales and craft beer.
I ate a fantastic pepper and potato curry with rice, chips and a slice of naan, washed down with a £4 pint of local ale.
Hull was crowned the UK’s cheapest place for beers last year and my not-entirely-scientific research into this fact did not leave me or my purse disappointed.
Equally great was my £4 lager at The Minerva pub at the top of the marina, with views over the Humber.
The TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice boozer does a mean “Haddock and Mushies” and a great pint of local bitter.
HOW TO GET TO HULL AND WHERE TO STAY
Aside from great pubs, Hull is rightfully also proud of their Hearth Restaurant & Bakery, which is even listed in the Michelin Guide.
It’s a must for foodies, with standout dishes including the linguine topped with pistachio and a huge plate of sea bream. Mains range from £19 to £34.
Thanks to its size, Hull is very easily walkable. But it helped that I was based right in the middle of the Old Town.
The Hideout Apartment Hotel is a boutique hotel with fantastic views of Hull Minster and the picturesque Trinity Square – and I could even hear the church bells from my bedroom (although if that’s not your thing, they thoughtfully supply some earplugs).
Decked out in neutral colours, my standard suite was spacious with a king-size bed, ample wardrobe space, a comfortable sofa, a coffee table and a fully equipped kitchen.
The bathroom had a walk-in shower and large sink, with plenty of shelf space for toiletries.
Even my hotel had a touch of TV stardom, having previously featured on Channel 4 as a winner of the Four In A Bed show.
From its maritime history to its free walking tours another other cultural attractions, Hull has it all for a great weekend break.
After 48 hours in the city, I could see why the locals I met are so proud to come from Hull – I would be, too.
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