Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Hull

  • National Express : London Victoria Coach Station to Hull

    National Express : London Victoria Coach Station to Hull

    After the delights of a weekend in London, there was then the thought of the slightly less delightful six hour coach journey to Hull. The waiting area at Victoria Coach Station was packed when I got there, which wasn’t entirely ideal as I noted to myself just how hot it was.

    Fortunately, a seat became available soon enough and that fan at the back (only one, the other was broken) helped slightly. This coach station facility is hopelessly inadequate for the number of passengers, but there’s no obvious way that they can improve the situation. There has been talk about moving it to a new location, but its site near London Victoria is quite handy. That section off the left was once the Megabus customer service desk, but they’ve moved to a slightly bigger bit at the rear of this photo and I note that more Flixbus services are emerging here now. I suspect that the coach market will become quite a competitive one in the years ahead.

    The service before mine was going to Norwich and the driver came over to do a final check to see if there were any more passengers for his coach, but there weren’t. The driver said to a member of customer service staff that “I doubt that anyone here has even heard of Thetford”, but I decided not to get involved with that…

    I was the first to board the National Express Thunderbolt service to Hull, which was stopping off at Nottingham and Lincoln en route.

    The lovely clean coach. Everything seems to be pretty much in order, although the power points weren’t working.

    I got my usual emergency exit row seat, slightly desirable as it has more legroom. The coach was nearly full to Nottingham, but nearly empty after it. The passenger next to me had been to Chelsea Flower Show for the day, spending £85 to get in. I had no idea that there was so much cost to see flowers….. I didn’t envy her getting up at 2am to get the morning service into London, just to go back in the afternoon. She mentioned to me that the driver had run a couple of red lights, but I hadn’t been paying attention (and it wouldn’t matter if I had, there’s a limited amount that can be seen from the back of the coach) and so that might not have been true.

    And a few minutes early, here we are into Hull. The driver was friendly and the service was efficient and very keenly priced, costing me £9 which was entirely reasonable as far as I was concerned. Odd little quirks aside, the National Express service is definitely improving and I like that they’ve scrapped the £1 ticketing charge for those who have signed up to a free account with them. I’d rather get the train as it’s quicker, but in terms of the cost, this was an excellent service.

  • Hull Daily Mail – “Real Ale Aficionado”

    Hull Daily Mail – “Real Ale Aficionado”

    Happy with being called a “real ale aficionado” in the Hull Daily Mail today, and thanks to Tony at the wonderful Hop and Vine for telling me about it   🙂   I’ll be there again soon.

    https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink/uks-smallest-beer-garden-lockdown-5399775

  • Hull – Hop and Vine (Second Visit)

    Hull – Hop and Vine (Second Visit)

    This was my second visit to the Hop and Vine in Hull, and it’s fair to say that my first visit last year impressed me. I can almost hear Nathan muttering about the bloody Hop and Vine given how many times I mention it, but it was my pub of the year for 2019. And Tony kindly did an interview for me a few weeks back.

    So, I went back with two other people and, to be honest, I wasn’t sure whether the engagement of my first visit could be repeated. Perhaps I was just fortunate the first time and it might all be a let-down. More on this later.

    This is what Richard ordered, a bottle of mead. It’s not something that I’d think to order, but he enjoyed it. I ordered a rather lovely dark beer, but, enough of that, let’s move briefly onto the food.

    The pork pies….

    And the cheese-board, for a bargain £5.

    I’m going to speed over the subject of food and drink, not because they were bad, indeed they were impeccable as ever. The choice of drinks was wide and carefully thought through, whether that was with the whiskies, the beers, the ciders or the gins. To me, the main part of this visit was seeing if the customer service was as good as I remembered it. And – it was.

    When we entered, and without the customers knowing who was coming in, someone moved to another table to make space for us. This is a very good start in any pub. But here, the customers were speaking to each other, whether they were locals or newcomers, and my plan to visit for an hour got ripped up as we stayed for over four hours. I’m not going to drone on about this pub again, it’s clear I think it’s the best pub I’ve been to in the country. It has community written all over it, it’s marvellous.

    All I’ll say is that I’ve no idea how a landlord can build up an atmosphere where customers feel welcome and, most importantly, they make other customers welcome as well. This pub in a cellar has an almost undefinable quality and only twice in the hundreds (probably thousands) of pubs I’ve been to have I experienced this level of engagement and both times it’s at this pub.

    This pub is as near perfection as I could want it to be. I will be back next year. And, to anyone visiting Hull, just pop in, I’m confident nearly everyone will be pleased that they did.

  • Hull – Mysterious Door on The Pathway

    Hull – Mysterious Door on The Pathway

    Located down The Pathway in Hull is this strange door, partly bricked up and looking rather mysterious. I’m sure that it’s intrigued many people over the decades, but it was originally a back entrance to 16 Bowlalley Lane. This is now a residential building that has been split into flats, but it was once a much grander single property and this side door in the passage was used by tradespeople to avoid using the main front entrance.

  • Hull – Furley and Co (Second Visit)

    Hull – Furley and Co (Second Visit)

    This is my second visit to this Good Beer Guide listed pub in Hull, having already visited here in late 2019. I liked the laid-back atmosphere and felt that it was a suitable place to return to. The welcome given on entry was polite and helpful, with our pre-booked table being ready on the first floor.

    Two photos of the first-floor dining room, which remained empty until just as we were leaving. I think it was going to be a relatively busy lunch-time for them though, it was just that some customers had reserved tables for a little later on.

    How lovely. The ordering process works by ticking boxes on a piece of paper and then going back down to the bar to order. This was fine, although I wasn’t entirely thrilled at having to carry the tray of three drinks and a bottle up to the first floor, not out of laziness, but through being concerned that I might drop the bloody thing. I did hint that I wasn’t entirely delighted at this arrangement, but, fortunately, all went well.

    To be honest, this air conditioning unit looks like I’ve fitted it. But, that also means that I was entirely happy with how it looked jutting out as it does.

    And my meal, I went for a lighter snack of salt and pepper chicken wrap and this was sufficiently well presented. I’m not a big fan of smaller plates as there’s less room to cut things (and one of my fries fell off the plate onto the floor when the waitress placed it down), but the meal was more substantial than it looked when served. The chicken was tender and the fries were very moreish, although I find that they generally are. The others ordered the boar burger, which was apparently also entirely satisfactory which was very pleasing.

    The beer, which I didn’t photograph as I think I needed a rest after carrying the tray up the stairs, was Port Out from Half Moon Brewery. They’re a micro-brewery from Ellerton, which isn’t a huge distance from Hull, with the beer being rich and having a pleasant chocolatey finish to it. It seems that the pub are making a real effort to source beers locally, a plan which should be applauded.

    Everything was well managed in the pub and the range of beers was well measured with a variety of different styles available. I also like that their on-line booking system allows customers to choose their own seating in the pub, so that they can sit wherever they like without that being chosen for them by the staff. On that theme, the staff were friendly and this was a comfortable place to spend an hour. All very lovely.

  • Hull – Lion and Key

    Hull – Lion and Key

    This is a pub that I hadn’t been to on my previous visit to Hull and I hadn’t expected it to have so much character internally. There was a huge choice of ales, over ten, with three darker options. The staff member was helpful and engaging, being able to make a recommendation when I asked what they had.

    The suggestion was the Peculiar from Cathead, which I only discovered after is made in house at the brewery they own themselves. I went for half a pint of this and it had a pleasant taste, but it wasn’t in great state and I thought it was on the turn. Or, perhaps, just not pulled through as we arrived soon after the pub had opened. Either way, it didn’t really meet my expectations, but was still drinkable.

    And some photos of the pub, with the labels on the ceiling adding a huge amount of character. Although, that Fosters one seems a little out of place. It’s great to see pubs with such an innovative interior and there was a homely feel, with plenty of reserved tables from those planning to dine. The pub is well-reviewed and their food seems to be quite acclaimed, so perhaps I’ll visit again for that next year. I’m not sure why the beer I had wasn’t perfect, but the selection of beers was substantial and much wider than I would expect from a pub.

  • Hull – George Hotel (Second Visit)

    Hull – George Hotel (Second Visit)

    This is my second visit to the George in Hull, I first visited late last year. This was what I considered the pub most fortunate to be in the Good Beer Guide, with a rather generic selection of beers. It’s a Craft Union pub, which seem to me to be on a downwards trajectory to say the least, with the ‘craft’ in their name being a complete mystery to me.

    Social distancing was being enforced and the staff member was helpful and engaging. The beer selection was similar to that last year in terms of there being little of interest. The Wainwright from Marston’s Brewery was well-kept, but I didn’t find much of interest with the beer. I’m guessing the problem here is the Craft Union selection of beers is limiting the pub from offering anything innovative, local or unusual. Another customer called the Wainwright “rubbish” when the member of bar staff offered it to him, he went with the Brain’s Bitter instead, with Adnams Ghost Ship being the other choice. There were no dark beers available.

    It’s a fascinating building though, especially with their smallest window in the UK claim to fame I mentioned last time I posted.

    I think it’s fair to say that this isn’t a pub for me.

  • Hull – Wake Up Hull Protest

    Hull – Wake Up Hull Protest

    The police carefully watching over a demonstration in Hull which was telling the people of the city to wake up and not wear face masks or believe the Government hype about the current health situation.

    I’m disappointed to hear media reports that some on the protest decided to berate passer-bys, but perhaps that’s all part of the media cover-up that they’re talking of. Individuals can make their own mind up about this little arrangement, but to be fair to them, they did have around 50 people or so there, which is more than I thought they would have got.

  • Hull – Atom Brewing at the Corn Exchange (Visit 2)

    Hull – Atom Brewing at the Corn Exchange (Visit 2)

    This is another repeat visit, as I came to Atom Brewing at the Corn Exchange last year.

    The choice of beers is chalked up on blackboards, but they’re also printed it out to go on tables. There was a nicely balanced selection of beers, with a couple of darker options, with decent guests as well. The staff seemed engaging and knowledgeable, with table service being offered at the moment given the current health issue.

    For the second time, I didn’t actually order a beer from Atom, which is moderately ridiculous and I will correct that next year if I come again. This is the Ripple Twister from Brew York, who are undoubtedly one of my favourite breweries, which is a beer style I don’t tend to rush towards. But this IPA had lots of fruit behind it and the promise of an ice cream flavour, so I couldn’t resist. I managed to get a taste of grapefruit, which is one of the few fruits which doesn’t seem to be in it, but it was light and refreshing. Not a great impact of taste initially, but the aftertaste was rich and full-bodied.

    This was the last weekend of Shop Small, where if you spend £10 using Amex in a participating small business, then you get £5 off. So, I ordered food so that my bill came to £10.20, meaning I’d only have to pay a total of £5.20. Rather pleasingly, this means that I got ten of these £5’s off from Amex, which is the maximum anyone can have. The food was offered by the Pattie Shack and they had some flatbreads, patties, grilled sandwiches and a few larger meals, something a little different.

    The flatbread and the biggest problem here is that it took nearly an hour to arrive. This is understandable as it transpired we’d ordered after a rush, but we should have been told about the wait at some stage. But, it was worth the wait, the ndjua sausage had quite a lot of spice to it and the rocket added some peppery elements to the flat bread, which was delicious. The flatbread also had some firmness to it, but without being so hard that it would snap if bent.

    Overall, this remains a very decent pub and it was pleasing to see that it was busy and seemed to be doing well. There was an excellent selection of drinks from across different styles, with the staff being engaging and keen to help. The environment was clean, comfortable and welcoming, and I look forwards to returning and this time actually having a beer made by Atom. Most lovely.

  • Hull – Ibis City Centre (Visit 2)

    Hull – Ibis City Centre (Visit 2)

    This is my second visit to the Ibis in Hull city centre, I’ve already wittered on about my first visit.

    The reception area has been turned into a queueing area similar to that at an amusement park, and although I appreciate the effort, I didn’t see anyone use it and they queued in a different manner. As an aside, the hotel has been responding to my e-mails promptly, but my booking was a postponed one and it has been lost on the Accor system now, so I suspect I’ll be e-mailing them in a few days.

    The stairs, I don’t know why I liked this imagery of the stairs…. Anyway, I digress.

    The room was sufficiently clean and comfortable for my requirements, but some surfaces clearly hadn’t been cleaned. Towels and bedding was all clean though, it was perfectly adequate for me.

    The view from my room, with that building at the back being the rear end of Wetherspoons.

    The coffee and tea selection has been put into a bag. I don’t quite know how this helps to be honest, but it’s pleasing they were still supplying hot drinks.

    The light fitting was slightly broken, which isn’t ideal.

    I no longer get overly excited by these in an Ibis hotel as there’s rarely much of note. The hotel did though offer Boddington’s last year, which I can tolerate, so I was sufficiently pleased by that.

    And, I feel the need to comment negatively again on the range of drinks offered by Ibis, especially now the Boddington’s option has gone. Their selection looks ever more dated compared to other pubs and hotels, with a total defiance against stocking anything which might be considered as craft beer or real ale. This was the best of a bad lot, and I didn’t finish it, it’s what I would consider another generic lager (and Nathan can tut all he likes that it’s a slightly above average generic lager). It is a shame that Accor is trying to rebrand Ibis into something more on-trend, but yet soft products like this remain entirely off-trend.

    All told, for the price, this was a marvellous location and the hotel staff were friendly and engaging. I would have to note here though, there was a murder in the hotel a few years ago in room 231, and given that one of our party (not me) was woken by police in the early morning in case he’d heard anything in a neighbouring room this time, there seem to be some challenging issues for the hotel.

    My final comment about the hotel is that the welcome gift appears to have been scrapped. Disappointing….