To Hull and Back

The weekend weather was not looking to good with F6 squalls generally cold and miserable so we waved a fond farewell to the Medway boats and headed up river to the relative calm of Hull. I had wanted to call in here all along so was secretly very happy with the weather gods although I would have appreciated less rain and a bit more warmth but hey ho!

Hull marina is very close to the old town (across the road in fact) and they are very friendly and welcoming. We locked in in the rain and tied up in the rain but as if by magic once settled the rain eased off and we were able to dry out the oilies.

As it was Sunday we decided to try and find a church service but we were too late for all of the morning services and the only evening service we could find was in the large parish church. That however turned out to be a really good thing! The day before we arrived the church had been redesignated as a Minster (still not really sure what that means but it was the cause for much celebration) and the evening service was carrying on that theme of celebration with a very modern evening of worship which was great fun.

During the afternoon we had a brief walk about the city and were fortunate enough to see the poppy display on its last day in Hull. Having been unable to get to the big display at the Tower of London it was great to see this smaller display.

Monday morning was still wet and windy so we followed the "Old Town Fish Walk" which was a lovely walk around Hull old town during which we were supposed to be spotting various fish engraved on walls and paving slabs - sadly we didn't spot many of the fish because we were too busy admiring this much maligned city and the beautiful architecture. We lunched in a very old pub and ate really good fish and chips and then carried on with the culture with a visit to the Ferens Gallery mainly to see the Skins exhibition - the one where loads of Hull residents got naked were covered in varying shades of blue paint and then marshalled by the American artist Tunick into some amazing photography within the streets and parks of Hull called Sea of Hull 2016- it was really good. The bonus was that the gallery was also exhibiting a brilliant Rembrant on loan from the Queen some Francis Bacon a Hockney and some Lucien Freud as well as a whole gallery devoted to the Australian Sculptor Ron Mueck which was mind blowingly good.

Tuesday saw us visiting a couple of the museums in the city one devoted to transport and the other the home of William Wilbeforce. Both were free to enter and really interesting we even had the chance to ride in a 1920's car!

The museum was also home to an old pharmacy that had been relocated lock stock and barrel from its original home when the owner died it was really beautiful!

All in all a fascinating and welcoming city and a great place to visit  so thanks again to the weather gods!

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