We did not have particularly early start, which was very welcome as I had been on the late shift the day before and I had not packed. We got up at 09:00 and Graham made me a coffee and a cheese toastie, while I got myself organized. We took turns getting showered and we headed out around 10:00. Graham asked if I wanted to take the tram or wanted to walk to the station. I asked him to make the decision. Part of the reason for this trip was to see if my knee would stand up to travelling. I had been back working in the office around 2.5 weeks at that stage and had coped OK with commuting. However, I was still nervous and of course travelling is a different proposition from commuting to and from an office-based job. Graham decided he fancied the walk. We set off. To my delight, I had no ill effect to this walk even though the route to the station is quite uneven.
We still had had a little bit of time until our train left. We had some amusement. The train that was sitting there and that was leaving before our train should have left from a platform at the opposite end of the station according to all the information available. Graham commented that this train had always left from this platform. It is kind of scary that Graham has more of an idea where trains are leaving from than the company operating the station.
Not long after the previous train left, our train arrived. We had plenty of time to get settled in. Our reserved seats were airline style seats, but Graham noticed that there was an unreserved table nearby and we moved across. The train journey was smooth and took just over two hours. Some of the route is rather scenic. I had every intention to work on my trip report for our Alaska trip, but for the most part, I was just enjoying the scenery.
We arrived in Hull slightly ahead of schedule. Somebody I used to go to church with now lives in Hull and we had arranged that she would meet us at the station. We quickly used the bathroom and then I looked out for Sahrah. My phone rang shortly after this. Unfortunately, a misunderstanding caused a certain level of chaos and confusion. She told me that they were at the drop off area and to meet her in front of the statue. There is a big statue right opposite the station and I figured she meant this. We headed out there and there was no sign of her. She called again and she actually meant a bronze statue that is inside the station. In a busy station, I had not even noticed that this was there. Eventually we did catch up with each other and headed out to the car where Sahrah’s husband Simon was waiting for us. They took us to their house, which is a beautiful Edwardian building with lots of character. We had some tea and put the world to rights before we were given a bit of a guided tour of the house. Then we headed out.
Very quickly we got the sense that Hull has changed a lot since we moved away and even since our visit 10 years earlier. Hull has always been a little insular with most people living there having been there for generations. Well, Hull has become a lot more cosmopolitan and there are now a lot of ethnic shops and restaurants. Our destination was along the student corridor which back in the day consisted of bedsits, convenience stores and student bars. This has diversified and become decidedly upmarket. There are a lot of unique independent shops, restaurants and coffee shops. We went to the oldest coffee shop in the area. Graham had an Americano, and I had a pumpkin spice latte. I normally look forward to pumpkin spice season every year, but I found that the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks this year is very disappointing. I was however keen to try their take on it. This definitely hit the spot. We continued having a really nice chat.
Time is definitely flying if you are having fun. Soon it was time for us to leave. Sahrah had other commitments in the evening, and she had promised to take us to our hotel which was in one of the suburbs of Hull. We dropped off Simon at their house and then we headed towards our hotel. While we were heading out there, the person Sahrah was supposed to meet cancelled on her. They had planned to go to an event that takes place at the local indoor market every Thursday evening that features live music and street food. Sahrah was planning to go anyway and asked us if we fancied coming along. We had no other plans and decided to tag along. When we got to the hotel, we checked in and dropped our stuff off in our room. I was not impressed that we had two single beds instead of a double bed even though Graham had booked a double room. I did however love the view. We were looking straight at the Humber Bridge. I took a quick photo and then we headed back to the car.
Our destination was Trinity Market, which is in the old town of Hull. I have always loved this area and used to spend considerable time there. However, Trinity Market was not on my radar. What is Trinity Market today was the expansion of an earlier market that was opened in 1904 as a fruit, flower and vegetable market. This was expanded further numerous times over the years and extensively rebuilt after the Second World War. At some stage, most of the space was used as storage although there were always some market stalls present. In 2017, an extensive restoration project commenced and in 2018, Trinity Market reopened in its present format with a wide variety of street food outlets, seating and a stage that hosts a weekly live music event on Thursdays and seasonally on Saturdays. This is a beautiful space and a fabulous addition to this part of town.
As soon as we entered Trinity Market, Sahrah spotted some friends. We went to join them. They were really nice people. Unfortunately, conversation soon became impossible. One of the bands was doing a soundcheck and it was very noisy indeed. We were assured that it was not normally that loud. It was definitely too loud for our taste, and we made our excuses. Sahrah’s friends had been talking about a street food festival nearby and we decided to check this out.
This was the final day of the street food festival which took place at Zebedee’s Yard. What is now called Zebedee’s Yard originally was the home of Hull Trinity Navigation School. This was founded at nearby Trinity House in 1785. However, it had outgrown its original location in 1842 and moved to what is now called Zebedee’s Yard in recognition of the former headmaster Zebedee Scaping, who served a remarkable 55 years in office. The school continued to grow and thrive and despite various expansions, it had outgrown the site in 2013 when it moved yet again. Most of the old school buildings were demolished in 2014 and Zebedee’s Yard became a combined car park and event space. Although there was still music, with everything being outside, this was not an issue. There was a wide range of different street food available. Unfortunately, there was hardly any seating and what little there available, was already taken. We did not fancy the idea of eating while standing up. This was even less appealing as even though my knee for the most part behaves itself when I walk or sit down, it does not take kindly to standing for any length of time. We gave up on this idea. We wanted to have a look at was on offer in the city centre. We came across a restaurant called Ponto Lounge. This looked like an interesting space and the menu appealed to both of us. I could not work out what used to be in this space before. I have since found out that there was an optician in its place previously. That is a bit of change. It definitely was a great addition to the city centre though.
Graham had the Lounge Burger With American Cheese, which consisted of a British beef patty, lettuce, tomato, red onion, gherkin, American cheese and burger sauce. This was served with fries and coleslaw. I had the Beef Brisket Chilli, which consisted of slow-cooked brisket, black beans and mature cheddar, served with spicy rice, spring onion, red chilli and yoghurt. We both enjoyed our food. Mine had a bit of a kick, but it also had the most amazing flavour. Graham had a local craft IPA with his dinner, and I had Watermelon Iced Tea, which consisted of ice-cold tea, watermelon syrup, lime juice, topped with soda. This was very refreshing and delicious. This was definitely a nice find.
We walked back towards the transport interchange. Our hotel was near the local park and ride facility, but we were not sure how late the buses would run. Uber now operates in Hull and a quick look on the app showed that an Uber would be quite cheap. I summonsed an Uber, which arrived about 5 minutes later. It did not take long to get back to the hotel. When we got there, we got ready for bed. I read for a bit, but soon I was fast asleep.
Dolphingirl’s Travels 
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