This guide was put together by Robbie Teel, Class of 2015, who studied at the
University of Hull during the spring 2014 semester.
Hull Guide
Welcome to Hull, Kingston Upon Hull as it's formally known. This is a city in the east riding of Yorkshire, with a distinct culture and accent, called Hullish which will take some getting used to. Hull's denizens are hardworking people used to tough times who can be tough on the outside but are generally down to earth. I wouldn't describe them as
"friendly" because they aren't in the warm and open American sense, but they are nice for the most part. And they can be very direct in the British manner at times, which can be mistaken as rudeness to Americans unfamiliar with this sort of direct behavior.
Hull is small as cities go, with about 250,000 people. And, it can feel quite sleepy at times, it's easy to think it's smaller than it is on certain days of the week. Hull, while slowly getting back into shape, isn't a beautiful town, nor is it a booming place. In fact, this town was at one point as bad as it could be in England, but through some good leadership, the people doing what they needed to do rather than wanted to do for the greater good, and a change in industry, Hull is on the up and up. In 2013 it was voted the City of Culture until 2017, a real honor, and in 2014 it was named as the 7th happiest place to live in England. It has a no longer deserved bad reputation. And, despite what you may have read, it doesn't have the crime problem it had five years ago, it's much safer generally (though it is still a city so crimes do happen, no where is perfect but it's not as bad as you'll hear people say).
Hull boasts a good music scene, a thriving arts scene, with an award winning (and free) art gallery. In the center of town, it's historic center, one can see the great museums
Hull has to offer, walk along the mighty river humber, and get to the old pubs and stores. The pubs, this is england, are excellent. A personal favorite is the "Lion and
Key" a relative young-in since it's only from 1817. But down the road from it there is the no longer politically correct "Ye Olde Black Boy", a pub that has roots from 1388, though it's been modernized in the 1700's and has only been able to legally serve alcohol under the new rules as late as 1790. A short walk from there is the house and museum of
Hull's most famous son, William WIllberforce, and next to that is the history museum, the transport museum, the Arctic Corsair, and you're really close to the Deep, the most famous attraction in Hull and best aquarium in England (possibly the only one in
England from what I've seen so far). Hull is also cheap, by English standards (not
American standards since our dollar is worthless here) so you'll appreciate that, especially when you get to a city like York or Leeds, where tourists and stronger economies have driven up prices. Liverpool and Manchester are also expensive, though
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most of these cities offer free museums and historical attractions, and when I say free, I don't mean in the American sense where you "REALLY SHOULD" give a donation, I mean it is actually free.
Hull is a real student town with 20,000 people at Uni mostly living in one area in the north of the city. Once you leave the Old Town you are in a sort of no man's land for working people. On the outskirts are the train station, the housing projects, hotels, old factories, the Humber Bridge, and the KC stadium, home of the Tigers (Don't call them that if you don't want to be chewed out by die hard lifelong fans, they're known as Hull
AFC here). And, once you're past this area of working people's homes and small businesses, you're in student land. A good dividing point is Pearson park, a lovely victorian era park that offers solace from the city, as unless you own a car, getting into the woods isn't easy (though you can rent, hire as they say, a bike and brave the
Humber bridge to get to some nice countryside).
Past this, you are on Queens and Newland. Newland is heaven for students, anything you can imagine is here, with great restaurants, pubs, clubs, stores, and groceries, plus the post office all the way down and travel agents as well as two banks. Name an ethnic cuisine (except Mexican which you generally won't find in England) and you'll find it on or next to Newland ave.
And after this you're in student residence areas, where Uni's 20,000 students live in houses, apartments, flats or some on the campus' "Lawns" and "Taylor Court".
I am unfamiliar with the campus housing arrangements, but if you wish to live in the student houses off campus as I do, you'll find them to be very small but pleasant. Note, they are old, and England has different ideas about what is a priority than in the US. So if you have a house like mine with a leaky ceiling, they might not show up for a few days, and calling them repeatedly will just make them cross with you. The night culture of Hull is also different. For WC students, we have quiet hours that are generally enforced. Not so here, where everyone is a student, so it is not unusual to have roving bands of singing drunk students serenading the nighttime air outside your window at
3am on a Wednesday. And by not unusual I mean, it happens a lot, so prepare for that if you are a light sleeper (windows are thin as are walls). Most houses are fully equipped with kitchen, washer, dryer, etc though that varies from place to place. Keep in touch with your house tutor (called a warden) who you will be able to contact if there are any issues and they don't live near or with you so you can still have privacy.
Uni Life is different here, it takes getting used to, and the way teaching is done is also different. I'll allow the student to discover this for themselves but I will say this, lectures here are often in lecture halls with more people than you have normally had in one class
(totally based on subject of course, as there are some smaller than at WC), and discussion consists of the professor (called Dr or Lecturer as Professor is a rank) talks at you. There is also "seminar" where you are able to discuss things with the professor, rather than just sit and absorb information. Most courses offer both. Grades are also
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done differently as you will have very little graded work but what you have is worth very much (example: 1 paper and 1 exam= 100% of the grade at 50% each) so I'd recommend working hard even if it seems like many of the local students aren't always doing that (they actually are, they just party a lot too).
Hull is not totally in the middle of nowhere, despite what people say. Hull is in a small country geographically speaking and is in Yorkshire. This means, you can get to London in 3 hours, Edinburgh in 4, Leeds, York, Sheffield, and Grantham in 1, Manchester,
Liverpool, Nottingham, and NewCastle in 2 1/2. Therefore, you're really not that far from many major places. And from those you can get an infinite number of places. The train station is on the outskirts of town but every bus goes there and once you know the way it is only a 30 minute walk which isn't that bad. Trains are very efficient and there are many of them.
Hull has a small airport if you're willing to spend a lot of money, mostly it flies domestically but they do have regular service to Amsterdam and Paris. P and O ferries, Hull's ferry company, does service to Rotterdam and Bruges for about 5 to 10 pounds (A bargain).
And you're close to Leeds-Bradford Airport ( a big base for ryanair) and Manchester airport which is the the biggest outside of London. And with companies like Ryanair,
Easyjet, Flybe, Condor, Monarch, Thomas Cook, and Airberlin, you can get almost anywhere in Europe for very little (depending on where you go of course, but compared to flights in america you're saving a ton of money). You can also take a train from
London to Paris, or Megabus from Hull to London to any number of European cities, however this often takes several days from what I've been told so if you are short on time, take a plane. You can also take a ferry from Liverpool to Ireland and North Ireland
(and if you don't know the difference, look up the history briefly before you go as they take it seriously). So travel, both domestic and international, is cheap and easy in
England, and you'll find that most people will have done much more travel than you have, though perhaps not be any wiser about where they've just been than someone who's never gone.
The so called best places to eat in Hull are places I haven't been for budget's sake, but the William Willberforce pub, in old town, has amazing food and really nice ale selections. Plus they have a pleasant clean atmosphere and usually show a football
(soccer) or rugby match.
There are loads of takeaway ethnic places as this is a very diverse city, on newland alone you can have several choices for Chinese, African, Caribbean, Indian, and typical
British fare. Almost any ethnic food you can imagine can be found in Hull, with the exception of Latin American. If you are absolutely dying from a lack of Mexican, the grocery stores stock the ingredients you need and I know that Leeds has a Mexican restaurant (if you are already there and craving it, why not?).
Pie and Pie 2 are essential parts of the Hull experience, where you can choose from a
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variety of delicious meat pies. One is on Newland ave. As mentioned there are many places to eat on Newland alone, but Princes Avenue, Spring Bank, and Old Town will astound you with how many options there are for eating out. Many are affordable and the places on Newland are open to 2 or 3am on weekends, though there is no 24 hour food that I know of. Pubs stay open late as well if you are hungry late at night.
Hull has some rough patches but is generally safe, the rough areas are concentrated in the Northwest towards Cottingham, but you have no reason to go there anyway. Pubs can be rough in old town on Friday nights, so use caution and if you're drinking go with friends or avoid going alone at night. Just be sensible and you won't have a problem.
There are buses (2 companies) that offer service throughout the city and several taxi companies as well. The buses change rates with some frequency but last I knew it was
2.70 for a full day pass on both lines, and you can hail the buses from Cottingham or
Newland (just make sure you check which bus before boarding). All go from and to the
Paragon interchange (also the train station) and from there you can get their destination and schedule guide. But you can walk almost anywhere in under an hour, so buses aren't really needed unless it's night time, you're tired or the weather is bad. There are several dependable taxi companies, 78 taxi on Spring Brook Ave is one of the better companies. 57 taxis is also quite good, and despite their good marketing campaign, 82
Hull Cars doesn't return your calls so avoid using them.
You also should consider the many events taking place at the Uni, helping you save money and avoid having to go anywhere. There is a pub on campus that often has music events, a nightclub with a big event on Wednesday nights, and lectures and sporting events. People really do a lot on campus so just keep your eyes and ears open and expect that things will be packed with people. Also, the gym isn't free, you'll pay a small fee but you'd pay anyway if you went to a gym in the city so might as well.
I can give a brief summary of what to see/where to eat.
1. St Stephens Mall-Next to bus terminus- there is a movie theater, a Starbucks, and cell phone stores here as well as a Big Tesco which I'd recommend going to for the first time shop as you can get supplies for the house.
2. Museum Quarter- this area has several museums, the deep, the pedestrian bridge, and some of the old pubs like the Lion and Key and Olde black boy. Nearby is "The
Land of Green Ginger" a street that houses the smallest window in the world (in the
George Hotel). This area is well marked and impossible to miss and you should sign up for a tour of the city (the school offers information) as you'll be able to find your way around in no time.
3. Victoria Square. named for the statue of Victoria, there is the city hall, the maritime museum and the Ferens Art Gallery. Next to Princes Quay shopping center which has places for you to get Sim card, new phone, etc and discount clothing stores like
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Primark. Also home to Golden Fry, voted Hull's best fish and chips.
4. KC stadium, near the Polar Bear pub and kinda easy to get to. Home of Hull AFC and
Hull's Rugby team. A 30 minute walk.
5. Pearson Park- Pleasant victorian era park, with statues of the queen and lord mayor, a large man made pond, cast iron work fountain, a mini hedge maze and a conservatory housing tropical plants and fish (and an Iguana named George). There is also workout equipment there. Three other parks are in the city as well,mostly across town.
Beverly Road-One of the student resident streets, lots of restaurants and Sainsbury's grocery store. I usually shop at Tesco on Newland or Lidl on Cottingham because they're cheaper (buy a reusable bag for Lidl or they charge you for a bag). Beverly also has lots of cheap takeaway places and the most famous nightclub in Hull, The Welly
Club, where most students go on weekends.
Beef is EXPENSIVE and not as good as American beef. Fish and Cheese are cheap.
Heron foods at the end is good for frozen meals.
One random note about the law: Despite what you may have heard, it is illegal to drink outside (unless sitting at a restaurant's outdoor section) and having an open container will get you fined. The locals will tell you this so take their advice. It's England so you can drink practically anywhere else on that island, you don't need to walk down the street with it.
With this in mind you have the basics down of what to do and where to go in Hull. Enjoy your time there. And remember to get to know the locals, you'll get some interesting stories from them and find that English people are quite fun to be around. And, if you're ever unsure about something, don't be afraid to ask for help or advice, because, as the locals say: Yer Gorrit fer nowt (You'll understand this once you get to Hull so I won't translate).
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