A walk from the Humber Bridge to Hull along the Humber

I wasn't planning a particularly long walk today, but I ended up catching a train to Hessle and walking from the Humber bridge to Hull along the Humber. A lovely, sunny and mild day, the breeze was westerly, the Humber pink and blue, the tide low. The first highlight was a pair of Mistle Thrushes on the grassy bank of the foreshore, the Humber Bridge as a backdrop.

Mistle Thrush.

Common Gull.

Mallard.

Lesser Black-backed Gull.

I walk around the Fleet Drain, where there is a lone Redshank. Then I make my walk around the industrial units following the public footpath to reach the Humber again.

Redshank at Fleet Drain.

Looking back towards the Humber Bridge.

Soon I'm within the Hull City limits. I walk onto the saltmarsh and lift a few logs. Soon I find a few Dun Sentinels, marsh snails that live in saltmarsh, emerging at high tide and retreating under flotsam and jetsam at low tide. The grubbing at the tideline also gives me a few invertebrates, and I find two spiders sunning themselves on a fence. A bumblebee zooms past.

Dun Sentinel, Assiminea grayana.

Some millipedes.

Jumping spider, Salticus sp.

I reach the Makro brownfield site and look west towards the expanse of mudflat. Two Redshank and finally, a Curlew (number 79 for the 100 bird species in Hull challenge) are feeding high up near the reeds.

Redshank.

Curlew, the first of the year.

I continue across the Makro site, not lingering too much. A Linnet sings from atop an elder and two crows chase a Kestrel.

Linnet.

Kestrel.

A view of the Makro site.

I carry on by St Andrews, the Albert docks and return to the station by the marina.

Train Trip: North Ferriby to St Andrews Quay

Today's was a familiar walk I've done before, from North Ferriby to St Andrew's Quay, but the conditions made it into a wonderful day, very different from my previous experience. I took the train to North Ferriby and walked straight to the Humber shore, then following the coastal footpath (shared by the Trans-Pennine Way and Wolds Way) east. The first stretch is on the foreshore itself. The tide had been high a couple of hours prior and much of the shore and mudbanks were exposed. Wigeon and Redshank were dotted all along the walk feeding near the waterline. The top of the foreshore was easy to walk on and I could explore the little patches of saltmarsh without disturbing the birds. It was mild and still, the Humber a mirror reflecting the bridge, quite a dramatic change with yesterdays stormy weather. Overhead, Pink-footed Geese calling as they crossed the Humber towards Lincolnshire.

 

Goldfinch on Alders on the way to the train station.

Woodpigeon gorging on cotoneaster berries.

Wigeon on Ferriby foreshore.

Pink-footed Geese.

I climb the sea wall and look at the reedy pond. Just a Moorhen is visible, but a Water Rail calls, and a runner flushes a Green Woodpecker from the path. The paddocks are covered in birds: Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Starling and Pied Wagtails. There are two Meadow Pipits, one of them stopping to scratch constantly. I continue on the top footpath and at some point walk down to the beach again to explore the saltmarsh.

Goldfinches and Greenfinch.

The itchy Meadow Pipit.

Mallard.

Humber Bridge from the seawall.

Curlews, three of a flock of 17.

The Dun Sentinel was one of my target species, it is a saltmarsh specialist that can be easily found feeding after high tides.

A patch of reeds with the dead stems marking the highest reach of the previous tide.

This was my favourite finding of the day Lekanesphaera sp. they are small isopods, relatives of the terrestrial woodlice, of estuaries and they live under rocks and logs, and dig into mud. As their name suggests and is shown in the photo, they have the ability to roll into a ball and that gives them another common name: sea pills.

A large log lodged on the top marsh. This is an area of obvious erosion.

Common Gull.

Redshank.

I'm getting close to Hessle and I stop for an early lunch at the Country Park. Then I carry on following the Trans-Pennine Trail up Hessle Haven and around the car warehouses, then returning to the Humber foreshore.

Sea Aster.

Redshank.

A Woodpigeon with a serious case of avian pox. If the bird can feed, recovery is possible as the lesions can regress after a few weeks.

Looking back to North Ferriby. The foreshore is mostly chalk pebbles.

Another favourite sighting of the day. This Great Black-backed gull had found some food, maybe a flat fish? and was mostly happy to share with the Carrion Crows. 

The day was so mild that bumblebees and hoverflies were foraging. Here, a Buff-tailed Bumblebee feeding on White Dead-nettle.

And a hoverfly, Eupeodes luniger feeding on Bristly Ox-tongue.

A Grey Heron fed on a shallow area between sand banks.

Reedbed fringe by the sea wall.

It was a long walk, a total of 23 km, after St Andrews Quay I pressed home, passing by the Rawlings Way rowans where I had Waxwings a few years ago. Plenty of berries but just Blackbirds enjoying them.

Crossing the Humber

There have been several ferry crossings at the Humber at least since Roman times (including Winteringham to Brough, North to South Ferriby, Barton to Hessle, Hull to Grimsby, New Holland to Hull). Despite this, all ferry crossings stopped across the Humber when the Humber Bridge was opened in 1981. Today we cross the Humber Bridge and back. We start at Humber Bridge Country park, where there is a large free car park. It is a beautiful day, a light mist and light NE breeze but mainly sunny. The tide is almost low. The path is well signed from the country park and we join the west path for the crossing.

 You climb some stairs (or take a ramp) to join the bridge. Soon the views are stunning over the wooded country park and the across the estuary.

The chalk mill and foreshore of the Humber Bridge Country park.

 The Humber is quite flat, slowly ebbing. The Humber Bridge is 2,220 m long. It doesn't take long to cross, and on a day like this is a wonderful walk.

Buoy indicating the location of the navigable channel.

There is a fair number of walkers and cyclists doing the crossing today. As we approach the south bank there are great views of Far Ings and we walk high over a pasture where cows are feeding almost like an aerial view.

Looking SW towards N Ferriby.

Young Great Black-backed gull.

Far Ings foreshore.

We take the stairs down, walk under the bridge and follow a right of way path by a mature hedgerow and some clay pits. A Hairy Dragonfly patrols over one of the pools, covered in patches of flowering water crowfoot.

Roadside daisies.

The weevil, Liophloeus tessulatus. Thanks to Richard Comont on Twitter for the identification.

Another view of the weevil.

Water Crowfoot

 After a short walk on the foreshore of Far Ings we go for lunch at the Old Tile Works, which has great views of the bridge.

Far Ings reedbed. A male Marsh Harrier had just flown across.

After lunch is time to the back crossing, this time on the east side of the bridge. The tide is almost completely low now, exposing a very wide mudflats and the salt marsh by Water's Edge Country park.

Some sand banks are exposed in the middle of the Humber. It is quite warm now and the breeze quite welcome. We point at salient features of the city of Hull: the P&O Ferries, the Hospital, Reckitt's chimney, the KC stadium and Arco.
We descent the steps onto the country park and go down to Hessle foreshore for coffee and ice cream. A great family day out, and the first time all of us walk the Humber Bridge.

Sand banks.

The M62 crossing Hessle.