2022 Hull Trip – Day 1 (Puppets in Hull, the Harbour and German Doner Kebab)

I’m not entirely sure what was happening with this, but I understand it was some sort of giant puppet show. Unfortunately, we missed out on watching this spectacular as were in the pub, but that happens a lot to me and I’ve learned to live with that.

The old harbour area. And as another random fun fact I only found out recently, Harborough is an old English word for harbour. Although oddly, the town of Market Harborough has a different origin, albeit also Saxon. I’ve digressed away from Hull already, but I think this is a quite beautiful frontage and The Deep is in the background which is like a decadent sea-life centre. I’ve mentioned before on numerous occasions how I think that Hull is under-rated, plenty of money has been pumped in and it’s by no means some rural backwater.

The statue of William de la Pole, who I’ve written about before. We had gone here as until recently Liam appeared on the side of some hoardings as the H&S representative of his company. This was very exciting, although he had been a bit vandalised last time I visited, by “pesky kids” he thought. Alas though, this time the construction work has all been completed and he’s gone. I’d say that the area has definitely lost out from that change. I’m not sure Liam was concerned either way, although he rarely worries about very much.

Some impressive mural painting, showing that street art can be impressive and add to an area.

Getting a little snack en route to the Hop & Vine, I thought I’d try the Hull outlet of German Doner Kebab, as I liked what they did in Huddersfield. There were handy ordering screens which was useful in not needing to engage with staff and also browsing the menu to get a full understanding of the options. It’s all on-trend but wasn’t busy when we went in the early evening, but I imagine there’s something of a rush as the pubs close.

Although having taken careful account of all the menu options, I ordered the same as I did last time, the mixed chicken and beef doner box with fries. All was well again, the meat was rich in flavour, the salad was suitably salady and the dips were as expected. It was more expensive than I remembered it from Huddersfield the previous year, but that’s hardly surprising as nearly everything has gone up in price. In the typical way of chains, it tasted the same as I had experienced before, so all was well.

Most importantly, it was then time to take Liam to what is my favourite pub, the Hop & Vine.