Weather: Cold and clear
Distance:
18 km (11.2 miles) Total Distance: 2847 miles
I had
not planned this to be one of the toughest walks I had done but that is what it
turned into solely because I had underestimated the distances involved.
It was a pleasant day – very frosty start but
still. I had parked the car outside the
pub I had visited yesterday and was walking by 7.45am. I checked the times at the station again and
asked a flustered woman in the signal box who was dealing with a lorry whose driver appeared to be asleep in his bunk. She didn't know anything about
trains back from Hull. It was then that I realised that there was probably a
bus from Hull to Barton and a train from there.
After cutting down through the timber factory again I was back on the
coast path. The path was muddy in places
but not too bad. On the landward side
there were a series of pools marked on the map as clay pits. I guess that some
of the buildings I saw were old brick works – in fact one place I wandered near
by was still making traditional roof tiles. I guess a diminishing market but
still needed.
At
Barrow Haven I walked though a working boat yard – more timber I guess, and
over the river on the railway bridge, then back to the estuary. Just before Barton I started to realise that
my time estimate was not good and I was falling behind if I wanted to make it
to Hull and catch the bus back.
As I
neared Barton I checked with a man walking his dog how to get onto the bridge
and he confirmed I would have to go inland into the town before crossing the
narrow river, down a side street and then up onto the Humber Bridge. The path by the side of the small river took
me besides the longest standing building in the county – an old rope works
apparently. I had stared to speed up by
now so did not stop to admire the town at all.
A set
of steps took me up onto the pedestrian and cycle way over the bridge. The experience of walking over the bridge was
better than I had expected. I had bad
memories of walking over the Severn Bridge being buffeted by wind and the gusts
from lorries. The path was slightly
lower than the roadway and there was not much of a wind around.
By the time I was half way over the bridge I
was motoring and starting to think about stopping once I got to the other side
or carrying onto Hull and getting the 11.25 bus back to Barton and the train
from there. I had to get that bus otherwise I would miss my business meeting that afternoon and the justification for charging my petrol to
the company! The bridge is pretty high
above the ground and to get off it I had to go half a mile or so inland to near
the toll booths then down some steps, under the bridge and through a country
park back to the estuary itself. This
added time and distance to my original estimated and lost me more time.
I
decided to make a go of it. I ate some
Pringles and biscuits and had a drink whilst still walking and then sped up
even more. Part of the walk on the north
bank was along pleasant paths but some was beside a busy road full of car
salesrooms. Nearer Hull the path cut
back to the waterside, along some derelict buildings, fishermen making the most
of the good fishing positions available.
At St Andrew’s Quay a lot of redevelopment had taken place. I was worried a couple of times that my path
would be diverted inland wasting me more time.
A mile and a half before Hull it was make or break time – the path wend
on the estuary side of a dock – on the map there was a footpath that appeared
to go across the end of the dock.
I was
pinning all my hopes on the fact that this was true and the right of way was
still there. The path looked more and
more unused but I was relieved to find that it took me over the roofs of some
building by way of some steps, down again and to the lock gates for the
dock. Fortunately the lock gates were
closed and I was able to walk over them.
It should have been so disappointing to get this far and find that I
could not have gone over the lock gates!
Now
all I had to do was find the bus station and my way though the busy streets of
Hull. I was heading in the general direction, asked a lady and then stopped in
a newsagent who told me the rest of the way and veritably sprint walked the last
bit. I made it with just enough time to
ask which stand the bus to Barton left from and buy myself a paper. What a relief – I was shattered – I have not
walked so fast for so long non-stop for a long time and was pleased to find
that my feet stood up to it OK but soreness and stiffness quickly set as soon
as I stopped.
The
bus stopped at the station in Barton and the train was there waiting for
us. It was a fairly popular train –
people going into Grimsby for the day or coming back from Hull I guess. The jolly guard collected my money just
before I got off at New Holland and walked gingerly back to my car – what a
relief to get back to it!
I drove to the
factory stopping for a sausage and bacon batch in the Buttie Box near the
factory. The meeting went well – but they must have wondered why I was drinking so much water throughout the
meeting!
The meeting finished at about 4.30pm and I went and stayed the night with friends in Brigg.
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