Yahoo News 'I walked the Hull Fish Trail for the first time and gained a whole new appreciation for our city'
There are plenty of different ways to roam and explore Hull City centre, but one of the most iconic routes pays fitting homage to the city's rich maritime heritage.
The Hull Fish Trail has been acting as a guide for newbies and regulars of Hull since 1992. 41 fishy stops all carefully curated to take any willing person on a walk around the city centre to track down and tick off all the stops.
With summer on the horizon, and having never actually attempted the trail in my 26 years, I spent the afternoon tracking down all of the unique pieces of art.
Read more:
Having printed a copy of the trail via the VisitHull website here, I headed to stop one of 41 in Queen Victoria Square - Anchovy. All 36 fish were still gleaming silver on the floor, making them pretty easy to spot outside of Hull City Hall.
I've passed a handful when going about my day-to-day life and knowing what they are, but never looked into the history. My friend who was in the city centre shopping confessed that he had never done the trail either, and joined me out of curiosity.
In 1992, the trail was scattered around the city centre at a time when Hull was not seen as a 'hip' place to be. Hull City Council worked alongside sculptor Gordon Young for the fish trail and it all started off with a simple walk around the city. Mr Young's walk around had him taking note of Hulls then pride and joy - the fishing fleeting.
He previously said: "During my city centre walkabout, I came across some litter on the pavement which included some labels off fish boxes - the fishing industry was still a thing at that point. It was just an instant prompt, a clue. A fish pavement led to the idea of a fish trail.
"I thought parts of the city centre were class, not at all as I had heard the place being portrayed. It was full of quality, interesting buildings. I thought if I could join up all these good bits, all linked to Hull's maritime past, to get a start and a finish. That led to an A to Z and a guide of what items to include, from some very sexy fish to batches and even a shoal of anchovies."
Stop three - Cod - was the first to stand out being a giant marble square. Still missing after its disappearance, the mystery feels like another piece of local folklore to add to the trail.
While the Cod was easy to find, some other fish proved to be slippery. The Dogfish and Catfish seemed to be blocked off by ongoing A63 Castle Street works.
Across the Murdoch Connection Bridge, there were plenty of stops along Humber Dock Street, with a starfish cleverly hidden away in a bolder overlooking the marina. The next few were completed in quick succession, with them bending around the corner of Minerva Pub. The fact that this trailed around Humber Street was fantastic because by the 1990s the Fruit Market would have been a struggling area. It would of course see a huge boom in trend.
As we got to the biggest stop yet, Ray the Stingray, overlooking the 200-year-old Victoria Pier, we had a pitstop to mark the halfway milestone. We talked about how we've never done this walk. Even though it felt that we're not the demographic being in our mid/late 20s, we still were enjoying and getting slightly too invested in the treasure trail.
Going under Myton Bridge and then across the Scale Lane Bridge to carry on the quest- with the Salmon on stop 26 being the only East Hull representative on the trail.
As we marched our way down High Street, finding the Crab with ease tucked away next to a gutter, the fellow crustacean Shrimp was clearly too small and provided to be one we couldn't find outside the Museum Quarter. Two young lads looking at the floor asking each other "Can you see this shrimp yet? Should be round here." while pointing to the map must have been quite a sight for onlookers.
The final stretch took us to a huge electric eel - fittingly outside an electrical substation - and a shark outside a former bank. The trail then took us into an alley which felt a bit like trespassing onto private land, but we soon found Squid, and Hake. The trail ended at 41 Zander - meaning we had completed A to Z of the walk in just over an hour and a half, including a pit stop at Humber Street for a coffee - well under the three-hour suggested time.
As a family, I bet this would be a great way to kill an afternoon without having to spend anything - bar refreshments. At our age, we've walked these streets hundreds of times and probably stepped over most of these stops dozens of times over, but the fact we went out of our way to experience each piece of history gave a different perspective and new level of appreciation for the city centre.
