‘I like to bring it to life and tell the stories’: New season of guided tours explores Hull’s maritime heritage
PROUD TO TELL HULL’S STORY: Maritime tour guide Ian Martin
By Simon Bristow
Hull’s maritime guided tours will restart during the half-term school holiday from Saturday, February 11.
The group of 17 volunteers, who are White Badge-accredited tour guides, will lead the free guided tours exploring our maritime city.
The tours will take place at 10.30am every Thursday and Saturday, and on Sundays at 11.30am with a shorter route at 1.30pm on Sundays.
Starting at Museum Quarter gardens, outside the old Arctic Corsair unit and the Hull and East Riding Museum, the full tours last around 2.5 hours. The shorter route on Sunday afternoons lasts about 1.5 hours and covers half of the full tour.
The tour visits the future location of the Arctic Corsair at North End Shipyard, Queens Gardens, the exterior of the Maritime Museum, and the new home for Spurn Lightship in Hull Marina. Other key landmarks include Blaydes House, Trinity House and Hull Marina.
Last year, the volunteers delivered 142 tours with more than 960 people taking part.
Among the volunteers delivering the tours is Ian Martin, one of two guides able to lend a truly authentic voice because of their seafaring background.
Ian, who grew up in the fishing community of Hessle Road, had wanted to go to sea from an early age, but was initially turned down by the Merchant Navy because he was too young and too small - he first tried to join aged 15 at the height of just 5ft.
Successfully applying again aged 16 and having reached 5ft 2ins, he was accepted and embarked on a career that took him around the world.
Describing his role as a volunteer tour guide, Ian said: “I think it’s brilliant, especially being from Hull. I always thought it’s underestimated, the history that we’ve got, and to be able to tell people about it is brilliant.
“It’s surprising, even a lot of people from Hull when you take them round don’t know a lot of it. You tell people Queens Gardens used to be a dock and they have no idea.
“I can waffle on forever but I like to bring it to life and tell all the stories; I don’t want to bore them with dates. I’d rather say ‘Imagine what it must have been like around the old harbour...’
“We are reinventing ourselves in Hull now. They were going to fill in Alexandra Dock and now they’ve got Siemens in there and we are at the forefront of green energy. And now we’ve got a tourism industry. This will be one of the best tourism sites in the country and it’s all free.”
Councillor Mike Ross, Leader of Hull City Council, said: “As part of the guided tours, you will discover some fascinating nuggets of information and facts about Hull’s maritime heritage.
“If you have lived in Hull for years or are new to Hull, you will learn something about our wonderful city. The walks will also provide you with all the latest updates from the maritime project, creating a brand-new maritime experience for Hull, our residents, and visitors.”
Justine Hunt, Hull Maritime volunteer and accredited White Badge tour guide, said: “A new year of Maritime Tours begins! It’s such a pleasure to introduce visitors to Hull to the stories from our past and tell of our future plans for development for the city.
“On our two-hour walking tours learn about Hull’s rich history and see at first hand what’s happening here in Hull. Prepare to be surprised.“
Although booking is recommended, there may be a small number of places available on the day.
For more information and to book a place on a guided tour, visit the Hull Maritime website here.