Wednesday 24 August 2022
Hornsea Heaven
Malcolm, John, Derek and I rendezvoused at Leeds Railway Station for the 09:34 to Hull which left on time.
The train journey to Hull Paragon took less than an hour discussing our next ventures with holidays on the horizon and interruptions inevitable arriving at The Paragon at 10:30 giving us ten minutes to get to stand 32 in the Paragon Bus Station for the number 24 to Hornsea which departed at 10:40.
The bus took around seventy minutes to reach Hornsea which seemed to take an eternity to leave the suburb’s of Hull.
Arriving on Cliff Road in Hornsea we espied Alan and we all gathered wondering where Kevin was as he’d not replied to John’s frantic calls or texts.
We meandered down the front which was very pleasant with great views out to sea and Bridlington in the distance. As it had turned midday by this point John thought it prudent to have a bite to eat so that Colin didn’t go hypoglycaemic we then saw Sullivan’s fish and chip shop where we all purchased our dinners and sat on a wall to consume them in glorious sunshine. Kevin suddenly appearing to the delight of everyone there.
On leaving the wall we went to view the old Hornsea Railway Station that were now residential houses. They looked resplendent in these settings and recognised that the conversions appeared to be a huge success.
We then continued down the green corridor until we came to a huge orchard where local residents could help themselves to apples. There was also a picnic table where you could sit to enjoy an apple or two after your picnic.
We then sought out a huge lake called the Hornsea Mere which is the largest freshwater lake in Yorkshire, England, and lies to the west of Hornsea in the East Riding.
It covers an area of 467 acres (1.89 km2), is 2 miles (3.2 km) long, 0.75 miles (1.2 km) at its widest point and 12 feet (3.7 m) at its deepest.
Hornsea Mere is a centre for bird-watching and a tourist attraction offering rowing, sailing, boat trips and fishing. It is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Protection Area for birds; it accommodates many species throughout the year, and is of international importance for a migratory population of gadwall. It's shallowness results in a diverse range of swamp and fen plants.
Here we enjoyed an ice cream outside the café and then realised as we set off to circumnavigate the area there were much better places to have consumed our ice creams overlooking the lake itself. We know for next time.
We then made our way back towards Hornsea and stumbled upon a folly built by a local dignitary which allowed his staff to see when he was returning from his business trips and a meal was prepared for consultation on his arrival. From the top of this Folly you could see for twenty miles about and out to sea.
It is known locally as Bettison's Folly this tower is in Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Also referred to as Bettisons Tower and the Forgotten Folly, it was built some time between 1829 and 1853 by William Bettison. At the time, Bettison was a Hull-based brewer who built the folly in what was then his garden.
We came to the bus stop where we decided we had walked far enough and waited for the No 25 bus which would take us to Beverley Railway Station. Unfortunately the journey time was in excess of our anticipation so we abandoned the bus to run through the Streets of Beverley and just caught the 16:30 train which was arriving on platform 2 just as we got there.
Ten minutes later we were back in Hull Railway Station in plenty of time for the 17:04 back to Leeds arriving in Leeds four minutes early to allow John, Derek, Malcolm and Colin to catch their respective trains and buses home.
Another destination ticked off in splendid weather and we were all happy we had made the effort to visit this delightful seaside town.
Another great day out proving you sometimes don't need to travel al that far to achieve greatness and we certainly did that once again today!
-- Colin Hendrick Ward
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