Hessle, Humber Bridge, Far Ings Nature Reserve and Barton Waterside

From a Country Park to a Nature Reserve Across the Humber Bridge

The Humber Estuary is one of the most impressive estuaries in Britain, draining a fifth of all the rivers in England. The waters from the Derwent and Ouse from North Yorkshire, the Aire and Calder from the Pennines, and the great Trent meandering slowly north from the Midlands combine to create an estuary that is over five miles (8 km) wide at its mouth. Since medieval times the Humber has been an important commercial waterway, and today barges and ships still carry cargoes of biofuel and other commodities to inland ports.

Crossing this great estuary is the Humber Bridge, at its opening in 1981 the longest single-span bridge in the world — a record it held until 1998. To appreciate its full grandeur it has to be crossed on foot, which is exactly what this walk does.

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Start Point

Humber Bridge Country Park

Grid Ref: TA 01871 26087

Total Distance

7.9 miles (12.7 km)

Total Climbing

60 metres

Estimated Time

4 hours

Difficulty Grade

Easy

Trail Navigation Files:

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Ordnance Survey Explorer Map (1:25,000)

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The Walk Report

The walk begins from Humber Bridge Country Park, which is small and intimate. Its high-sided wooded chalk cliffs are rich in wildlife, and it is famous for its buddleia which attracts a huge variety of butterflies. On the foreshore is a five-sided windmill that once drove rollers which crushed the chalk quarried here.

The Humber Bridge, opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1981, took over eight years to build. It consists of thousands of tons of concrete and steel, standing 100 feet (30 metres) above the Humber Estuary. The bridge towers are 510 feet (153 metres) high, and the main span of the bridge is 4,700 feet (1,410 metres) long — by comparison, the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco is a mere 4,250 feet (1,280 metres) long. From the eastern side you can see the city of Kingston upon Hull, the North Sea ferries in the King George V Dock, and local oil refineries, while upstream the river curves towards Brough and Goole.

Stretching five miles along the southern foreshore of the estuary lie Barton Clay Pits and Far Ings National Nature Reserve. Since ending their industrial life, the pits have been transformed into the largest area of freshwater marsh in the region. The flooded pits provide a mixture of dense reed beds and open waters bordered by scrub woodland, forming a superb wildlife sanctuary with over 70 species of breeding birds including tufted duck, pochard, and cormorant, while fringing the clay pits are reedmace, water plantain, watercress, and wild celery.

This walk provides the perfect opportunity to enjoy the wildlife show in the reserve as well as admiring the great expanse of estuary while ambling over the Humber Bridge. One word of caution: choose a day when it is not too windy, for any winds are stronger without any breaks to hold them back, and if too windy the bridge will be closed for safety reasons anyway.

Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.

View of Humber Bridge from Barton Waterside

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Hessle, Humber Bridge, Far Ings Nature Reserve and Barton Waterside

Ordnance Survey Explorer Map (1:25,000)

The Walk Report

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