Hull Reviews

Living in Hull

As the centre of commercial life in East Yorkshire, Hull has spent the last few years regenerating it’s city centre and making it an increasingly attractive prospect for students considering the University of Hull.

As a busy cosmopolitan area of course there’s some great shopping. There are three large shopping centres near the campus; Princes Quay, Prospect Centre and St Stephens, all of which are massive. For all the rest the Newland Avenue area is only a short walk away and covers all your essential shops, bars, and a good variety of food outlets. Princes Quay is also where you’ll find the older section of the city and the Museum Quarter. Hull has a lot of historical significance as a merchant port, shipbuilding and industrial city, and the home of William Wilberforce who famously worked to see slavery abolished in the UK. He was extremely awesome so it’s definitely worth checking out places like the Maritime Museum, and the Wilberforce House Museum. If that’s not your style, you could just take a stroll along the Quay and enjoy the boats.

If you did hang out around the Quay, chances are you’d quickly stumble across The Deep. It’s a ‘submarium’ - an aquarium partially submerged in the waters of the River Humber- so the further into the aquarium you explore, the deeper you go under the river. It holds over 3,500 fish spread over several large tanks, so you could easily spend all afternoon in here trying to find Nemo.

There are three or four cinemas in the town, mostly within an easy walk of the main student hangouts, as well as a couple of theatres. Hull New Theatre hosts most of the bigger shows, while the Truck theatre is a little more quirky in its taste. For comedy and live music, keep an eye on the schedule for city hall, as it often draws big names from the circuit. The main student-friendly clubs are Piper, which plays a range of music on different nights, and Spiders for the rock fans. Finally, remember to watch out for the arrival of the Hull Fair, one of the biggest travelling fairs in Europe. Not that you’ll be able to miss it: it parks right next to the campus!

Any sport?

• Ice Rink: This is in the Hull Arena where you can see the Ice Hockey teams play, or learn to skate yourself.
• West Park is a big open space only a short walk from campus. As well as being the ideal spot to revise or kick a ball around it’s also the home of The Circle, the stadium where the Hull Tigers football team and the rugby team both play.
• Athletics Clubs: There are two in Hull, as well as the Hull Speedway cycling club.

Good to know

• Taxi: B-Line Taxis.
• Bus and Train: The Hull Paragon Interchange is a massive transport hub in the city centre, where you can switch between local buses, trains and coaches all in the same place. Buses go to the campus from here every 10mins or so.
• Airport: Humberside Airport does a few flights to Amsterdam and the UK. For a wider range of European destinations, you’re probably better off leaving from Robin Hood Airport near Doncaster.