Before the bridge came along, people crossed the Humber in all sorts of ways. Our amphibious cushion-vehicle correspondent Angus Young finds out if anyone ever floated across.
As well as straight roads, plumbing and sanitation, underfloor heating, currency and a very long wall, those pesky good-for-nothing Romans were also responsible for the first recorded ferry crossings on the Humber. From 70 AD, they developed a settlement called Petuaria on the north bank of the estuary by building a fortress covering around 4.5 acres. Today it’s better known as Brough but back then it was an important staging post for the Roman Army with a ferry operating to and from Winteringham as part of the famous Ermine Street route which ran from London to Lincoln and York. It’s highly likely early ferry crossings took place before the arrival of the Romans in East Yorkshire but as they were the first to document them, they get the bragging rights.
The next historical evidence of boat crossings is included in King Edward II’s 1315 Royal Charter which granted consent for a ferry between Hull and the county of Lincolnshire to be “established and forever maintained” to carry “men, horses, carts, corn and other things.” The old king obviously didn’t foresee the opening of the Humber Bridge some 666 years later as it signalled the end of ferry crossings altogether.
The coal-fired paddle steamers made redundant by the bridge sailed between Hull’s Victoria Pier and New Holland for 40 years and remain a fond memory for many. Less well-remembered are the rival hovercraft services which briefly operated across the estuary in 1969.
Humber Hoverlink Services Ltd. was first to launch, promising “A New Exciting Way to cross the Humber” (their capital letters, not mine) in adverts for the Hoverlink service. Offering “Regular passenger and parcel services”, the Hoverlink operated between Victoria Pier and Grimsby Docks completing the journey in around 30 minutes. Soon a rival hovercraft service run by Humber Hoverferry Ltd entered the fray, also running between Hull and Grimsby. A bit like buses, local hovercraft fans had waited nearly 30 years since they were invented only for two to come along at once.
However, the flimsy craft didn’t last long. The Humber is notorious for the debris it carries, including old trees washed several miles down the estuary, and these floating hazards often whipped along at speed on fast tides would often cause damage to the hovercrafts. Even berthing at the pier in Hull or against the stone dock walls in Grimsby could be enough to rip their vulnerable skirts while high winds and the Humber’s tidal currents also caused headaches for the hovercraft crews. Unable to carry large numbers of passengers compared to the sturdier ferries, financial problems added to their mechanical unreliability and within a year both services ceased. While astronauts were starting to travel to the Moon, the age of the hovercraft on the Humber was over.
For a few years, those still wanting to experience a flight could take a hovercraft ride along Cleethorpes beach at low tide while the occasional pleasure trip on the Humber was also organised, although whether they were actually pleasurable is a moot point. As one Hoverlink passenger later recalled: “We went on one of its early outings. It was an OK journey but nothing to write home about but the return journey was one of the most awful and uncomfortable experiences I’ve ever had. We were travelling against the tide and it bounced up and down so much I thought I was going to be sick. I wasn’t the only one who didn’t enjoy that journey back.”