Day 1 - Hessle to Brantingham, 9.6m

Glynis was dreading this morning - having to drive a strange car out of the middle of Hull.  As it turned out, the hire car place wasn't in the centre of Hull and the route out was really easy, nearly all on minor roads.  In contrast with Hertz Carlisle last year (50 mins), Europcar Hull were really slick and we were away in around 10 mins and the car, which looks exactly the same as last year's, didn't have a large dent in the boot lid.



Pete had already found the start of the Wolds Way and suitable parking places with the aid of OS Maps and Google Streetview, so we took the obligatory selfie at the start point and set off.

The first landmark of note is, of course, the Humber Bridge (it's really hard to miss!).  The river and the bridge are quite spectacular and it's all enhanced by the very nice way in which the council have opened up the foreshore with loads of free parking, seats and the occasional interesting piece of artwork. 

Just past the bridge, and a total contrast, is an old Whiting Mill which was used to grind chalk and water together to make (you've guessed it) . . . whiting.  The path dives down onto the shingle beach (difficult to walk on) and gets steadily worse and more and more muddy (very difficult to walk on!) until you can turn away from the river and up through a very lovely wood.  

After crossing the A63 dual carriageway in the right place (don't ask!) the path goes through a Scout camp where some Scouts were busy cutting down bushes.  There's a very impressive post carved out of a single piece of wood confirming that you're on the Yorkshire Wolds Way and only have another 74 miles to go.  A bit further on although converted into several dwellings, the old mill at Welton is an impressive building and the cattle were certainly enjoying the mill pond.

After a bit of a climb towards Brantingham, we were rewarded with some spectacular views of the river and the surrounding countryside.