The Humber Bridge
My long association with this magnificent structure
I grew up in a small town close to the south bank of the Humber Estuary in England. When I was a child I spent a lot of time with my family exploring the banks of the Humber. Away from the ports, oil refineries and fertilizer factories is another world entirely.
I always loved nature, and the mudflats and reed beds along the shores of the Humber estuary are great places to see wading birds and other wildlife. The sounds of curlews, oystercatchers and gulls were (and still are) a precious part of my life.
As well as enjoying the wildlife, we used to watch in amazement as construction work on the Humber Bridge took place. Our town, indeed our entire region, was off the beaten track. We were not used to large structures. There were three blocks of flats in our town that were over 10 stories tall, and we thought they were skyscrapers!
The thought of building a bridge, especially a single span suspension bridge, over such a wide estuary just seemed totally unfeasible. We were sure it would not be safe, and proclaimed that we would never cross it. Not ever!
Indeed, we did hear on the radio one day that there had been a collapse at the construction site. The bridge itself had not collapsed, but the cables supporting some of the road sections had failed, leaving several sections dangling precariously in the wind. Fortunately nobody was killed, but several workers were injured.
Unfortunately I don’t have any personal photos showing the construction. If you are interested there is a great collection of photos in this Hull Daily Mail article. They give an idea of the scale of the project, and the difficulties that had to be overcome.
After more than eight years in construction, the bridge was eventually completed. When it opened in 1981 it was officially the longest single span suspension bridge in the world.
The total length of the Humber Bridge (not just the central span) is an impressive 2220 m (1.4 miles). The central span alone is 1410 m, significantly out-spanning New York’s Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge (the previous longest at 1298 m) and California’s Golden Gate (1280 m).
Remarkably it held on to its title for over 16 years, before it was overtaken by the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan. It now ranks 13th, with the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge in Turkey (named after a naval victory) being the current longest.
Before the Humber Bridge opened, going from the south side of the estuary to visit the city of Hull on the north side was quite an adventure. We would catch a train from a small village near where we lived, which would take us to a jetty in the village of New Holland. From there we would get the ferry across to Hull.
The Humber is notoriously difficult to navigate, due to sandbanks that constantly shift with the tides. It was not uncommon for the ferry to get stuck on a sandbank when the tide was low.
I remember getting stuck once, and all the passengers were asked to go to one side of the ferry to try to rock it off the sandbank. It worked, and we got across. I believe there were times when they were less lucky, and had no option but to wait for the next tide. Goodness knows what Health and Safety would make of this now!
The ferry service ended when the bridge opened in 1981.
The bridge opened to traffic on the 24th June, 1981 (though it was formally opened by Her Majesty the Queen on the 17th July). There were long queues of cars waiting to be among the first to cross.
At the time I had recently passed my driving test. In the evening of that first day my parents and I decided to go and have a look — one of my first outings as a qualified driver. The bridge looked so majestic, and the crossing traffic looked so small - and we just couldn’t resist. We paid the toll, and somewhat nervously drove across.
I remember looking at the enormous cables supporting the roadway, and thinking it was such a long way before we reached the lowest point of the main cable, marking the centre of the main span. It was a lovely day, and the view of the estuary was spectacular.
We drove around a convenient roundabout at the north end of the bridge, paid the toll again, and drove back. So after years of proclaiming that I would never ever cross the bridge, I actually drove across on the very first day it opened to traffic!
I believe that the Humber Bridge is still the longest suspension bridge in the world that you can walk across (please correct me if I am wrong!). On both sides of the road carriageway there is a dedicated path for pedestrians and cyclists (though the eastern one has been closed for some time).
I have walked across many times, and it is quite an exhilarating experience — especially on a windy day. When large lorries go thundering past you can feel the vibration in the bridge. And if the distance to the centre seems a long way when you drive across, it feels a lot longer when you walk!
By walking across you get closeup views of the towers and the giant cables that support the roadway. You also get great views of the estuary, and the shores on both sides.
These days I live north of the Humber Estuary, near York, which is not as close as when I was a child. However I still visit the area regularly with my partner Matt. On both sides of the bridge there are excellent parks and nature reserves that are well worth the drive. You can read about these in my post here.
Just before the Covid epidemic Matt and I, who had lived together for over 30 years, decided to be one of the first mixed sex couples to become civil partners in York (another story for another day). When we booked the ceremony we expected a long waiting list, but actually it was so quick that we didn’t have time to organize a ‘honeymoon’.
So we booked ourselves into a country hotel surrounded by reed beds on the south bank of the Humber (the hotel has sadly now burned down and looks unlikely to be rebuilt). We spent the evening watching barn owls hunting over the reedbeds below the towers of the bridge.
Whenever we drive along the A63 to visit the area around the bridge, we first catch a distant view of the Humber Estuary. There is then a wooded area which obscures the view of the estuary. When we emerge from the wooded area the bridge suddenly bursts dramatically into view.
Even after all these years I am still always impressed by the scale and elegance of this magnificent structure that has been such a significant landmark throughout my life.
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Really enjoyed this Angie. The bridge has been a landmark of my life too! I even abseiled from it once...
I was born in Hull, and my whole family are from there. I grew up with my mum telling me the story that my grandfather used to believe in the 'man in the moon' but he never believed they would be able to build a bridge over the River Humber!! I think about that every single time I drive under it.
I used to live in Lincolnshire. We've driven over it a few times, but have never explored or took into account the wildlife around the area, fascinating. Really interesting, thankyou!