All about East Yorkshire

An Essex girl by birth, but a Yorkshire lass at heart, let me take you on a tour of my personal East Yorkshire gems hoping I can entice you to come and visit this fascinating, undiscovered, beautiful, unspoilt part of England.

Where to start? For many a visitor to East Yorkshire the gateway is the iconic Humber Bridge, at one time the longest suspension bridge in the world. Stop off in the viewing area, walk across the bridge or through Little Switzerland onto Hessle Foreshore and watch the ships going down the Humber to Goole.

Hull, once one of the leading mercantile and fishing ports in the world, has a treasure trove of historical buildings and museums in the old town. William Wilberforce's house in High Street is a museum dedicated to his fight against slavery.

If you are coming into Hull by train stop off for refreshments in the Edwardian splendour of the recently refurbished Royal Station Hotel.

No trip to the Hull area would be complete without seeing the amazing sea life at The Deep, the world's deepest submarium. A fantastic source for design inspiration but no jokes about fish and chips in the cafe!

Heading out of Hull to Skidby, my home village, famous for its working windmill and man-size Yorkshire puddings at the Half Moon public house. Older than Hull, of Viking origin, it retains a close community feel and farming heritage with ancient dwellings and a pretty church with Norman tower. Walk off the Yorkshire pudding by picking up the Wold's Way in the fields behind the village. You can meet me at the Unique Couture Tuition monthly workshop groups in the qwerky but comfortable Village Hall and Institute.

Only three miles down the road is the market town of Beverley, a hidden gem of old buildings and cobbled side streets leading to the magnificent Minster. Retail therapy needs can be fully met with both independent shops and well known chains and the large traditional market held every Saturday. Beverley has a good selection of B & B's, hotels, cafes and restaurants.

Leave Beverley for Holderness and the mouth of the Humber. The wildlife haven of Spurn Point is one of my best loved destinations. Estuary mud flats covered with birds at low tide to one side and, within a couple of hundred yards over sand dunes, coastal beaches to the other. Walk round the full-time lifeboat station at the tip and watch the pilot boats going out to the ships waiting to access the Humber.

Now up the coast to an area of Holderness immortalised in Winifred Holtby's South Riding. Well done the BBC for actually filming the TV series in the area! Turn off at Ottringham and continue to Sunk Island reclaimed from the sea. Follow the road to the banks of the Humber at Stone Creek, home to my good friend and textile artist Ruth Brown of Stone Creek Silk.  Park in Easington and take a walk to the medieval thatched tithe barn.

Re-join the coast road up to Hornsea and go back in time at Hornsea Mere where you take out a rowing boat, watch the wildlife and compete on the putting green.

After ice cream and bankruptcy in the arcades on Bridlington sea front head slightly inland to Bridlington Old Town's Georgian High Street. Browse the antique and vintage shops as seen on the BBC's Antique Road Trip.

For bird watchers and RSPB members you cannot miss out on the cliffs at Bempton just north of Bridlington. Covered in sea birds they are an ornithologists dream. Puffin watching in season is a must.

Last on my road trip is the Elizabethan Burton Agnes Hall just south of Bridlington, somewhere I only discovered myself last year. The house has been lovingly restored and brought to life in recent years and holds an amazing collection of art both old and new. Gaze in wonder at the ornate plaster ceilings. Visit in December see the rooms dressed by the family with hand-made decorations. Regular events are held in the grounds.

I have only scratched the surface of what this beautiful area offers.

David Hockney's much loved Wolds are on the doorstep as is York and Burton Constable Hall with its immaculate facilities for those of you with a caravan or motor home.

Why not combine a few days away with the chance to brush up your sewing or pattern cutting skills for all round holiday satisfaction!