It was worth crossing the Humber Bridge just to have the delicious homemade pastry I can’t stop thinking about
In dire need of exercise and fresh air after the slothful days of Christmas, I recently took a trip to the Waters’ Edge Country Park in Barton. A new boardwalk at the wetlands just opened and I was curious to explore the area for the first time.
From Hull, it’s a 45-minute bus journey from the Interchange on the 250 or 350 Stagecoach service over the Humber Bridge. By car, it is about a 26-minute drive, but remember you have to pay the toll.
My first impressions of the Visitor Centre were good. It is a remarkable-looking building, and inside is full of interactive displays and interesting facts about the wetlands and the wildlife that lives there. There are also maps of nearby walks.
I learned that, until recently, the area suffered from severe industrial blight. The BritAg and MTM chemical factories that closed down in the 1980s left behind “ground contaminated with toxic waste”.
The fate of the land was turned around when millions of pounds was poured into the rewilding of Waters’ Edge. Now the 86-acre site is cleaned up, planted with thousands of trees, and a home for many species of native animals.
According to the displays, Waters’ Edge is now part of an “ecological golden mile on the shore of the Humber” which is a “wildlife habit of international importance”. In the Visitor Centre, which is invitingly warm in the bleak mid-winter, there are also toilets, a cafe, and a shop selling interesting handmade clothes, artwork, and gifts.
Leaving the Visitor Centre, I found the new boardwalk. It is solidly made and wide enough for wheelchairs, pushchairs and mobility scooters.
It gives a good view of the pond, and here I spotted the usual suspects – Canada geese, swans, mallard ducks, and various gulls. There was also a group of black-and-white tufted ducks and possibly a little grebe diving alone at the back.
I absorbed the natural beauty, the noise of songbirds, and a beautiful wood carving of owls. The boardwalk is rather short, but it leads to various other paths you can take.
Despite the wet weather, many paths were quite dry, and, I reckon, firm and level enough to still be widely accessible. I took a flat path down an avenue of berry bushes where I saw many brightly coloured robins.
I didn’t have a map, so I let myself get pleasantly lost and, when I wanted to come back, oriented myself by the noise of the traffic on the Humber Bridge. By now, it was the afternoon and the Visitor Centre was absolutely packed, with a long queue for the Humber Hideaway Cafe.
As a plan B, for lunch I visited The Ropery Coffee Shop about a three-minute walk away. It’s located at the end of a fascinating, and very long, building called The Ropewalk, where historically ropes were made by twisting strands together.
The rest of the building is divided into separate units, mainly used for art galleries and creative spaces. The Ropery Coffee Shop was also busy – but thankfully I got a table.
An appetising counter was full of various quiches and homemade salads, so I immediately knew what I wanted. From the specials board, I ordered a vegetable pie served with honey glaze.
I was warned the pie was cooked fresh and might take a while to arrive, but it felt like only 10 minutes had passed when the food appeared at my table. And wow! It was so, so good.
To be honest, I had expected standard cafe fare, but this was several levels above what most fancy restaurants could achieve. For starters, I would bet almost anything the pastry was homemade.
It was so perfect in texture and taste, so fresh, that I’d be flabbergasted if it was not. The pie was pure heaven on a plate and the honey glaze was an unexpected delight.
Seasoned with mustard seeds, this sweet sauce was packed with flavour and gave the meal such an imaginative twist. What’s more, every single vegetable was delicious and cooked just right, including the crispy skin-on roast potatoes.
The quiche was an adverturous combination of smoked cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. It was pure-joy comfort food.
On the side I chose salad potatoes, which were garnished with fresh herbs and had a slightly fennel-like taste. They were beautiful.
I also had one of the finest salads I’ve ever eaten anywhere. It had crunchy celery and onions, with a homemade yoghurt-y dressing and perfectly balanced seasoning. Days later, and I’m still thinking about the food.
For the food at The Ropery Coffee Shop alone, I would make the trek over the bridge again. And if you want to treat yourself after walking a few miles at Water’s Edge, I can’t think of a better place to do it.