Larkin Trail

Self-guided walk through the Hull landscapes of poet Philip Larkin, who was university librarian here for 30 years

The Larkin Trail is a self-guided walking and driving route around the Hull places that shaped Larkin's poetry. It takes in his flat overlooking Pearson Park, the Brynmor Jones Library at the University (where he was librarian), Paragon Station (where The Whitsun Weddings begins), and several pubs and corners that appear in his work. A free leaflet from the Tourist Information point at the Maritime Museum lays out the route in detail.

The Larkin statue at Paragon Station — Larkin caught mid-stride, hurrying to a train — is the most visible memorial, unveiled in 2010 on the 25th anniversary of his death. Read at least The Whitsun Weddings and Here before walking; they make sense of the city in ways no other guide does.

things to do sight walk
A story
Philip Larkin moved to Hull in 1955 to become librarian of the University and stayed until his death in 1985. He insisted Hull suited him — "I like being on the edge of things" — and many of his best poems are rooted in its streets, parks, and railway journeys. The Whitsun Weddings was drafted on a train out of Paragon Station; Mr Bleaney pictures a Hull bedsit; Here begins on the Holderness road heading east.