Pearson Park sits north-west of the centre in the leafy Avenues district and was Hull's first municipal park, opened in 1862. The park was a gift from Zachariah Pearson, a shipowner and Liberal mayor, who bought the land and presented it to the city. It is a Grade II registered Victorian park with a pond, mature trees, and a Wren-style aviary that still houses birds.
Philip Larkin lived in a flat overlooking the park while he was librarian at the University of Hull, and several of his best-known poems were drafted here. The park is a 20-minute walk from the centre but easier by bus along Beverley Road or Princes Avenue. The cafe in the old lodge is good for a coffee, and the surrounding streets are an open-air gallery of Victorian villas.