The
Humber Bridge was the longest single-span
suspension bridge in the world from its construction in 1981 until 1998. It is now the
twelfth longest. Before the bridge was built, a series of
paddle steamers operated from the
Corporation Pier railway station at the
Victoria Pier in Hull to the
railway pier in New Holland. Steam ferries started in 1841, and in 1848 were purchased by the
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. They, and their successors, ran the ferry until the bridge opened in 1981. The line of the bridge is similar to an ancient ferry route from
Hessle to
Barton upon Humber, which is noted in the
Domesday Book and in a charter of 1281. The ferry was recorded as still operating in 1856, into the railway era. The Humber was then across.
Foot Graham Boanas, a Hull man, is believed to be the first man to succeed in wading across the Humber since
ancient Roman times. The feat in August 2005 was attempted to raise cash and awareness for the medical research charity,
DebRA. He started his trek on the north bank at
Brough; four hours later, he emerged on the south bank at
Whitton. He is tall and took advantage of a very low tide. He replicated this achievement on the television programme
Top Gear (Series 10 Episode 6) when he beat
James May who drove an
Alfa Romeo 159 around the inland part of the estuary in a race without using the Humber Bridge.
Swimming On Saturday 26 August 1911, Alice Maud Boyall became the first recorded woman to swim the Humber. Boyall, then aged 19 and living in Hull, was the Yorkshire swimming champion. She crossed the Humber from Hull to New Holland Pier swimming the distance in 50 minutes, 6 minutes slower than the existing men's record. Since 2011, Warners Health have organised the 'Warners Health Humber Charity Business Swim'. Twelve swimmers from companies across the Yorkshire region train and swim in an ellipse from the south bank to the north bank of the estuary under the Humber Bridge over a total distance of approximately . Since then, an organised group crossing at the Humber Bridge has become an annual event, with a small number of pre-selected swimmers crossing in a 'pod' which remains close together, in aid of Humber Rescue. In 2019, Hull-based competitive open water swimmer Richard Royal became the first person to attempt and complete a two-way swim across the estuary, beginning and finishing at Hessle foreshore, with Barton on the south bank as the mid-way point, fulfilling the land-to-land criteria, covering a total of . Royal holds the record for the fastest one-way swim across the Humber (35 minutes 11 seconds) and the fastest two-way swim (1 hour, 13 minutes, 46 seconds), certified by Guinness World Records and the World Open Water Swimming Association. He raised over £900 for Humber Rescue, who provided safety support during the swim. ==Ecology==