A Scunthorpe-born storyteller who was among the first to cross the Humber Bridge when it first opened – in his pram – has spent a year researching a remarkable way people crossed the mighty River Humber.
The Humber Hovercraft ran between Grimsby and Hull for a short period at the end of the 1960s. This method of crossing the river captured imaginations back in 1969 and inspired a new creative project in the north of England that took place over the past 12 months.
Journalist and participatory storytelling expert Paul Drury-Bradey embarked on a cocreation and archive research project, supported by Create North East Lincolnshire.
This idea became three arts-based memory-making workshops in Grimsby; archive research in Northern Lincolnshire and Hull; and a series of interactive talks in Grimsby, Liverpool and at May's York Festival of Ideas.
Paul has now published a book about the futuristic Humber Hovercraft service and he explains it is one of those pieces of northern history that has got lost to time but sparks interest when the subject pops up in conversation.
"The idea was sparked by a long-standing fascination with both public transport and the River Humber itself," he told the Mag North team. "I was born in 1981 and my Mum often talks about a long walk over the bridge with me in my pram shortly after the bridge was opened. I've got family from both the East Riding and from North Lincolnshire, so this project felt like an important piece of history to explore."
The Humber Hovercraft was a futuristic air-cushion vehicle that can travel over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces, by using blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull, or an air cushion slightly above atmospheric pressure.
.jpg)
Paul's research found that the first hovercraft that was used to transport people across the River Humber in 1969 was called Mercury and operated under a service called Hoverlink. It meant that for the first time in history, people could travel from Grimsby to Hull and vice versa in just 30 minutes.
"It is an important story for people living and working here today," he added to Mag North. "The journey via car on the Humber Bridge can take three times as long today. And the train between Grimsby and Hull is even longer. So it got me thinking that policymakers are not really 'levelling' up the Humber region are they?
"I think economic growth is directly linked to connectivity. There's a lot of untapped potential in Grimsby and Hull and their surrounding areas. But the two towns should be better connected. I'm not saying a Hovercraft is the answer, but it would be good if leaders here could do more to help people get around the region without having to get into their cars and get stuck in traffic."
The Humber Hovercraft book has been shared at a Lincolnshire Heritage special event, at the prestigious People's Powerhouse in Liverpool in April, and was part of a talk at the York Festival of Ideas in May 2025 too.
It is an 80-page volume that features unseen archive material, local people's memories, and a collection of co-created artworks from workshops in Grimsby.
Paul explained: "It is not a traditional history book, it is participatory storytelling. That means this whole Humber Hovercraft project has really been a listening exercise - I feel proud to have captured a moment in time, an energy when Grimsby and Hull civic leaders were really innovative and enterprising. Hopefully this might inspire someone to see this region in a different way again."
Limited numbers of the Humber Hovercraft book are available HERE
