Great Western Coffee Shop

Nearly two year old piece ... but I noted the seaside town at Withernsea, out beyond Hull, looking to get back on the tourism map and bemoaning how things changed when they lost their railway.  Whether the loss of the railway was the cause of the change, or the railway was lost because of the other changes and it wouldn't actually have made any difference, I don't know.  They are / were asking - not for the return of the railway - but for the return of the pier.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/election-2019-50605116

There were two branched headed east from Hull - the one mentioned to the seaside town of Withernsea, and another to Hornsea.  Anyone got any more data on Hornsea?

I have briefly visited both towns and have cycled all the way down the Holderness coast, which is a fascinating area. The coast here is eroding faster than anywhere else in Britain, and many roads are dead-ends that are crumbling away in a mass of jagged pipes into the sea. It is very flat and all susceptible to flooding, as the land itself is slightly lower than the low bank that separates it from the sea, with long views over agricultural land to distant villages.

Hornsea and Withernsea are the largest towns along the coast, but both are very small compared to almost any coastal resorts elsewhere in England, and to me neither felt attractive and certainly felt depressed. Hornsea Mere, just inland from the town, is a noted wildlife haven, while Withernsea does have a wonderful tall lighthouse, situated away from the sea right in the heart of the town. Both will probably end up being washed away sometime in the next century or two, as it would be almost impossible to effectively protect them from rising sea levels and more extremes of weather.

When Hull was a major port and industrial centre, I can imagine they would have been busy with holidaymakers, but these days, even with the return of the staycation, I doubt that they would generate enough tourism to make a railway line that viable. Aldbrough, which lies between them, is a prettier village, but is even quieter. Spurn Head, some miles to the south, is definitely a place to visit if the weather is kind, full of wonderful coastal plants and layers of sand, and to me was the highlight of this whole area, but won't ever be connected to public transport (and nor to private cars these days, but you can cycle or walk there).