'Hull is my hometown - it's so underrated I wouldn't want to live anywhere else'

I was born at St James’s Hospital in Leeds, spent my early years living in Moortown and then moved to just outside Hull at the age of four. So, Yorkshire has been in my heart and soul from the very beginning.

What’s your favourite part of the county – and why?

Every part of Yorkshire has something good to offer. I love the coast and would say that Scarborough lifts my spirits more than anywhere.

I have been there for many happy days visiting the castle, watching cricket at North Marine Road, or motor cycling at Oliver’s Mount, or taking a speed boat from the harbour. Fish and chips are essential.

What’s your idea of a perfect day, or a perfect weekend, out in Yorkshire?

I am a huge horseracing fan and love all the different racecourses in Yorkshire. A weekend in Middleham, an early morning up on the gallops and an afternoon’s racing at Ripon would take some beating.

Do you have a favourite walk – or view?

I absolutely love walking our wonderful spaniel, Pumpkin, on Beverley Westwood. We are so lucky to have that glorious open space freely accessible.

I often walk the old Tan Gallop for a mile round, where racehorses were exercised when Beverley was a significant racehorse training centre. I remember most of the Beverley trainers from when I was a Junior Member at Beverley Racecourse in the 1960s.

Which Yorkshire sportsperson, past or present, would you like to take for lunch?

Matt Fitzpatrick, the top professional golfer from Sheffield, would be fascinating for lunch, preferably after a round of golf at somewhere like Ganton or Alwoodley or his former golf course, Hallamshire.

Which Yorkshire stage or screen star, past or present, would you like to take for dinner?

It might be quite a lively evening, but a night out with Sheffield’s Sean Bean would be a lot of fun. He would have some stories to tell.

If you had to name your Yorkshire ‘hidden gem’, what would it be?

It’s not exactly hidden, but I would recommend a walk to Spurn Point. It takes quite a long time to get there, but the birdlife and the landscapes are unique features of the county’s eastern coast.

If you could choose something in Yorkshire to own for a day, what would it be?

To own Castle Howard for a day would certainly impress friends and family. It is the most beautiful setting in the heart of the county. I remember Brideshead Revisited from the 1980s filmed there.

What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?

The wonderful blend of Moors, Dales, Wolds and coast, matched by fine cities such as York, Leeds, Sheffield and Hull, together with down-to-earth, friendly people. Yorkshire has everything you could want.

Do you follow sport in the county, and if so, what?

Most sports – football, rugby league, golf and cricket in particular. Football to watch and golf to play would be my favourites.

I am a lifelong Hull City supporter, having attended my first match in 1961. I am also a keen follower of non-league football and I regularly watch North Ferriby FC in the Northern Premier League.

I have played many of the golf courses in Yorkshire and I was a member of Alwoodley GC when I worked in Leeds.

I am also a past member of Yorkshire County Cricket Club and have watched Yorkshire over the years from Bradford to Leeds, Harrogate, Scarborough and even to Hull.

I am also a swimmer and have swum the River Humber, which is the second most dangerous navigable waterway in the world after the Orinoco.

Do you have a favourite restaurant, or pub?

The Star at Sancton has been a favourite place to go for a family Christmas lunch. The Pipe and Glass at South Dalton is also top class.

We spent my wife Jo’s 70th birthday at the Fox & Hounds at Sinnington, which is a lovely part of the county.

Do you have a favourite food shop?

Fodder at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate has the best of Yorkshire food and drink. There are so many brilliant farm shops in Yorkshire. Cedar Barn at Pickering is one of the very best, run by the very nice Avison family.

How do you think that Yorkshire has changed, for better or for worse, in the time that you’ve known it?

Yorkshire is really unchangeable. The very best of the Yorkshire countryside and coast has remained largely unspoilt and I hope it always will be.

The growth of Leeds as a financial centre has been spectacular since I worked there in the 1970s. I genuinely can’t think of anything which has changed for the worst (politics apart).

If you had to change one thing in, or about Yorkshire, what would that be?

Perhaps a slight inferiority complex compared to London and the Southeast. We have so many wonderful things to shout about. I wish our voice was louder and that Andy Burnham came from Yorkshire.

Who is the Yorkshire person that you most admire?

William Wilberforce, Hull’s most famous son. What a legacy he left behind. Politician, abolitionist and philanthropist. I have a grandson called Wilberforce. For more than 20 years I have worked on the High Street in Hull’s Old Town, where Wilberforce lived.

Has Yorkshire influenced your work?

I have worked in Leeds and Hull for most of my life and for a couple of years in Holme Upon Spalding Moor towards York. I love that I don’t really have to commute any great distance.

The people and the culture of Yorkshire have had an influence throughout my working life.

Yorkshire people, despite their reputation for plain-speaking, are generally friendly, understated and humble. It has been a privilege to work with so many delightful people throughout my career.

Name your favourite Yorkshire book/author/artist/CD/performer.

As Secretary of the Philip Larkin Society, I have to say that my favourite writer/poet is Philip Larkin.

He wasn’t born here, but he spent the most productive 30 years of his life as Head Librarian at the University of Hull 1955-1985 and he is arguably the best-loved post-war British poet.

His poetry is probably quoted more often than any other poet of more recent times.

If a stranger to Yorkshire only had time to visit one place, where should it be?

It must be Hull, which has so much to offer and is so underrated.

It has wonderful buildings, museums, art galleries, theatres, a Premier League football team, two Super League rugby league teams, a thriving music scene and easy access to glorious coast and countryside.

In the Queen’s Centre for Oncology and Haematology at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham, we have one of the foremost cancer centres in the UK.

It is a great place to live and work. I love Hull and would not want to live anywhere else.