Travel by numbers: The Hudson River

Four hundred years ago, Dutch explorers arrived at the mouth of what is now New York State's aquatic artery. Hannah Waldram sums it all up

(ap)

9

The number of the US highway to follow from New York City to the town of Sleepy Hollow, in the lower Hudson River Valley. Sleepy Hollow's Dutch Church and nearby Tarrytown feature prominently in Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, later made in to a film starring Johnny Depp. For dinner, try The Castle on the Hudson, in Tarrytown. castleonthehudson.com

1969

The year folk singer Pete Seeger founded the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater organisation in an effort to preserve the ecosystem of the river and estuary. The group's annual fundraiser, the Clearwater Festival, is held each June, but the symbol of the group is the Clearwater, a wooden sailing boat which offers educational tours of the river on Saturdays from April to November, from $50 (£33) per person. clearwater.org

5,344

The height, in feet, of Mount Marcy, the highest point in New York State. The Hudson begins 4,236ft up the mountain in the acre-wide Lake Tear of the Clouds. The nearby Adirondack Loj has space for 40 guests. Doubles from $155 (£105). adk.org/ad_loj

400

The number of years since a Dutch ship commanded by Englishman Henry Hudson sailed up the river in an attempt to find a passage to India. Instead, he made landfall at the island of Mannahatta (now Manhattan). The resulting trading post called New Amsterdam later became New York. Celebrations begin this Tuesday with a parade along the river, and last for a week. ny400.org

155

The number of people on board US Airways flight 1549 when it ditched in the Hudson River on 15 January. All were rescued safely. As passenger Jeff Kolodjay said at the time: "Kudos to the pilot, he did a hell of a job." US Airways is the fifth-largest US airline, with flights to America from Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. usairways.com

24

The age of American artist Thomas Cole when he took a trip up the Hudson in 1825. His landscapes, inspired by English painters such as Turner, later gave rise to the Hudson River School. Examples can be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. metmuseum.org

315

The length of the Hudson in miles. Its source lies in Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains; it later forms the border between New York City and New Jersey before emptying into Upper New York Bay. Circle Line Sightseeing cruises provides a number of tailored river tours round Manhattan starting at $21 (£14). circleline42.com

32

US presidential sequence of Franklin D Roosevelt, who was born and died in Hyde Park, close to the town of Poughkeepsie. After his death in 1945, his estate, Springwood, was taken over by the National Park Service. "All that is within me cries out to go back to my home on the Hudson River," he once said. nps.gov/hofr