When in Liverpool …………….

Boaters are able to moor in Salthouse Dock for up to 14 days …… free of charge.  How good is that?  Right in the centre of Liverpool 1!  It’s all there for the taking – it just depends upon personal motivation and energy levels!  There’s so much to do and see.

For the weekend our friends, Mick & Lynn came to find us.  Lynn was born here in Liverpool and spent the first 14 years of her life here AND Saturday was her **th birthday so it just had to happen didn’t it?!

We went off to find Anthony Gormley’s 100 cast iron figures which are spread out along Crosby beach.  When the tide comes in some of them are submerged.  I had lots of questions: – Why were they put there?  What is the point of them?  Why modelled on himself?  How long have they been there?  Why naked?  What does it all mean????????  Fellow party members knew none of the answers!  To the information board then …..

There you go then!  Obvious!!

We had some fun anyway and, at one point, there were 102 men!!

           

From Crosby we went on to Formby Point where the National Trust own a large area of beach, sand dunes and pine woods.  It really is a most beautiful section of wild coastline.  It boasts rare residential red squirrels, natterjack toads and tiger beetles!  They, all very sensibly, kept well away from the human intruders of the day.

           

Inevitably, after all that walking, we found ourselves in a pub which had LOTS of real ales on tap.  How to choose ………………

On Sunday we did ‘the tourist thing’ – we went on the City Explorer bus tour – and it was really good.  The guide was good, the route was good and the sights we saw around the city were good:-

I had wondered what this building was.  Well …………….. it was the headquarters of The White Star Line Shipping Company (of Titanic fame) affectionately called by Liverpuddlians as ‘ the streaky bacon building’!

                                     

There was just so much to see.  We stayed on the bus all the way round and then set off again with a plan in mind where to ‘hop on’ and ‘hop off’ in order to see things in more detail ………………………

                     

The impressive arch at the entrance to the Chinese area of the city.      

 

 

 

 

The two cathedrals are well worth a visit. 

The Roman Catholic Cathedral nicknamed “Paddy’s Wigwam”(!) is very modern and circular in design.  The top represents Christ’s crown of thorns.  I thought it was a stunning building and the stained glass windows inside were beautiful.  You definitely need to go inside to appreciate the full beauty of the design.

The Anglican Cathedral is the largest in Europe and the fifth largest in the world.  The architecture is definitely impressive and the altar area incredibly beautiful.

Other sights:- there are so many but:-

Lynn informed me that John Lennon had a highly decorated and famous Rolls-Royce  – I can’t ‘imagine’ (!!) that this is THE one but ……?

and a display of concrete cases of famous people who have a connection with the city just piled up on the corner of a street …….

                    and the famous Philharmonic Dining Rooms – a spectacular pub – and a peep inside at the bar ……… 

                   

and ………….. Superlambananas!!  These ‘animalesque’ sculptures, decorated in all sorts of different ways, are dotted about all over the city.  They were commissioned in 2008 as part of the celebrations for Liverpool being crowned as European Capital of Culture.  This one, “Mandy” is now safely ensconced in the Museum of Liverpool.   Different tour guides seem to have diverse explanations for their very existence!

There are LOTS of museums and galleries containing fantastic displays.  I really enjoyed ‘Liverpool Doors’ in The Museum of Liverpool.   An assortment of 34 doors are displaying humorous poems written by Roger McGough (a Liverpool man and a member of ‘Scaffold’) and have been topically decorated by Liverpool Uni Art students.

The city also bulges with shops and restaurants and, coming here and not frequenting at least some of them would be tantamount to disrespect would it not?  Megan (who also came to visit with J & Maisie) and I couldn’t do that now could we?!!

The waterfront – all of it – is absolutely fantastic.  The buildings, the canal link area, all the statues and memorials, looking across the Mersey to Birkenhead, the riverside walk ……………………… just fantastic.

AND FINALLY ……… information I hope might be of some use to anyone coming/thinking of coming with a dog.  We were guided by other boaters to walk down to and past the Liverpool Open Eye where there’s an area of grass and a dog poo bin!  We think this is the only one in L1!  From there you can walk both ways with a dog along the Riverside walk.  One day we walked all the way following The Mersey upstream to Otterspool Park and caught the bus back.  On another occasion we got the bus to Sefton Park which is a lovely area for dogs and people alike.

Our visit?  I    Liverpool!   I’m so pleased to have come.