When I was a kid the weather forecast used to be presented by a man who stood on a large floating model of the British Isles. The best bit was when he leapt from Ireland to Wales as everyone waited with baited breath to see if he would fall in the water. The model of Britain was actually in Liverpool, floating in the Albert Docks.
The docks are still much as they were in those days, but the map of Britain is no more 😦 The Albert Docks have also benefited from the arrival of a branch of Tate Modern.
We also visited a small museum showing a replica of back-to-back housing which was good. Although it was a museum, a lot of the furniture was familiar to me as my grandma had some like it.
There has also been a lot of development in the Docks area and several glassy modern buildings have sprung up.
I loved the new Museum of Liverpool, which is how a modern museum should be. Lots of colour, videos, interactive exhibits, and packed with stuff to read. We only had time to see 2 galleries (including an interesting Beatles exhibit containing their clothing, guitars etc) but it was so good that if I lived locally I could imagine visiting the museum on a rainy weekend. The building itself was also an interesting structure.
Outside, we admired the imposing Liver Buildings (with the Liver Birds on top) and watched the infamous “Ferry across the Mersey” continued its slow progress across the, um, Mersey.
The centre of Liverpool has also seen lots of redevelopment, which a new two story outdoor mall shopping centre with restaurants and bars. I was really impressed!
The only thing I remember from visiting Liverpool as a kid is the Anglican Cathedral, and the nearby “alternative” Catholic Cathedral. I think this is a really cool space. From the inside it reminds me of the Tabernacle building in Salt Lake City.
It is difficult to visit Liverpool and not see how proud the city is of its golden sons, the Beatles. The Cavern Club is a mecca for Beatles fans and tourists. Apparently the actual cavern club was a few yards away, with a different entrance. However that doesn’t stop the fans, and we went inside to watch a tribute band playing Beatles songs. It was fun to pretend we were there in the 60s to hear the real thing!
We also found a tasty burrito place which was a bonus! Just what we needed to have a great mini beak to Liverpool, which we thoroughly enjoyed, despite the rain! 🙂
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Great post and pictures! i love liverpool i try to visit at least once a year, i love the history and culture, of course there are many shops too which make it even more attractive ;). If you haven’t been on the tour bus that goes around the city i would recommend it, you learn some interesting facts and alot of history, it’s also great fun on the open top deck if the weather is nice.
Vanessa x
Thanks! 🙂 The tour bus is a great idea! I went on one in Barcelona which was fab! 🙂