We encountered our first wet weather of the trip yesterday,
which saw us in Liverpool. Liverpool is a really large city divided by the
famous Mersey River (which we took the ferry across), but it is probably best
known as being the home of the Fab Four (that’s the Beatles, for anyone who’s
spent the last fifty years on another planet). Beatles memorabilia and
exhibitions feature everywhere, but there really is much more to Liverpool than
a famous band. Liverpool’s port area is great, in fact, Liverpool has an
association with ship building and docks which goes back hundreds of years.
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| The Albert Docks, Liverpool |
Although the Titanic was actually constructed at Belfast, Liverpool provided
many of the crewmen and much of Titanic’s running gear. White Star Line, the
owners of Titanic, had its headquarters in Liverpool and in fact Titanic, Carpathia, and Californian
were all Liverpool registered ships. There is a really interesting maritime
museum that brings the city’s colourful connection with the sea to life.
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| These two buildings are part of The Three Graces - the one closest is Cunard Lines head office |
It was only thirty or so years ago that Liverpool was a
derelict and run down city. We met an African chap who had lived in Liverpool
some years ago who told us when he first arrived by boat, he didn’t even want
to get off, such was the dilapidated state of the city. However, Liverpool
revived itself, and today it is a beautiful and bustling centre.
Although the rain made it difficult for us to see many
things, we did manage a 90-minute bus trip, which we really love doing in the
larger cities (and a double-decker bus at that). In the evening, we took the
train back in and caught some more stand-up comedy, which was really quite
entertaining.
We finished off our two nights in Liverpool with a stroll along
the Hoylake promenade this morning, which faces the Irish Sea. It’s pretty much
your quintessential English beach, almost no sand to sit on, a pretty stiff
gale, and not a bikini in sight (definitely too cold for any white pointers).
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| Taken from the promenade at Hoylake looking to the Irish Sea. They really take their renewables much more seriously than we do (come to think of it, who doesn't) |
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| Watch out Bondi, this could just be the next must do destination in beaches. |
After we left Liverpool, it was off to one area of England
we had been really looking forward to, Cumbria and the Lakes, and so far we’ve
certainly not been disappointed. What a lovely area, and what a charming town
we are staying at, Penrith. Penrith is old, really old!
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| This is really old - no, not Alison, the buildings! |
There has been a town
at Penrith since at least the early thirteenth century, and there is a lot of
evidence that the Romans were in the area a thousand years before that (makes
Chiltern look positively modern). The town itself reminds me of Bath, in that
every building looks pretty much original. There is so much charm, they could
just about line the streets with it (not to be confused with the dog poo, which
they also seem to have lined the streets with).
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| A lovely little church with some ridiculously old headstones (early 1700s for some). |
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| The City Hall |
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| Quaint, ain't it! |
Tomorrow, it is off to the Lakes for the day. We are going
to do a trip on a boat and may even get some bushwalking in, ankle permitting.
We passed a shop in Penrith on the way back from the pub which sells hunting
and fishing gear, and all the tweed hats, jackets, trousers and plus-fours to
go with it. I am tempted to buy some, just so I can wear it down Reid Street
when I get back. I guess you can look like the landed gentry, even if you can’t
actually afford to be. Although, Edwin and Alison, Lord and Lady of Glenmaree
Estate does have a certain ring to it.
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