Go West!

And so on Saturday, I boarded a train and headed west to Liverpool to meet my very good bloggy friend Lyn from Everyday Life.  I've lost track of how many times we have met up now, but whenever we do, we always have a really great time.

Here we are, 2 Liver birds!

 We chose Liverpool because Lyn knows it well and wanted to show me her favourite places.  I had only ever visited once - during the Derek Hatton years when the city was basically on its backside.  I'm pleased to report that as a tourist destination these days, it has a heck of a lot going for it.  It has some stunning architecture both old and new and lots to see and do.

 The docks in Liverpool brought great prosperity to the city in the olden days when a lot of our trade was with America.  The docks stretch for miles along the banks of the river Mersey.  Some of the old docks have been restored and house restaurants, shops and apartments as well as fabulous boats.

 A brand new museum has opened on the banks of the Mersey which is all about the history of Liverpool (and more).  We took a very brief look inside.

 It is a lovely museum and would make a great rainy day option.  It is free to look around too.

 The story of the docks takes up a small part of the museum but its fascinating.  The stories of every day lives of ordinary people are often the most interesting of all.

 We sat in one of the carriages of the overhead train that used to run the full length of the docks.  I loved some of the docks names.

 Liverpool has some stunning architecture with buildings that would not look out of place in Paris.  The Liver building is very famous - to the left of the picture.

 The new architecture sits very well amongst the older buildings.  Lyn noticed how the old was reflected in the new - so we snapped away!

 These were the offices of The White Star Line and had a connection with the Titanic as a lot of the staff boarded in Liverpool before collecting passengers in Southampton.  The building is empty at the moment and in need of restoration - we thought it would be interesting (but spooky) to have a look around inside.

 This amazing and huge building is actually just an air shaft for the road tunnel that runs under the river Mersey!  Liverpool to me illustrates better than any other city in the UK how a city's fortunes can rise and fall.  Liverpool has seen real wealth and also real decline.  It is great to see it back on the way up again.

 And of course everywhere you look you see images of the Liver Bird.

I took some photographs especially for one of my blog readers - Jaggerfan - who lives across the pond in America.  As you know, Liverpool is the birthplace of the Beatles and they don't let you forget it.

 We loved the blanket in the museum which was the actual one that John and Yoko used in their "Love In".

 And of course the lonely figure of Eleanor Rigby - a gorgeous and poignant bronze statue.

Many thanks for my fabulous tour Lyn.  You put right what Derek Hatton did wrong and showed me a fabulous city that I cannot wait to visit again.  xx