Both myself and Donna have visited many of the large UK cities, but one place that neither of us had visited was Liverpool. Donna had been there on a flying work charity visit to John Lewis, but it was simply there and back with nothing else in-between, and none of my previous visits had been of a sightseeing nature. I'd travelled to watch Rotherham United in the past, both to Anfield and Goodison Park in cup games, and I'd also worked there very briefly on a couple of occasions MANY years ago; so well worth a visit for a couple of days.
It was only a week or so ago that we'd come up with this plan, and after setting about looking for accommodation for 1 night Donna had found a 2-bed apartment on a new complex called 'The Block' on Kings Dock. And at £70 for a night it was a brilliant find.
We travelled over on Sunday morning and arrived at around 11:30am, so by 11:45am we had parked up in the multi-storey that was part of the same building as the apartments, and were off to see what we could find in the local area. We ventured around the docks for a while taking in the grandeur of the Albert Dock and the surrounding area. If you've never been it's a stunning location and well worth a visit.
After passing the new Museum of Liverpool; which is the biggest Museum to be built in the UK in the last 100 years, we were faced with the 'Three Graces': The Royal Liver Building, the Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building, all glorious beacons of the city to greet people entering Liverpool from the Mersey. Certainly a view that you could never forget.
From here we picked up the Sightseeing Tour; Donna had booked the tickets in advance. The tour took us around the city, venturing past many of it's famous landmarks with the customary narration that you expect on a 'tour bus'. There were various places that you could stop off but we decided to stay on for the full hour so that at the end of the journey we could have lunch. We jumped off at the last stop before the end of the journey, and ventured into the Liverpool One shopping centre. We hadn't gone far far before the smell of the Pizza Hut drew us in. Yes it was a safe choice, but we were starving so we just didn't care what we ate and as always we came out stuffed to bursting and wouldn't need to eat again all day.
We then headed back to check in to the apartment, freshen up, grab a cuppa then off out again. We wrapped up well as the wind was bitter off the Mersey and it was now around 5:30pm so the temperature was dropping. In fact we chose to each wear pyjama bottoms under our trousers for added protection! This time we ventured further up the docks but went via Albert Dock again so we could get a feel for the area at night when it was all lit up. It didn't disappoint. By 8pm we had arrived back at the apartment and were ready to chill out for a couple of hours.
On Monday morning were had breakfast and were out of the apartment by 9:30am. We took a different route around the docks to the Merseyside Maritime Museum at the far end of Albert Dock. The same building also houses the International Slavery Museum so we spent a couple of hours there; to be honest 2hrs only just touches the surface of the museum, you could quite easily spend a full day there is you wanted to take everything in. It's certainly worth a visit and some of the stuff in their can get you quite emotional, from the stories of the sailors lost at sea in wartime, to that of the atrocious slave trade.
Now back out into the fresh air, and I mean fresh air as we boarded the Mersey Ferry for the river explorer cruise; 50 minutes out on the Mersey and when the wind is blowing straight at you, by god you know about it! It takes you over to Birkenhead to see the shipyards by the river, and then loops back along Liverpool Waterfront to enjoy the great views from the water.
By the time we came off the ferry we were starving, and thankfully it was lunchtime. After having a walk around the docks to check out the eating establishments on offer we chose Smugglers Cove. Now Donna had read a number of reviews on the internet and whilst the vast majority were extremely complimentary, there were the odd few that were critical of the staff.
However we gave it a try and certainly were not disappointed. The food and service was excellent, the decor really made you feel like you were hidden away from the law selling your smuggled jewellery, and there was the added twist of the unusual way that they served the food. Our burgers came in what could only be described as a shallow barrel missing it's lid. We'll definitely be back there next time we visit.
It was now close to 3pm, so to reduce the possibility of getting stuck in traffic on our 110 mile journey back home we set off. And 3hrs later we had landed....
It was only a week or so ago that we'd come up with this plan, and after setting about looking for accommodation for 1 night Donna had found a 2-bed apartment on a new complex called 'The Block' on Kings Dock. And at £70 for a night it was a brilliant find.
We travelled over on Sunday morning and arrived at around 11:30am, so by 11:45am we had parked up in the multi-storey that was part of the same building as the apartments, and were off to see what we could find in the local area. We ventured around the docks for a while taking in the grandeur of the Albert Dock and the surrounding area. If you've never been it's a stunning location and well worth a visit.
After passing the new Museum of Liverpool; which is the biggest Museum to be built in the UK in the last 100 years, we were faced with the 'Three Graces': The Royal Liver Building, the Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building, all glorious beacons of the city to greet people entering Liverpool from the Mersey. Certainly a view that you could never forget.
From here we picked up the Sightseeing Tour; Donna had booked the tickets in advance. The tour took us around the city, venturing past many of it's famous landmarks with the customary narration that you expect on a 'tour bus'. There were various places that you could stop off but we decided to stay on for the full hour so that at the end of the journey we could have lunch. We jumped off at the last stop before the end of the journey, and ventured into the Liverpool One shopping centre. We hadn't gone far far before the smell of the Pizza Hut drew us in. Yes it was a safe choice, but we were starving so we just didn't care what we ate and as always we came out stuffed to bursting and wouldn't need to eat again all day.
We then headed back to check in to the apartment, freshen up, grab a cuppa then off out again. We wrapped up well as the wind was bitter off the Mersey and it was now around 5:30pm so the temperature was dropping. In fact we chose to each wear pyjama bottoms under our trousers for added protection! This time we ventured further up the docks but went via Albert Dock again so we could get a feel for the area at night when it was all lit up. It didn't disappoint. By 8pm we had arrived back at the apartment and were ready to chill out for a couple of hours.
On Monday morning were had breakfast and were out of the apartment by 9:30am. We took a different route around the docks to the Merseyside Maritime Museum at the far end of Albert Dock. The same building also houses the International Slavery Museum so we spent a couple of hours there; to be honest 2hrs only just touches the surface of the museum, you could quite easily spend a full day there is you wanted to take everything in. It's certainly worth a visit and some of the stuff in their can get you quite emotional, from the stories of the sailors lost at sea in wartime, to that of the atrocious slave trade.
Now back out into the fresh air, and I mean fresh air as we boarded the Mersey Ferry for the river explorer cruise; 50 minutes out on the Mersey and when the wind is blowing straight at you, by god you know about it! It takes you over to Birkenhead to see the shipyards by the river, and then loops back along Liverpool Waterfront to enjoy the great views from the water.
It was now close to 3pm, so to reduce the possibility of getting stuck in traffic on our 110 mile journey back home we set off. And 3hrs later we had landed....
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