Going to Liverpool wasn´t planned – but when I had realized how near it was to Manchester & Lancaster it was an easy decision to cut Lancaster one day short, hop on the train and go to the birthplace of the Beatles. After being greeted by Queen Victoria it was love at first sight!
The train brought me right to the city centre and it was just a short walk to my hotel and to the Royal Albert Docks. Filled with people and food trucks and many more things – even so, it was raining most of the time.
The Royal Albert Docks are a complex of warehouses and dock buildings opened in 1846. They were the first buildings in the UK completely built from cast iron, brick and stone – no wood at all was used. That wasn´t the only thing that made them quite revolutionary: ships were loaded and unloaded directly from or to the warehouses. In 1848 it featured the world first hydraulic cranes.
Being damaged in the World War II the future of the docks was uncertain and it was closed in 1972. It took about ten years until a development corporation was set up, the dock newly developed and reopened in 1984. Today the docks house multiple shops, restaurants, pups, Tate Liverpool and the Beatles Experience – my next stop!
The museum is nicely done but doesn´t tell you anything new (if you´ve been a Beatles fan since you were four years old) and of course, it was filled with people. Maybe that was the reason I went through quite quickly and moved on along the Pier Head.
The whole area seems to be newly developed and restored and is just stunning! There are some museums on the way, like how a house looked during the Blitz on average, a maritime museum, Music Experience, memorials and much more different things.
The best way to look at the waterfront is from a boat – or better said the ferry.
We seem to have a blind passenger on board?!
She sat there for quite a while, even seagulls like boat rides!
The waterfront runs along the river Mersey and really shows off the impressive (private) and commercial architecture of the city. Warehouses, docks and stunning buildings inspired by skyscrapers in Chicago!
The warehouse on the left is the new Titanic Hotel, White Star Line was based in Liverpool and the warehouse on the right is undergoing renovations at the moment. That clock tower is also super important and special but I forgot why.
View of the lighthouse.
Royal Albert Dock
“The Three Graces” – the Liver building on the left was once Europes tallest building in 1911 and was inspired by Chicago’s skyline.
The Copper Liver Birds (best guess = cormorants) on top, by George Cowper and the Bromsgrove Guild face outwards to the river and inwards to the city – and rise to 18 feet. Should they leave their perch, it’s said, the city will fall. They’ll certainly leave a nasty gash in the pavement. (Liverpool Underlined)
The one in the middle was the former office of the Cunard Line and was inspired by Italian Palazzos. And third in line, the Port Of Liverpool building, featuring “Eight octagonal towers surround a dome once destined for an ambitious Catholic cathedral”, the dome was added later in the design process to have the building standing out more. (Liverpool Underlined)
The Fab Four from behind – too many people taking selfies on the other side – and I like how they look out on the waterfront and the river.
On my way back to the hotel I did a little detour around the Cavern Area – or like I called it the Beatles quarter!
Liverpool is such a vibrant and interesting city, I just have to come back – there is so much more to see and do!
