Liverpool Day Tripping

How to spend a day in Liverpool...
...it's actually quite easy to do so, as the city centre is small and compact and easy to get around. There are plenty of places to go and things to do - there are several museums and galleries including the Tate Liverpool at Albert Dock to the child-friendly World Museum, two cathedrals, and lots of shops. Of course there are also all the associations with the Beatles such as the Cavern Club. You would really need more time than a day to really even see the city and a lot longer to really have a full experience of it. There are many good reasons why Liverpool is named the 2008 European Capital of Culture - and it's worth discovering some of them for yourself.

One of the guys I know heard that Ryanair were giving flights away for 1 cent including taxes, so we decided it would be fun to take a trip somewhere - and ended up going to Liverpool. We arrived in the airport early in the morning and caught a bus into the city centre which took just over 30 minutes. We had a great time seeing the sights and then grabbed a quick dinner before heading back to the airport, quite exhausted but having had a great day.

In some senses Liverpool couldn't be described as a beautiful city, probably not aided by the numerous roadworks and building renovations going on, however, it has many landmark buildings. Nor is Liverpool a chic city, it's very much a Northern city with a touch of grim but that is part of its charm. But it is a city that is interesting, full of interesting places and people and simply a great place to go to.

Quick Tips:

Liverpool has a good tourist information, but website can be found at www.visitliverpool.com. Also if you are arriving into the airport there is a small tourist information office which is useful to pick up information and maps of the city.

Best Way To Get Around:

Liverpool is well connected into the train network and coach network in England with both the train station and coach station being close to the city centre. The John Lennon airport is on the edge of the city and is linked to the city centre with a bus link (Airlink 500) that leaves every 20 minutes to 30 minutes depending on time of day from just outside the arrivals door. It stops in the city at the coach station, main train station and at several other points.

The city is well served by buses and details of routes can be found at www.merseytravel.gov.uk, which also has a useful journey planner.
Since I was short of time, I decided to buy a ticket for the City Sightseeing tour bus, which is a red open-top double decker and allows you to hop-on and off at various sights - see my review of it - but simply it is only useful if you are short of time. My parents visited a few weeks before and said that the Yellow Duckmarine was a good option for a tour of the city in an amphibious vehicle.

However, the city is not huge, and you can walk much of the city centre without having to rely on transport to get around, but some of the sights further out of the centre you'll probably need to catch a bus.

This is the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Liverpool. Work began on the site to build this cathedral in the 1930s with an elaborate plan of the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. However, World War II slowed work and it came to a standstill in 1941, and the grand scheme was abandoned. In the 1960s, new designs were sought that fitted with the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. The successful design was that of Sir Frederick Gibberd, which incorporated the crypt of the earlier work, and was completed and consecrated in 1967. Its design was significantly different and new at the time as it was circular in design with the altar being in the centre. It has been nicknamed Paddy's Wigwam because of its shape but also the large number of Irish who came and settled in Liverpool, and increased the Catholic population of the city.

Arriving at the front of the Cathedral it has a grandness to its entrance with wide steps leading up to it. The entrance hall has a series of stands giving details of the cathedral and its history. Inside, there is a guide who will try and answer your questions, and who has leaflets for free (available in quite a few languages) detailing all the elements in the cathedral. There are a series of side chapels around the outside dedicated to various saints, Mary and so on. But most stunning is the stained glass which is in deep and varying shades of blue. Its an interesting example of church architecture and worth a wander around.

The cathedral is open from 8am to 6pm everyday, and there is no entrance fee but rather they ask for donations. There is a small visitor centre, shop, and cafe just beside the steps up to the cathedral. Further information about the cathedral including services can be found at www.liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk.

This is one of Liverpool's two Cathedrals and is the largest Cathedral in Britain. It was built between 1904 and 1978 based on the design of a young architect Giles Scott, who was was considered an unknown and who had little experience. His original design was elaborate Gothic-style cathedral but the design was altered with a more modern Gothic style being the result, and was built with local sandstone. The tower which is 100m tall contains the highest and heaviest bell peal in the world.

The church is quite beautiful - in fact its size is incredible, and the sense of space is immense. It is possible to climb the tower - well a fair amount of the journey up and down is made lifts and only the last section involves stairs. Entrance to the cathedral is free with donations encouraged, but there is a cost to climb the tower of £4. However, the views of Liverpool from the top are great and you can see many of the key Liverpool skyline landmarks, and also well beyond the city. You can also see the bells in the tower. Entrance to the tower also gives you access to the embroidery gallery which is full of church vestments that are intricately embroidered with detailed designs - but it also provides a different viewpoint to the cathedral.

As you enter the cathedral there is an information desk which is staffed by volunteers who will try and help you in your visit to the cathedral. There is a small shop in the cathedral and also two cafes - Mezzanine Café and the Refectory. We had coffee in the Mezzanine Cafe which had really delightful cakes, and was quite an impressive place to enjoy coffee while looking at the grandeur of the cathedral.

The cathedral is open daily from 8am to 6pm but the tower, cafes and shop have shorter opening hours. Details about the cathedral can be found on its website www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk.

This is an outpost of the famed Tate Gallery of London, and is located in the regenerated Albert Dock. The old warehouse provides great space for the artwork housed here and has a simple layout. The gallery displays selections from the Tate's modern art collection and so the exhibits change, also the top floor hosts special exhibitions. I was quite disappointed to have missed a display of contemporary art from China. However, there was a fascinating exhibition about art in Liverpool over the past 50 years which had a create variety of media including painting, photography and film. It was an intrigue view of how Liverpool has been viewed and influenced artists. Not only do the exhibitions change but also the displays that are selected from the entire Tate Collection, and details of what is on display can be found on the website: www.tate.org.uk/liverpool.

The Tate Liverpool is open from 10am to 6pm daily in June, July, and August, however from September to May it is closed on Mondays. Admission is free except to the special exhibition. In the basement there is a cloakroom were you can check in bags and coats. There is also a small shop in the entrance hall. The is no photography allowed.

This art gallery is well worth the visit if you are in Liverpool. Its location in Albert Dock may not be right in the city centre, but it is a perfect position in this interesting part of Liverpool's history that is also picturesque. Albert Dock has several other museums, shops and cafes and is a pleasant area to wander around. Tate Liverpool maybe small but its collection and exhibitions are well selected to make it interesting. It size is part of what I found appealing as i wasn't intending to spend an entire day in the gallery and so I saw the entire collection and wasn't tired looking at pieces by the time I left, but rather left enthused and refreshed.

This is a great museum where to take kids. It's split into five floors and each floor has a different display that will appeal to children. There is a bug house full of creepy crawlies which explains their life cycles. There is a small aquarium with both tanks of colourful tropical fish and also tanks with local sealife. Probably the most boring display is one of ancient cultures as it's the least interactive and it simply displays various artefacts. When I was there, there was a great interactive display about animating the Wallace and Gromit films, which we even enjoyed it.

The museum is quite hands on, colourful, and all the exhibits are designed for children. It would be a great place to take kids for the afternoon, especially as entrance to the museum is free. There is also a coffee shop and a shop in the museum.

Not quite being a kid, it probably wasn't all that great though I loved the giant mechanical fly that is in the entrance to the bug display. However, I can easily imagine I would have loved this place as a child.

City Sightseeing have many hop-on hop-off buses in different cities but I wasn't all that impressed with the Liverpool version. Since we only had a few hours in Liverpool to sightsee, we decided that this bus was a good option to get quickly between the various sights in the city centre. That I cannot fault, it did go past and stop at all the main tourist sites - the 2 cathedrals, Chinatown, Albert Dock, Mersey ferry are all on the route. So our reason for using it was fulfilled.

We caught up with the bus at the Catholic Cathedral, and bought a ticket from the driver- that is another benefit of this bus is you can buy a ticket from the driver at any stop on its route. All the drivers were very pleasant and efficient. The open decked double-decker was great as it was a beautiful, hot sunny day, so the breeze was very appreciated as well as great views driving around. The tour commentary is pre-recorded in English, so is dependent on the driver making precise timings on the route to line everything up correctly. The commentary also wasn't great in quality with what I think were several errors. Since we got on and off a couple of times, we managed to go round the whole route a couple of times but you could plan your time a little better than we did if you look at the map and timetable.

If you want a tour of Liverpool, there are other options that you probably should try out. However, if you are looking for ease and speed of reaching all the sights of the city then this is a reasonable option.

Tickets cost £6 with concessions available and are valid for 24 hours. Buses stop at each stop every 30 minutes and the full tour takes an hour.
Details of the Liverpool tour can be found on the company's website at: www.city-sightseeing.com including a map and full timetable.

This Museum is based in a warehouse on Albert Dock and tries to trace history of the port of Liverpool. This was a large and busy port in its days, handling a lot of the transatlantic shipping. The musuem is spread over several floors and it is divided into several different galleries that reveal different aspects of the port.

The Titanic, Lusitania and the Forgotten Empress gallery details the stories of these tragic ships. These ships were symbols of the greatness of Edwardian Britain and its ingenuity and enginering. All three of these grand passenger liners sank between 1912 and 1915. Then there is also a gallery depicting the role of the merchant navy, especially their importance during Word War II, which is emphasised in a display on the Battle of the Atlantic. The museum also details how Liverpool was also a major departure point for many emigrants to North America with 9 million people emigrating between 1830 and 1930.

There's a a display on one of the darker sides of the port - its involvement in the slave trade. Liverpool was heavily involved in the trade in the 18th century until the trade was banned in 1807. The display was in the basement but a new, larger display is opening on the third floor with a new name 'the International Slavery Museum.' The display provides insight into this horrendous trade and how Liverpool was involved.

Also on the ground floor of the building is the HM Customs and Exercise Museum. This is a hands-on museum detailing some of the work of this agency in protecting the country for smuggling of many kinds. It is designed to be kid-friendly but has interesting displays on the work past and present of the Customs service, and I really enjoyed a quick wander around the display.

All three of the museums are in the same building. I really enjoyed both the Maritime and Customs museums and they are worth a visit if you are in Liverpool. The museums are open daily 10am to 5pm and entrance is free. Details on the museums can be found on the website: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk

The Albert Dock was a warehouse complex built in 1846 and was used as docks and warehouses until 1972, but then became derelict. It was redeveloped in the 1980s. It became the backdrop for morning TV with 'This Morning' being recorded here for several years, (but its now moved to London) and so became a familiar backdrop to many people across the UK.

Albert Dock is the largest group of Grade one listed buildings, and so is considered a valuable piece of Britain's maritime history. It's quite a grand building considering that it was build as docks and the renovation has made a derelict area into quite a tourist attraction. There are several museums based here including the Merseyside Maritime Museum and the Tate Liverpool, both of which are great places to visit. There is a pleasant walkway around the dock which has several shops, cafes, and restaurants. Several ships are docked here and reflect how this was once a busy dock and warehouse.

Entrance to Albert Dock is free and is a interesting place to wander around and spend some time in the museums and gallery and to grab a cup of coffee. There are also great views of waterfront of Liverpool as well.