So after our Lake District week, we moved south, firstly to visit family and secondly to have a look around Liverpool. My auntie and uncle live in St Helens along with my cousins, my birth place, so I wanted to see them, and we did which was superb. Including a watch of my cousins eldest, playing football at Ruskin Drive (where I’ve played bowls with my grandad 40 years or more ago). It was a chance to reminisce a bit, and for memories to jump back into the conscience. Linda and myself left the Lakes early on the Friday, heading for a day in Liverpool, we had a plan to shop a bit and then wander around. Linda was born in Liverpool, and knows the city and for her she got to see some of the places she knew again. Myself I spent 4 years at Uni here, so know lots of the pubs and clubs through squiffy eyes! We plan to go back and look more (not through squiffy eyes) as there is an awful lot to see here. We started by looking around the shops and looking for a birthday present for myself, but I’m an awkward bugger and didn’t want anything (to be fair Linda had bought me presents already but wanted to get me something else). I was more interested in looking around. We first headed to the Bluecoat Building, the oldest building in the city centre and built in 1716 as a school for poor children (it was moved to Wavertree in the 1900s), it now stands as an arts school, a stunning looking place. From there we wandered, up Wood Street to the bombed out church of St Luke’s on Leece St, and then hung a left down Renshaw St, seeing the old Lewis’s department store (and the naked statue as Linda kept saying) and passing the Adelphi, then on to Lime St and St George’s Hall. We rounded this magnificent building and walked past the Walker Art Gallery and the Library before passing Mathew St (not Matthew St as so many people write) and back to the car. A bit of a loop but lots and lots of memories for us both.

We came back the next day with my auntie and uncle on the train, stopping off at a few watering holes to stay hydrated, before walking through the city to the Albert Docks, passing the Liver Building, a Spanish Galleon and then to the Beatles Experience. This was a first for us all and we wandered around with headsets on, enjoying a familiar story with some parts we didn’t know. All in all a superb glimpse back to a place we used to know, and one we will be back to look at again. Liverpool is an easy city centre to walk around and we are both keen to come back and visit the place properly.