Saturday, July 13, 2013

Saturday 13 July 2013. Liverpool. Albert Docks, Ferry, Museums


After a night to forget at the Ramada Encore Hotel what with the party downstairs until about midnight and the oppressive heat, we (Lyn) awoke late to another warm day.

Since the forecast was indeed for a very warm day Mick said that we should head to the seaside so we headed off to Albert Docks to catch the “Ferry ‘cross the Mersey…..”. That will probably go straight over the heads of the under 60’s so to clarify, that is the name of a 60’s hit recorded by Gerry and the Pacemakers.

 The band leader, Gerry Marsden was born in Liverpool and due to his philanthropy, he was awarded an MBE in 2003 and more recently, the freedom of the city of Liverpool.

We entered the postcode into our 2 GPS’s and headed into Liverpool.

It didn’t take us long to hit the city and we successfully navigated the traffic to the Q Park which is a massive underground car park right next to the Albert Docks. It consists of 3 levels and the 3rd level is at ground level and the other 2 are below ground if that makes sense.

There appeared to be several exits from the car park so we didn’t know which one to take to come up at the Docks so we guessed and got it right.

When we surfaced it was a short walk to the docks which were undergoing redevelopment which was nearly complete. What a great place it was as the area was a huge vehicle free plaza and there were lots of people enjoying the sunshine.

Fortunately, as Mick had predicted, there was a lovely cool sea breeze which provided perfect weather for our visit.

We went and bought our tickets for the ferry which for £6 each provided a 50 minute round trip up the River Mersey stopping at 2 terminals.

As the next ferry departure wasn’t for 30 minutes, Lyn went to the coffee shop to get coffees whilst Mick went outside to find a nice table to sit at.

As all the tables were occupied Mick muscled in on a table occupied by 2 ladies (there were 2 spare chairs!) outside the coffee shop which was in a nice shady spot.

When Lyn arrived with the coffee he was deep in conversation with the elderly lady and her daughter who, off course, had a daughter in Melbourne, Australia. Don’t they all.

After our coffee we joined the large number of people boarding the ferry.

It was very nice on the river and there was a commentary describing our surroundings as we traveled whilst Mick wandered around the boat taking photos from all decks.

After the trip we visited a number of museums around the dock including the Museum of Liverpool and The Merseyside Maritime Museum which had free entry. Lyn joined Mick at the Liverpool Museum and then went off shopping whilst Mick did the Maritime Museum.

After walking for miles our feet were really tired so we sat down and watched the passing people for a while before returning to our car and paying the £11 parking fee and returned to our hotel. 
 The Mersey Ferry






    Liverpool's Three Graces Buildings at Albert Dock L-R, The Royal Liver building, Cunard building and the Port of Liverpool building.


Man in a black kilt with many tattoos





                                                               


                                                            
 Sculpture of Billy Fury iconic 60's singer. He died in 1983 of heart failure

1 comment:

  1. Billy Fury had rheumatic fever as a youngster which left his heart affected and contributed ultimately to his death. I don't recall much of Billy Fury myself, hence I must conclude that his fame did not spread much outside England.

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