Sussing out Liverpool.

The wind was so strong in the night that I had to get up at 0100 to adjust the moorings as the ropes were surging in the swell in the dock. The rudder was also banging on the hull. Afterwards all was okay and through out Helen never woke at all!

In the morning we first went to the Tourist Information to get our time here sorted and then wandered up to the nearest Tesco's to stock up on provisions and use our vouchers. After a bit of lunch we wandered into town. The architecture in Liverpool is fantastic with things to notice where ever you look, upwards. Here on the Waterfront there is a great mix of old and new. I'm not sure where I fit in though. Unfortunately the camera packed up at this stage and we had to resort to the  the 'little' one.

Canning Dock near Pier Head with the Bar Light Vessel on the right and the Liver Building just showing between the modern buildings.

On the way back from Tesco we came across these Gates near the Liverpool 1 Shopping area. They were from the old Sailors Home. The Home was built in 1850 and closed in 1969 and the building knocked down in 1974. I started at sea in 1974 and close to Canning Place was the Seamans's Mission that took over from this place. I joined my first ship from there that year. It was a block of flats type building and it seems to have all gone gone to make way for the Liverpool 1 shopping centre. The gates actually killed the wife of the the Homes Porter in 1852 when the heavy iron door swung closed and crushed Mary Ann Price. In 1907 it also killed a Police Constable Locke who had helped to open the gate when it fell and crushed his skull. When the building closed the gates went back to the maker, Avery in Sandwell. Birmingham, where they were displayed as a good example of the company's art. The Home was demolished in 1974 and the site unused until about 2005 when Liverpool 1 was built. In 2011 the gates were returned to the site.

After lunch we wandered in to town to wend out way over to the St. Georges Quarter. We passed the Liverpool Town Hall. It is a lovely building and must be great at night with the chandeliers lit and shining through the large windows.

Liverpool Town Hall.

A beautiful hidden alleyway.

The Central Library and Walker Art Gallery.

We didn't go to either of the above places but the one next door, the World Museum. There are five varied floors and we sat and saw the planetarium show. We left at about 1630 and decided to head in to the shopping area to see if we could find another planter for the boat. It meant a visit to several shops in the St. John's modern shopping centre. After a while we decided we needed a drink but the pub we went into seemed to not have one 'real ale' on tap. We went next door to the Lion Tavern on Tithebarn Street. It has lovely tiles and old radiators and there is a news reading room. We got talking to the barmaid and the result was she gave us a map with 70 real ale pubs in the centre. We are now thinking of extending out stay in Liverpool!