My New Year’s Resolution this year is to visit every county in England…why, because there’s so much to see and do in England. Liverpool has featured on my bucket list for years and when Superbreak challenged me to visit a UK destination, I jumped at the chance to spend 48 hours in Liverpool.
G and I left home to catch our train from Milton Keynes to head up to Liverpool…it was snowing in Bedfordshire so I put on sensible shoes (I think I had a mature shoe moment = translates to ugly shoes) only to arrive into Liverpool where the sun was shining. Note to Londoners, the sun shines in the North!
We checked into the Pullman Hotel in Liverpool for the night which is located in the Docks area (it’s a super swish new hotel and has a great location), dropped off our bags and headed out to explore Liverpool.
Our first stop was the check out the Albert Dock which is the main centre now of Liverpool…
…it’s full of restaurants, bars and trendy shops…
…including a jelly bean shop…I love jelly beans…the person that created this must have had patience of a saint…
I knew I wanted to get out onto the water and have a ride of a certain ferry however due to a technical fault the ferries weren’t running on the Saturday…where’s the monk when you need him to carry you across the Mersey like they did over 600 years ago! The lovely folks at the terminal changed our tickets for the following day with no fuss and issued our tickets for the City Explorer Hop On-Hop Off Bus and for the Cathedral.
^^A Hop On-Hop Bus is an easy away to get around a city especially when trying to get your bearings in a new city or in our case, perfect as we were both sick with chest infections.
The reason why Liverpool was on my bucket list was down to the Liver Building…possibly one of England’s most famous buildings and I’m happy to say it didn’t disappoint…it’s a beauty and you could spend hours marvelling at how gorgeous the building is….
…I will limit myself to only two photos of the Liver Building.
The Cunard Building next door is just as glorious…and I may have invited myself inside and asked the lovely security man if I was allowed a peek inside…he agreed! The area looks like the inside of a beautiful old cruise ship from the 1920’s…I was in heaven.
Look at the detailing!
This part of Liverpool is seriously beautiful…
…why oh why did I move to London and not Liverpool?!?
Our tummies were starting to grumble…possibly from taking hundreds of photos of the Liver building so we popped into Ed’s Diner which does a good gluten free spread (you can read my full gluten free guide to Liverpool here)…apparently cheesy chips are a staple up north I was told, so it seemed like the right time to order my very first lot of cheesy chips *coughs* first and last time (I’m a chilli sauce and mayo kinda girl)
…we may have had a little mirror selfie action going on.
One of the guys at my work is from Liverpool and told me I couldn’t leave the city without visiting the BlueCoat Chambers (apparently they have the best tea rooms in Liverpool – I can’t confirm or deny this as I’d just eaten a chicken burger, cheesy chips and a mint milkshake so we will just have to take his word for it). The BlueCoat is Liverpool’s oldest building and now houses an art gallery…
…unfortunately it was a tad lost on G and I…
…however I enjoyed the book fair and the cute independent shops located around the court yard…
…and found a perfect spot for a shoefie in the spring flowers (the sensible ugly shoes make an appearance…sorry!)
Leaving the BlueCoat we stumbled upon the main shopping area and spotted a few lovely ladies in Liverpool shopping with their hair in curlers…seriously this made my day and I felt that my life was complete…a reason alone to visit Liverpool! We wandered around Chinatown which is actually a rather lovely spot in Liverpool…
…check out how cool those street lamps are…dragons…
…then onto the main clubbing area which during the day was deserted so we admired the street art on display…
…and waited for the perfectly timed taxi!
Liverpool is famous for having two cathedrals and it seemed rude to visit only one so I dragged G to both starting with the very impressive Liverpool Cathedral first.
^^the ice cream van is there to show the size however I love ice cream vans…possibly as they’re full of ice cream
One of the first things you notice when you enter the cathedral is the bright pink lights illuminated up against the beautiful stained windows…it’s a Ms Emin design…
…once again the guy at work told me to eat at the tea rooms inside the cathedral (I was still too full from those cheesy chips) however I was surprised to see the tea rooms actually inside the cathedral…
…we sat down to admire our surroundings…I commented to G on how warm it was inside the cathedral hence we checked to see if the cathedral had underfloor heating…seriously this is what happens when you get into your thirties, you worry how a cathedral can afford to pay it’s heating bill and how they keep it toasty warm.
Leaving the Liverpool Cathedral behind we headed down Hope Street…
…I may have got a tad snap happy as it’s all rather pretty down this street when it comes to doors…
…G may have uttered the words “it’s a door Kel, come one”…he has no idea…
…anyway we eventually got to the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral which also has tea rooms (and still I couldn’t fit in a slice of cake!)…
…I will be honest and say it wasn’t my favourite cathedral in England but probably one of the most unusual don’t you think?
We jumped back on the hop on-hop off bus and headed back to the Albert Dock for a walk along the Mersey…checking out the love locks…
^^I wonder if they’re still together
…and watching the sunset and a few guys fishing.
We ordered a gluten free pizza from Pizza Express and ate it in bed while watching movies, the perfect way to relax after a day of exploring.
Waking up bright and early for the last day of our 48 hours in Liverpool challenge we headed down to the Merseyside Maritime Museum…it’s one of the best museums that I’ve ever visited and it’s free!
Luckily the Mersey Ferry was running on the Sunday so we got to enjoy a Ferry Cross the Mersey…
…we popped off to visit the Uboat museum which is okay (check it out if you egress the ferry and then have a drink before boarding the next ferry)…and I did manage to get my favourite photo of the day on the other side of the Mersey.
Our gal, Iris!
Our next stop on our 48 hours in Liverpool challenge was The Beatles Story which is split over two sites however both are worth a visit…it was interesting to learn the local facts about the Fab Four…from how the boys met (fate!), the change of drummers (the protests), to having Epstein manage the band and their appearance (out with the scruffy and in with the smart clothes)…things I would never have known without visiting The Beatles Story. If you’re a Beatles fan (and even if you aren’t) definitely don’t leave Liverpool without visiting this fabulous exhibition!
For me the most interesting bit of information about the band was the record company that passed up on The Beatles…man you would be gutted if you were the person that went with the other band…big big mistake…and Beatlemania would never have let you forget that mistake!
There is a replica of the Cavern Club at the Albert Dock site…you can sit back and listen to The Beatles perform.
Make sure you pop into the gift shop even if it’s just to pick up a fun pair of glasses for £3…perfect for a few fun snaps around Liverpool…
…or maybe a t-shirt or two!
We went for one last wander around Albert Dock and found a sinking Titanic and a Yellow Submarine which made us both chuckle…
…you have to love Liverpool!
If you’re thinking of a weekend break away then why don’t you stay in England and visit Liverpool…you won’t be disappointed. The city is fun, vibrant and there is so much to see and do.
Disclaimer: A big thank you to Superbreak for organising our hotel and tickets to the Liverpool attractions as part of the #UKin48hours challenge.
xx
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