The Graces of Liverpuuuuul

Liverpool is a friendly, vibrant city with lots to see, do, and hear. We had a walking tour guide who spoke like John Lennon, and a couple of taxi drivers whose fare was worth the conversation. The bonus was the weather which was sunny and warm (in Liverpool terms), enabling us an expansive view from the top of the tower of the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, the largest cathedral in the UK. The scale of this building is enormous, and unusually for cathedrals it is a 20th Century construction, being completed in 1978.

I preferred the Catholic Cathedral, also a 20th Century building. With a seating capacity of 2200, its size is impressive, as it its circular shape. On the outside, the round structure rises cone-like to be topped with the Crown of Christ. Inside the stained glass casts colour over the simple space where the altar takes centre place with seating all around – no “bus seating” here!

Liverpool’s famous Three Graces – The Liver Building, the Cunard Building, and The Maritime Authority Building Liver Building line the former dock area in a potent reminder that Liverpool’s prosperity was built around its port. Indeed, the British Empire’s prosperity owed much to Liverpool, a fact that has been recognised in Liverpool’s listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As a result, the city has an interesting Maritime Museum which does address the darker side of its history as a port in the International Museum of Slavery.

Liverpool’s more recent claim to fame involves music. We rode the “Ferry ‘Cross the Mersey” while listen to the Gerry and the Pacemakers song, took photos of ourselves with the statues of four other famous Liverpudlians, went to the Beatles museum, and spent the evening in a very warm Cavern Club, apparently the most famous club in the world, hearing “the best Beatles tribute band in the world”.