The Liver Building (England’s Largest Clock Face)
The Liver Building used to be England’s tallest until 1951, and is now Grade-1 listed (so no-one can knock it down). It’s also home to England’s largest clock face (bigger than London’s Big Ben). The two liver birds (Bertie and Bella) are based on cormorants, and look inland and towards the sea, to keep people safe. It’s said that when they fly off, the city will no longer exist!
Across the river, Birkenhead was known for its shipyards that build navy ships and ocean liners. It was here that England’s first public park opened too. It even inspired the design of New York’s Central Park.
The Calderstones is ‘Liverpool’s Stonehenge’, a circle of six standing stones (a Neolithic burial chamber) that dates back 5000 years.
Did you know that Charles Dickens was once a Liverpool policeman?
The strong Irish immigrant population of England’s most Catholic city gives rise to a ferry that can take passengers to the Emerald Isle. It is much longer than the notoriously bumpy trip from Holyhead in North Wales. And longer too at 8 hours ((191 nautical miles – 220 human miles!)an?
Needs More Dog-Friendly Spaces
Due to previous altercations with people who have not trained their dogs properly, Liverpool Council has strong rules on where dogs are allowed. This has not gone down well with people who have to now take longer trips, to find dog-friendly spaces to run and play.
Read our posts on humane dog training to prevent dog bites and fights. Always follow the countryside code, to keep all creatures safe.
The Quiet Seaside Resorts of Merseyside
Merseyside has a few seaside resorts, popular as day trips or for nearby holidays:
- Southport is just 20 miles from Liverpool, with England’s second-longest pier (after Southend-on-Sea in Essex). The New England town of Southport in the USA is named after this town, due to English settlers (like Boston and Plymouth). It’s a tiny place (just 600 people) with sandy beaches, lighthouses and white clapboard cottages. Sounds lovely!
- New Brighton sits on the Wirral Peninsula. Known for its long beach, this has been popular for years with people in the city, wishing for a day at the seaside. You can spot the old lighthouse from the shore.
- Formby is a small town with sandy beaches, and local pine woods that are home to red squirrels (providing natural habitats if far more effective than culling greys, to help this endangered species).
- Crosby sits just north of Liverpool, and again has a long sandy beach, and grassy dunes. Enjoy relaxing walks by the water, or explore quiet streets that house old churches and green parks. Crosby Beach is not for walking or swimming, due to quicksand.
Never walk on sand dunes, to protect nesting birds, seal pups and other wildlife. Also keep dogs away, especially in breeding season. Read more on keeping dogs safe by the sea.
Why Do Liverpudlians Boycott The Sun?
Football is at the heart of Liverpool, with two teams regularly competing at the top of the leagues. Read our post on greener football.
The two teams (Liverpool FC and Everton) have loyal fan bases. In 1989, the Hillsborough disaster (when 97 people were killed and many more injured in a football stadium crash) led to a city boycott of The Sun newspaper that falsely wrote that some fans had stolen from victims, urinated on dead bodies and beat up a PC giving a victim CPR.
Despite a later apology, hardly anyone in the city buys the paper (Boris Johnson while editing The Spectator also had to apologise, after approving an article that falsely claimed that drunken local fans were partly to blame).
The Sun was asked to publish its apology with similar ‘We lied’ massive headlines as they did when publishing ‘The Truth’ (which wasn’t). The paper refused, and the boycott continues to this day, with many newsagents refusing to stock the paper. Even the council voted to ask shops to sell selling it, and most supermarkets don’t even carry copies.
One campaigner wrote ‘There is no excuse for buying or reading The Sun. No matter what competitions they are running. Even if it is the only paper left in the shop. Saying you bought it to get some tokens to help your daughter’s school to buy a new computer, is not going to get you of the hook.
Tabloids make their money betting bullshit baffles brains, they cynically hold up their hands if anyone complains. And they say ‘Look all we’re doing is giving people what they want’. Scousers never buy The Sun. Billy Bragg song
The Birthplace of The Beatles
Of course, we can’t talk of Liverpool, without mentioning The Beatles (that remain one of the world’s biggest bands, decades after they split).
John Lennon (murdered at just 40) grew up in Strawberry Fields, and his partnerships with Paul McCartney and George Harrison (who wrote Something) lives on long after his death.
Ringo Starr is widely regarded as one of the best ever drummers (some universities teach his methods). Yet he almost died as a child and was left with such severe food allergies, that he has never eaten onion, garlic or spices. He has never even tasted a curry!
