Blogs from Merseyside, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 4

I began my walk at 6am. No one was about. It was cool but not overly so. Headed to the cliff walk to see that the tide was out and the yachts tilted to the side as they stuck fast to the mud. Rabbits galore scurrying from bush to bush, hole to hole. Squirrels too. Overhead numerous sea birds flying to their destination in perfect V formation. The sun was yet to rise but would do soon. Still no one about. Best time to be out. I headed to the sea wall in front of the small township of West Kirby. No breeze and witnessed the sun rise and come from behind a few clouds as I stood out on the sea wall. Reminded me of home in the early morning when I head out onto ... read more

Caldy is a small, affluent village on the Wirral Peninsula, England, located to the south east of West Kirby and is situated on the eastern side of the Dee Estuary. The historic village is characterised by the following: Winding roads with sandstone walls • properties enclosed by high walls with private yards or gardens • well maintained public or semi-public spaces with shrubs and herbaceous plants with a mixture of winding and long straight roads overhung with mature trees • Relatively high density • Low building heights • ‘single material’ houses • use of natural stone, pale brown brick or ‘black and white’ • many houses have eaves dormers, mullioned windows and kneelers on gables • Vertical boarded timber front fences A very 'take-it-easy' day. A relaxing, if not cold, walk for an hour or so ... read more

I usually spend much too much time describing the journey of getting to where I am going, so this time I am going with the abbreviated version. Dropped at Canberra Airport, through to Sydney, KL then London. Each time making use of the lounge. Flight out of KL delayed but still got into London ok. Then it was the Heathrow Express, to the tube and finally a train to Liverpool, then a taxi to the Airbnb, arriving a little before 2pm after leaving home a good 36 hours previously. A quick shower and we headed out for a bit of an orientation tour down to Albert Dock. Ended up visiting the Tate Liverpool despite neither of us really liking modern art, but we were trying to kill a little time before going to bed. So we ... read more

Southport has the second longest pier in Britain. The longest one is at Southend on Sea. It was also a long time since I visited my uncle and so there I was catching a train from London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street (Name itself gives you a pleasant zest for life). At Liverpool, I changed train to Merseyrail (nice name) to reach the little village of Ainsdale. Ainsdale is designated as a national nature reserve for its miles and miles of sand dunes which have their unique flora of shrubs and grasses. One of the unique ones is called Helleborines. I arrived on time to enjoy their kind hospitality. It was so lovely to meet my aunt who had not changed a bit from all the years I have known her. We drank tea with scones ... read more

After our sojourn in Ireland, Caribbean Princess returned to the UK where our next port of call was Liverpool. Liverpool was a city I very much wanted to visit. My great-grandparents had sailed from here for America. Several of my ancestors lived or were married here. Caribbean Princess docked at the Liverpool Cruise Terminal, the latest iteration of the Liverpool Landing Stage. The location is ideal, adjacent to Pier Head, with a view of the "Three Graces" World Heritage buildings and downtown Liverpool. Liverpool has heartily embraced the cruise ship business, as evidenced by dockside greetings by the Liverpool Ukulele Orchestra and the costumed Town Crier. Walking across Pier Head towards the reimagined Albert Dock, we noted the old and new. There are the imposing "Three Graces": the Royal Liver Building, Cunard Building and Port of ... read more