Liverpool - one hour ashore and one hour afloat
On what was - for me - a rare foray south of Hadrian’s Wall, I had the opportunity to visit Liverpool – opportunity in this case meaning just two hours. Using the ferry from Woodside to the Pier Head, this involved a short cruise on the Mersey, followed by one hour to explore a little of Liverpool’s waterfront - with the much-photographed Royal Iris of the Mersey performing ferry duty between Birkenhead and Liverpool.
In Greek mythology, Iris was the goddess of the rainbow - perhaps appropriately then, a rainbow duly appeared in the sky over Liverpool as I waited for departure. This is a very different view to the one I remember from childhood, when scarcely tall enough to look over the ship’s railings, the buildings I saw on Liverpool’s waterfront were blackened by soot and grime.
Leaving Woodside, the Iris heads first to the south, offering good views of the docks in Birkenhead and shipping on the river, with marine traffic surprisingly busy.
Then with a change of direction to the north – down-river - the ferry heads for the Pier Head landing stage.
Once ashore, there is much to see and photograph on Liverpool’s waterfront, with the architecture of the Liver Building, one of Liverpool’s “three graces”
contrasting with modern designs such as the Mann Island Buildings and the new Museum of Liverpool.
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These buildings feature highly reflective glass, and perhaps also reflect changes in Liverpool’s economy, as its emphasis moves from shipping and manufacturing to leisure and tourism.
The Canning and Albert Docks, which lie further along the river to the south east, are also very photogenic, with water reflecting buildings, ships, chimneys and an unusual vehicle known as the Yellow Duckmarine, used to take visitors on an amphibious journey through Liverpool’s streets and docks – further evidence of the increasing importance of tourism to Liverpool’s economy.
My all-too-brief hour ashore nearly over, a quick walk takes me back to the Pier Head, with just enough time to snap some of the waterfront’s sculptures, including the Carter’s Working Horse Monument and William Goscome's monument to Edward VII.
Then back to Woodside Pier with the Royal Iris, and a final shot of the ferry departing.
Most of these images were taken in an area little greater than one square kilometre, mostly in gridsquare SJ3389 (which touches both banks of the Mersey), and a little help from SJ3489, SJ3390, and SJ3388. This area ticks many of the “geographical context” tags, and is visually striking throughout – a photogenic city worthy of a visit despite the complete absence of Geograph points! Finally, the Geotrips submission form requests a mention of difficulties encountered – for me this was simply too little time to explore this most interesting of cities.
- When
- Mon, 8 Apr 2013 at 11:59
- Grid Square
- SJ3389
- Chosen Photo
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