I recently visited the revitalised waterfront of Liverpool for the first time in almost several years. A lot has changed since then with Liverpool being named as the City Of Culture back in 2008, the area that runs along the Albert Dock, Pier Head and up to Stanley Dock is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and now sitting proudly amongst the largest collection of Grade I listed buildings are several new additions.
The Museum of Liverpool is the largest newly built national museum in Britain for over 100 years and it’s really impressive. Combine that with the new site of the Open Eye Gallery of Photography and the Beatles Story’s additional location on Pier Head and you’ve got a modern and stunning waterfront that draws comparison to Copenhagen and is an eclectic amalgamation of old & new architecture that is a must see.
The additional site to the Beatles Story contains a cinema and Liverpool Tourist Centre, with the upper floors dedicated to Beatles merchandise along side exhibitions including ‘The Beatles Hidden Gallery’ a series of 38 previously unseen photos of the Beatles from various gig venues in the North West and an Elvis exhibition in partnership with Graceland called Elvis and Us
It’s also close to here, around the side of the Port of Liverpool building that the Magical Mystery Beatles tour bus (which looks just like the one from the film – no idea if it is) awaits. The waterfront is also home to several ‘Lambananas’ mini replicas of the Superlambanana, decorated with various Liverpool themes, including the one below with displays the faces of several prominent Liverpool musicians.
We stopped off at the Pumphouse for a much needed lunch (all that fresh air gets the appetite going), mains were approx £8 a head and generous portions. They also had a good selection of cask ales and imported lagers along with an impressive and varied wine selection.
Next we headed to the Tate Liverpool where the special exhibition was Alice in Wonderland This extensive erxhibit featured not only several editions of the book, original manuscripts, hand drawn illustrations but also an large collection of Lewis Carroll’s photography, including that of the family who were the inspiration for the Alice stories. Not to forget that the Tate shop is always worth a visit and there was a great sale on art books and I snagged a bargain, there’s also a host of Liverpool themed gifts and other creative stuff for kids.
All in all it was a great day out, I can’t wait to return to check out more of what Liverpool has to offer as one day is simply not enough.
The Journeynator 