Liverpool is a large city on the River Mersey in North West England.
Liverpool is to be the Capital of Culture in 2008 and has been getting ready for this event for the past few years. Boarded up warehouses have been opened up and now are shops, cafes and smart apartments. Drab, dirty buildings have been cleaned and the area is now much more attractive.
The docks were opened in 1715 and eventually stretched for seven miles along the Mersey.
Liverpool grew in wealth back when it traded slaves, raw materials and finished goods.
It became a great port and thousands of Irish and Scottish immigrants were drawn to the city for work between 1830 and 1930. It was also around this time that nine million emigrants sailed from the docks to settle in the New World.
The port was again very important during WWII when more than one million American GI’s landed in Liverpool bringing with them the latest American records causing Liverpool to become the first European place to have the then new rhythm and blues music which was later to become rock’n roll. Within twenty years Mersey was THE sound of British pop.
From the mid 1970’s the docks and manufacturing industries declined and this meant some of the docklands became empty. In the 1980’s unemployment was amongst the highest in the UK. In recent years the economy has recovered and growth rates are higher than the national average.
In 2004 Liverpool’s waterfront and docks were declared an Unesco World Heritage site with more listed buildings than anywhere other than London.
Albert Dock now has some top class restaurants and bars, several museums and an extension of the London Tate Gallery.
Some of today’s largest employers in Liverpool include car manufacturing at Halewood Plant where both the Jaguar X Type and Landrover Freelander models are assembled. The Government departments of the National Health Service and Revenue and Customs also employ a large number of staff as do the Home Office Agencies in their Criminal Records and Identity and Passport Services.
Liverpool is home to three well respected universities, University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool Hope University.
It is a city with a very large student population and naturally the nightlife is good. There are plenty of bars to try such as Hannah’s a typical student bar, Baa Bar one of the best bars in Liverpool and a favourite for a good night out, Ye Cracke is another popular bar and was often frequented by John and Cynthia Lennon. Nightclubs are mostly in Ropewalks and the majority open from 11pm to 3am.
There is a good range of restaurants in Ropewalks, Hardman Street, Hope Street and Nelson Street that lies in Liverpool’s Chinatown.
Property for rent is always available in Liverpool with average prices of £580pcm for a studio apartment, £600pcm for a l bed flat, £712pcm for a 2 bed flat and £670pcm for a 3 bed house.
There are two Cathedrals in Liverpool the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, this was finished in 1967 and is an impressive modern building with the nickname of Paddy’s Wigwam because it looks like a huge concrete tepee. The other is Liverpool Cathedral this is the largest church in England and the largest Anglican cathedral in the world. It houses a huge bell and the organ has a total of 9765 pipes. There are terrific views from the top of the 100metre tower.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport has flights to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Paris and Dublin and to most UK destinations.
Lime Street Railway Station has services running all over the UK.
There are three tunnels under the River Mersey, one railway and two road. The Mersey Ferry is an important link between Liverpool and the Wirral and is also a big tourist attraction partly bought to fame by Gerry and the Pacemakers hit of the l960’s ‘Ferry ‘cross the Mersey’.
The Grand National horse race takes place in Liverpool at the Aintree racecourse. It is run on the first Saturday of April. This is a very popular but controversial race, it attracts a high number of runners and the jumps are large and some are dangerous.
Liverpool caters for many other sports with clubs for football, basketball, baseball, rugby, golf, swimming, tennis, boxing and athletics.
There are many attractions to be found in Liverpool. St Georges Hall was built in 1854 as a law court and concert hall, which seems to be a rather strange combination.
The Walker Art Gallery covers the history of art from the 14th to 20th centuries.
Liverpool’s most popular museum is the Beatles Story it has plenty of genuine memorabilia to keep the fans happy and there is a full size replica of the Cavern Club and Abbey Road studios. It is also the departure point of the Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Duckmarine tours.
The Magical Mystery tour takes in all aspects of the Beatles including birthplaces, homes, schools, Penny Lane and Strawberry Field.
The Yellow Duckmarine Tour is an hour long tour on an authentic WWII amphibious vehicle using the dock waters and showing the city’s main points of interest with an ending that splashes into Salthouse Dock.
Another very popular museum is the Liverpool Football Club Museum and Stadium Tour. The museum is a must for all Liverpool fans and tells the story of England’s most successful club. The tour takes you behind the scenes at Anfield, dressing rooms, down the tunnel and a sit in the teams dug out. Advance booking is advisable for the club tour though is not necessary for the museum.
Speke Hall, on Tudor Walk, is one of England’s most famous timber framed houses built in 1490. There are gardens and woods to walk round and a new play area for children. Around the house costumed tours help everyone to understand the history of the house and Home Farm. There is a model farm with cow sheds, pig sties, cart shed and smithy.
Shopping is great is Liverpool and central Liverpool’s new Met Quarter hosts designer shops including Armani, Gucci and Prada. Try Cavern Walks for Bardot, Cricket and Vivienne Westwood. The waterfront on Albert Dock has High Srreet shops and fashion retailers can be found in Church Street. Bold Street has household stores and High Street shops such as Karen Miller, Dune and Kookai. St. Johns Shopping Centre has over 100 shops from budget to designer including jewellery and furnishings. The Clayton Shopping Centre houses a Disney Store, Virgin Megastore, Oasis and Monsoon to name a few.
There are also two theatres in Liverpool. The Southport Theatre and the Empire Theatre both show well known productions.
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