A Trek Thru the British Isles VI- More Liverpool, UK

"Easy Liverpool" was the name of the tour of our 3rd port of call, Liverpool, England. Our tour bus driver took us on a drive through the city starting at the Museum of Art and a beautiful park across the street. It was a lovely sunny day and there were flowers in bloom everywhere.

Liverpool City Park

Streets of Liverpool, England

The Beatles Hotel in downtown Liverpool

From the park we went around the city until we arrived at our first stop of the day, the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Christ the King is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Liverpool. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool. The Metropolitan Cathedral is one of two cathedrals in the city, The other is the Anglican Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool. The Metropolitan Cathedral is unusual looking to say the least. There was a competition to design the Cathedral that was held in 1959. The requirements for the design was first, for a congregation of 3,000 (which was later reduced to 2,000) to be able to see the altar, in order that they could be more involved in the celebration of the Mass, and second, for the Lutyens crypt to be incorporated in the structure. The winner of the competition achieved these requirements by designing a circular building with the altar at its centre, and by transforming the roof of the crypt into an elevated platform, with the cathedral standing at one end of it. It was an amazing structure. We toured the cathedral for a short time before moving on the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral.

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral

Inside the Metropolitan Cathedral

Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral, completed in 1978, is the largest in the UK and the fifth largest in the world. After seeing it, this massive beautiful structure became my favorite of those that I had seen. Liverpool Cathedral occupies a total area of 104,270 sq ft and was built mainly of sandstone quarried from the Liverpool suburb of Woolton. The cathedral's bell tower is the largest, and also one of the tallest in the world, rising to a height of 331 ft. It houses the highest and heaviest ringing peal of bells in the world as well. Walking inside the cathedral, I could feel my jaw drop just looking around.

Liverpool Cathedral

Leaving Liverpool Cathedral, our tour bus took us to other less busy parts of the city. Our next stop was known to every Beatles fan like myself, Penny Lane from the famous Beatles song of the same name. Our driver made a quick photo stop for us so we could take a photo to commemorate our visit, we drove down Penny Lane while the bus driver played the song over the loud speakers. Everyone on the bus started singing including me. It was so much fun! If you are not familiar with the song, here it is:

Penny Lane video...

Me and the Penny Lane sign!

Just off Penny Lane, I saw another familiar name from another famous Beatles song, the Sgt Peppers Bistro! It was amazing to see the actual places that were the inspiration for some of the Beatles more popular songs.

Stopping for lunch midway through the tour Mom and I had a chance to sample some fish and chips while visiting with some new friends from Ireland that were also on the cruise. They were traveling while enjoying a 1 month vacation from work. One of the things I enjoy most about traveling is the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and learning about their countries and culture. One month annual vacations were the norm where our new Irish friends came from and I was very impressed.

Finally heading back to the ship at the end of the tour, I took a good look around, trying to burn it all into my memory. Standing out on our balcony as we sailed away from Liverpool on the Crown Princess, I noticed something unusual in the distance. As we sailed closer I realized that I was looking at wind turbines out in the middle of the ocean! What an amazing thing to see! Just another memory I would never forget about Liverpool. Liverpool had been a total surprise to me in almost every way and I could not have been happier to have had this opportunity to visit.

Quaint Liverpool neighborhood

The Crown Princess parked at the dock

Wind Turbines out in the ocean!

Next up, I visit Belfast, Northern Ireland!

To Be Continued........

Gerrilyn Grant Gipson Esq.
Owner/Travel Consultant
Meetings & Events Unlimited Travel Services
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