Our first excursion of the academic year takes us to one of England's largest cities, once one of the most important and wealthy seaports in the British Empire: Liverpool.
Our itinerary today will take us past some of the finest Regency buildings in the country, (St George's Hall). The city grew extensively in the 17th and 18th centuries when it became the slavery capital of Europe. It is believed that at least 16 of the city's Lord Mayors were slave merchants. This brutal trade involved buying slaves in Africa and shipping them to America and the Caribbean, where they were sold and forced to work on the large sugar, cotton and tobacco plantations owned by wealthy English families. The fruit of their hard labour was then exported back to Liverpool to be stored and traded.
Weather permitting, our excursion today will start at the Walker Art Gallery and the Liverpool World Museum. These are both world-class museums and admission is free. You may want to visit them during your free time later this afternoon. From here we will walk along Dale Street past Liverpool Town Hall, dating back to the late 18th century, and continue as far as the Royal Liver building overlooking the city's waterfront and next to the Albert Dock. This iconic building, crowned with the legendary liver birds, large cormorants with seaweed in their beaks, makes it one of the most easily recognised buildings in England. From here we will walk along Strand Street to the Albert Docks next to the river Mersey. Named after Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, the five large warehouses that comprise the docks date back to 1846. Today they no longer store tobacco, wine, cotton etc but are home to TV studios, cafes, shops, restaurants and the new Tate Modern Art Gallery. Here you will also find two other museums: One dedicated to Liverpool life, and the other the city's most famous musical sons; John, Paul, George and Ringo, otherwise called 'The Beatles' (The Beatles Story).
Today Liverpool is synonymous with football and the Fab Four - four young Liverpudlian pop stars who in the 1960s were to put the city back on the world map, and this time it was for something good: music. Out tour today ends here in the Albert Dock. You will have the chance to visit the Beatles Story and go into the city centre. The City has a lot to offer in the way of tourist attractions. You will notice that there are two particularly tall buildings on the skyline. These are the city's two cathedrals, one Roman Catholic and the other Anglican. Their styles are different yet they were both finished quite recently. If you fancy Chinese food, there are several good restaurants and Oriental supermarkets in the area, and not far from the docks there is the oldest China town in the UK (Duke Street).
Whatever you do, please remember to be back at the designated coach pick up point at 17:50 (we leave at 18:00). Lastly, remember:
a) Make sure you have the emergency contact number.
b) Take care when crossing roads.
c) Look after your belongings.
Have a great day!
To hear this as an MP3, go to
https://soundcloud.com/lorenzo-ball-898299348/liverpool-itinerary
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.