bill's pilgrimage 2010, part 2d: liverpool.
And on it goes!
This photo post includes:
Sefton Park.
Not to be confused with Stanley Park, where Liverpool are planning to build their new stadium, Sefton Park is a Grade II Historic Park by English Heritage of 640 acres on the outskirts of Liverpool, near St. Michael's Hamlet. The park was designed by French landscape architect Édouard André, who won a European competition with 29 entries, and - here it comes - helped by Liverpool architect Lewis Hornblower. No, you don't have to know him, but I can never resist the opportunity to mention the name Hornblower. ;) Anyway, the park was opened in 1872 by Prince Arthur, who dedicated it "for the health and enjoyment of the townspeople".
The Eros Fountain is a replica of a memorial to Lord Shaftesbury created by Sir Alfred Gilbert in London's Piccadilly Circus. It was restored in 2008 with a new aluminium Eros statue replacing the original which now resides in Liverpool's Conservation Centre.
I can understand perfectly why so many Liverpudlians spend weekend and holidays there. The park is huge, there's a lot to see and a lot of opportunities to do sports or play games.
There's even a little Chinese pavilion.
And some funny-looking trees.
Squirrel!
One just has to love ducks. XD
The Palm House is one of the main attractions of the park.
Around the house, there are colourful flowerbeds that my mum would have liked.
Inside the Palm House.
I took about a billion pics inside that house, but don't worry, you're only going to see a representative selection. ;)
I assume this is the statue "Highland Mary" by Benjamin Edward Spence.
No clue what this statue is called. Wikipedia says that there are only two statues inside the Palm House, one being the "Highland Mary" and one "The Angel's Whisper", but I can't see any angels.
The flowerbeds from the front.
Another attraction on the grounds of the Palm House is the statue of Peter Pan, a replica of a similar statue given as a gift for the visiting public to Kensington Gardens by author J.M. Barrie. The statue was donated to the park by George Audley in 1928 and was unveiled in the presence of Barrie.
Around the Palm House, there are statues of famous scientists and explorers, made by the French sculptor Leon-Joseph Chavalliaud. Amongst others, there are statues of Captain Cook, Christopher Columbus, Gerardus Mercator, Henry the Navigator and Charles Darwin.
More pictures of the park.
More ducks!
Chester.
On Jen's birthday, we went to Chester to visit Chester Zoo. Chester, located on the River Dee and near the Welsh border, was one of the last towns in England to fall to the Normans in the Norman conquest of England and is now one of the best preserved walled cities in the British Isles. Apart from a 100-metre section, the walls are almost complete.
Bilingual trains!
Chester train station.
A pub near the train station. I thought the name was funny.
Eastgate Clock is probably the second most photographed clock in Britain after the Big Ben. ;)
There is a number of medieval buildings in the city centre, but some of the black-and-white buildings are Victorian restorations.
If I remember correctly, this is the city hall.
The cathedral.
Awesome shop. XD
I couldn't find out who that memorial is for, but...
... on the side of it, there's a list of cities that hosted big battles during the Napoleonic Wars, and Sharpe was involved in several of them, so we named it the Sharpe Memorial. ;)
I assume this is what's left of the medieval structure of Chester Castle.
The River Dee.
I took lots of photos of Chester Zoo, but I won't include them here because I suppose you all know what animals look like. Instead, I'm going to share with you some things I found very interesting in that zoo:
Before you ask, no, I do not descend from this animal. But I think it's hilarious that an animal with that name exists.
*waves at lhuneldaiel* XDD
Southport.
Southport is located on the Irish Sea cost of North West England, near the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. It's one of the most popular seaside resorts in the UK. It hosts, amongst other things, the Southport Airshow and the largest independent flower show in the UK.
Southport Town Hall.
Important looking building next to the town hall.
Cathedral, complete with red phone boxes. XD
Path to the pier.
The city centre from the pier.
Southport Funland, a little adventure park with rides.
If I'm not entirely mistaken, this rollercoaster featured in the music video to "Wonderful Life" by the Liverpudlian band Black.
Dino!
Pirate ship!
Some more flowerbeds on our way back to the train station.
Formby Squirrel Reserve
With its wildlife, sand dunes and beaches, Formby becomes a tourist hot spot during the summer months. It is also popular with football players due to its proximity to Liverpool football stadiums. For instance, Steven Gerrard resides in Formby. The pine woods at Victoria Road have been established as a National Trust reserve for the red squirrel, listed on the endangered species list. Unfortunately, there has been a squirrel epidemic in the reserve recently, probably brought there by the grey squirrels (who are threatening to extinguish the red ones), and the park guard said we probably wouldn't see any squirrels - and we didn't.
This post heavily features ducks. ;)
We assumed that before Xabi went to Real Madrid, he and Stevie were camping here, and this is where they built their tent. ;)
From the park, you could get directly to the sand dunes and the beach.
Sand!
See it?
Almost there...
Irish Sea
It doesn't look that far on a map, but we walked more than three hours from Freshfield train station to Ainsdale. We took one hour through the squirrel reserve and then two hours along the beach. I'm not used to that much walking, so my feet hurt quite a lot when we finally arrived at Ainsdale. When we took the train back to Liverpool, we realised that between Freshfield and Ainsdale there is the longest distance between two train stations on the way from Liverpool to Southport. Just my luck, eh? ;) But I won't say I didn't enjoy the fantastic view on the sea, the dunes and the little things I found lying in the sand along the beach.
Braaaaainnnnssssss... ;)
I wonder if the person who made this intended to build the Titanic... ;)
This almost looks like a skull!
Finally, Ainsdale Beach!
Houses in Ainsdale.
"The Sands", a pub where we had dinner.
Look, it's Avram Grant! ;) (Okay, that was a bit mean. XD)
Hope you enjoyed these pics! The next and final post will include food pics, curiosities and something that happened to me while I was taking the train from Liverpool to London during the ash cloud flight ban... *winks*
This photo post includes:
- Sefton Park
- Chester
- Southport
- Formby Squirrel Reserve
- Irish Sea
Sefton Park.
Not to be confused with Stanley Park, where Liverpool are planning to build their new stadium, Sefton Park is a Grade II Historic Park by English Heritage of 640 acres on the outskirts of Liverpool, near St. Michael's Hamlet. The park was designed by French landscape architect Édouard André, who won a European competition with 29 entries, and - here it comes - helped by Liverpool architect Lewis Hornblower. No, you don't have to know him, but I can never resist the opportunity to mention the name Hornblower. ;) Anyway, the park was opened in 1872 by Prince Arthur, who dedicated it "for the health and enjoyment of the townspeople".
The Eros Fountain is a replica of a memorial to Lord Shaftesbury created by Sir Alfred Gilbert in London's Piccadilly Circus. It was restored in 2008 with a new aluminium Eros statue replacing the original which now resides in Liverpool's Conservation Centre.
I can understand perfectly why so many Liverpudlians spend weekend and holidays there. The park is huge, there's a lot to see and a lot of opportunities to do sports or play games.
There's even a little Chinese pavilion.
And some funny-looking trees.
Squirrel!
One just has to love ducks. XD
The Palm House is one of the main attractions of the park.
Around the house, there are colourful flowerbeds that my mum would have liked.
Inside the Palm House.
I took about a billion pics inside that house, but don't worry, you're only going to see a representative selection. ;)
I assume this is the statue "Highland Mary" by Benjamin Edward Spence.
No clue what this statue is called. Wikipedia says that there are only two statues inside the Palm House, one being the "Highland Mary" and one "The Angel's Whisper", but I can't see any angels.
The flowerbeds from the front.
Another attraction on the grounds of the Palm House is the statue of Peter Pan, a replica of a similar statue given as a gift for the visiting public to Kensington Gardens by author J.M. Barrie. The statue was donated to the park by George Audley in 1928 and was unveiled in the presence of Barrie.
Around the Palm House, there are statues of famous scientists and explorers, made by the French sculptor Leon-Joseph Chavalliaud. Amongst others, there are statues of Captain Cook, Christopher Columbus, Gerardus Mercator, Henry the Navigator and Charles Darwin.
More pictures of the park.
More ducks!
Chester.
On Jen's birthday, we went to Chester to visit Chester Zoo. Chester, located on the River Dee and near the Welsh border, was one of the last towns in England to fall to the Normans in the Norman conquest of England and is now one of the best preserved walled cities in the British Isles. Apart from a 100-metre section, the walls are almost complete.
Bilingual trains!
Chester train station.
A pub near the train station. I thought the name was funny.
Eastgate Clock is probably the second most photographed clock in Britain after the Big Ben. ;)
There is a number of medieval buildings in the city centre, but some of the black-and-white buildings are Victorian restorations.
If I remember correctly, this is the city hall.
The cathedral.
Awesome shop. XD
I couldn't find out who that memorial is for, but...
... on the side of it, there's a list of cities that hosted big battles during the Napoleonic Wars, and Sharpe was involved in several of them, so we named it the Sharpe Memorial. ;)
I assume this is what's left of the medieval structure of Chester Castle.
The River Dee.
I took lots of photos of Chester Zoo, but I won't include them here because I suppose you all know what animals look like. Instead, I'm going to share with you some things I found very interesting in that zoo:
Before you ask, no, I do not descend from this animal. But I think it's hilarious that an animal with that name exists.
*waves at lhuneldaiel* XDD
Southport.
Southport is located on the Irish Sea cost of North West England, near the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. It's one of the most popular seaside resorts in the UK. It hosts, amongst other things, the Southport Airshow and the largest independent flower show in the UK.
Southport Town Hall.
Important looking building next to the town hall.
Cathedral, complete with red phone boxes. XD
Path to the pier.
The city centre from the pier.
Southport Funland, a little adventure park with rides.
If I'm not entirely mistaken, this rollercoaster featured in the music video to "Wonderful Life" by the Liverpudlian band Black.
Dino!
Pirate ship!
Some more flowerbeds on our way back to the train station.
Formby Squirrel Reserve
With its wildlife, sand dunes and beaches, Formby becomes a tourist hot spot during the summer months. It is also popular with football players due to its proximity to Liverpool football stadiums. For instance, Steven Gerrard resides in Formby. The pine woods at Victoria Road have been established as a National Trust reserve for the red squirrel, listed on the endangered species list. Unfortunately, there has been a squirrel epidemic in the reserve recently, probably brought there by the grey squirrels (who are threatening to extinguish the red ones), and the park guard said we probably wouldn't see any squirrels - and we didn't.
This post heavily features ducks. ;)
We assumed that before Xabi went to Real Madrid, he and Stevie were camping here, and this is where they built their tent. ;)
From the park, you could get directly to the sand dunes and the beach.
Sand!
See it?
Almost there...
Irish Sea
It doesn't look that far on a map, but we walked more than three hours from Freshfield train station to Ainsdale. We took one hour through the squirrel reserve and then two hours along the beach. I'm not used to that much walking, so my feet hurt quite a lot when we finally arrived at Ainsdale. When we took the train back to Liverpool, we realised that between Freshfield and Ainsdale there is the longest distance between two train stations on the way from Liverpool to Southport. Just my luck, eh? ;) But I won't say I didn't enjoy the fantastic view on the sea, the dunes and the little things I found lying in the sand along the beach.
Braaaaainnnnssssss... ;)
I wonder if the person who made this intended to build the Titanic... ;)
This almost looks like a skull!
Finally, Ainsdale Beach!
Houses in Ainsdale.
"The Sands", a pub where we had dinner.
Look, it's Avram Grant! ;) (Okay, that was a bit mean. XD)
Hope you enjoyed these pics! The next and final post will include food pics, curiosities and something that happened to me while I was taking the train from Liverpool to London during the ash cloud flight ban... *winks*