Southport

Well the weather is nice so why not go to the seaside? So, at the weekend i did! I went up to Liverpool then travelled on a bit further to Southport. I had a walk along the beach, unfortunately the tide was a long way out but it did mean i could walk under the pier. You can see my photos here.

Liverpool and cut

I headed up to Liverpool this weekend for the first time this year. I didn't have the time to scratch off any new stations so instead did a walk along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal up to it's terminus at Stanley Dock. Then i walked back into the centre past the old dock lands. You can see my photos of Liverpool here, and the canal can be found here.

Liverpool rails

At the weekend i headed up to Liverpool for the first time this year, i really would like to go more often. Maybe next year. Anyway i headed around on the Merseyrail network, crossing off three more stations and saw an interesting new train at Lime Street. You can see my photos here.

Manor Road

A train arrives at Manor Road.

Walking the Waterways (19) : Leeds & Liverpool

The Leeds & Liverpool Canal stretches across the Pennines (as the name suggests) linking the two great Northern cities. Work began on the canal in 1770 with the aim of linking Yorkshire industrial towns like Leeds and Bradford with a port in the West. The first part of the canal opened in 1773 but work continued for nearly fifty years until the full two hundred kilometre route was open. The canal ran from the centre of Leeds to Liverpool via places like Wigan, Shipley, Keighley and Burnley.

Coal was the most important cargo carried on the canal, from mines inland to Liverpool. Coal continued to be carried on the canal as late as 1972 with other cargoes continuing until the early 1980s. The canal is used for leisure these days of course. A new link to Liverpool's docks was opened in 2009 allowing boats to go as far as the Albert Dock in Liverpool.

The past, present and future of Merseyside rail transport

Yesterday I visited Liverpool and of course did quite a lot of travelling around on various trains. One interesting aspect of yesterday's visit was to see the preserved Liverpool Overhead Railway exhibit in the museum, this was one of the earliest electrified railways which opened in the 1890s. Before that I had a look at the mock-up of the new Merseyrail trains which should enter service in 2020. As I also travelled around on the current stock I visited (and was aboard) the past, present and future of Merseyside rail transport! You can see my photos here.

Liverpool Overhead Railway

Current Merseyrail Class 507

The future: Class 777

Aigburth arrival

A Merseyrail train arrives.

Scouse underground

A Merseyrail train arrives at Hamilton Square, next it will pass under the Mersey.

Mersey rails

Back to Merseyside just a week after my last trip, though this time on my own so i could get some decent rail thrash in. My principle objective was to go to Maghull North, currently the newest railway station in the land. Objective two was the Wirral Transport Museum which unfortunately didn't open until too late so I just went to four more new (for me) stations instead. You can see all the railway photos from the two trips here.

Back to Merseyside

I went back up to Merseyside for the first time in awhile. I wanted to see more of Waterloo Marina which apparently i was taken to in a push chair when it was opened by Princess Anne in the early 1970s (not that I remember anything about that!) I'm sure it has changed a bit over the years. I also visited a number of stations including Birkenhead Central for the first time. You can see my railway photos here.

Revisiting the first house

The first house i ever lived in was in Crosby on the Merseyside. However i was only a baby so have no memories of my time there except perhaps a hazy memory of roses, which were my Dad's pride around the garden there. At the weekend i headed up to see the house i only knew from photographs. I have seen how it looks now on Google Street View but on Saturday was the first time i had seen it for real since... oh about 1974. The house was still recognisable though the roses are gone.

Early 1970s

2017

Merseyside adventures

I headed up to Liverpool yesterday for some more rail adventures, firstly though i headed up to Crosby to find the first house i lived in as a toddler, one i've seen in photos but have no memories of nowadays, i'll write about that in another post. I visited 6 new stations (for me) which will all be written about in my Calling At... blog one day. You can see my photos here.

Exploring Merseyside

The weather down here in the Midlands was pretty poor today but i saw on the forecast that it was a lot better up North so i headed up to Liverpool again and did some exploring. I went up to Crosby which was the first place that i ever lived. I don't remember anything about it though as i was only a baby and a toddler. Well i say that but... my earliest ever memory is very vague but i was sitting in a wheel chair i think and looking at roses. I know from photographs there were a lot of roses around the old house so maybe this is a memory of Crosby. Or just some other random roses elsewhere.

Anyway you can see my photos here. I was keen to get plenty of new stations in the bag for my Calling At... blog and i got 7 new ones in so mission accomplished!

Blundellsands & Crosby

Conway Park

Ford Escort

A rather lovely exhibit at the Museum of Liverpool is this Ford Escort. Built in 1982 it was the millionth Escort built in Europe and was built at Liverpool's Halewood factory (then Ford but now owned by Jaguar). The Escort was never sold and was used for display purposes and has done less than 200 miles. My Dad had a similar Escort to this built the early 80s too, though his was beige. Maybe it was being built at the same time?

Return to Liverpool

Every year i take my Mum on a trip somewhere by train (as she never uses the trains otherwise!) This year it was to Liverpool and a great day we had too despite the best efforts of the weather. We went around the Albert Dock for a bit and then over to New Brighton which is somewhere she took me as a baby back when we lived in Crosby. Well that was many years ago of course.

I do like Liverpool a lot, well i am half-Scouse after all. When my Dad was alive we used to go a couple of times a year but now its up to me. Well i have been twice this year already anyway.