South Wales - July 2018

At the end of my recent stay in the UK, in July 2018, I joined old college friends in 3 South Wales for a couple of days.  We were all together in 1970-73 in the Geology Department of Queen Mary College, London University. Steve Dutton, Mike Pawluk, Colin Simpson, Rob East and their respective wives, Yvonne, Cate, Mel and Sulis.

The QMC Geology Boys

I started the drive early Sunday morning from Derbyshire and drove over towards North Wales.  I had the idea of taking the scenic route through the middle of Wales rather than the motorway route through England.  I had heard of a ship moored in the Dee estuary that might be worth a look at. The Duke of Lancaster was an old ferry boat that was moored at Mostyn and converted into a entertainment center and shopping facility. As a boat it could avoid the Sunday Trading Laws that restricted activities on a Sunday. The boat is impressive and it has been raised above the current high tide level so it sits up quite prominently on the side of the estuary.

The Duke of Lancaster, Mostyn

Access to the area around the ship is restricted but I managed to go around the low tide on the beach and get a closer look.  The security guard residing there was quite nice and didn’t object at all and we had a chat before he let me out through the locked gate.

I then headed south towards Swansea.  I thought it might be a nice drive and yes it was but it was not the epic countryside of Snowdonia that I was expecting. Just nice countryside.  

The QMC Reunion Folks

We were all meeting in the village of Llangennith, where we were staying at the Kings Head Inn.  It is a nice little village on the Gower Peninsula - a church, a nice pub with hotel, a few houses and a surf shop. Surfing has become popular in the UK.

Llangennith Church

The next morning we set off on a walk up the hill that shelters Llangennith from the coast.  From the top there were lovely views of the coast below. Stretches of almost deserted sandy beaches, views out to the Bristol Channel and over to the Isle of Lundy in the far distance.  The area has been declared as an “Area of Outstanding Beauty” and I must agree, beautiful it certainly is.

Rhossili Beach

We walked over the cliff tops towards the village of Rhossili.  From the top there were nice views of of Rhossili Beach and of the Worm’s Head, a peninsula jutting out into the Bristol Channel that is only accessible at low tide.  

Rhossili Beach and the Worm's Head

The Worm's Head

There is a nice church in Rhossili, St. Mary’s. Inside the church there is a plaque commemorating one of Rhossili’s residents Edgar Evans, a member of Scott’s team to the South Pole.  He died on his way back from the South Pole having been beaten to the Pole by Amundsen’s team.

St Mary's, Rhossili

Edgar Evans Plaque

After a beverage in the Worms Head Hotel we walked out to the peninsula for a better view of the Worm’s Head.  There was a Coastguard Station on the cliff top out there.

We walked back to Llangennith along Rhossili Beach.  A lovely stretch of sand and an easy walk back towards Llangennith.  At the end of the beach a few of us went for a swim. It was nice cooling water but not very deep.  You have to go out a long way to get out of your depth in this part of the world.

That evening we had a great meal at the Britannia Inn in Llanmadoc.  Lots of good time reminiscing with old friends.

Broughton Bay

Next morning I had an early morning swim in Broughton Bay.  That required walking through this fairly large caravan site.  Not very pretty - lots of cheap identical looking mobile homes near the beach.  The UK seems to have a lot of these places that kind of spoil the views in what is a stunning area.  As with the prior day, the water was shallow and I could barely get it above my waist.

Broughton Bay Beach

After breakfast a walk from Llangennith out to Broughton Bay again and along the beach for a while before I turned back leaving everyone to continue.  I had to get back to London for my flight to the US the next morning.

A few more photos here.

Liverpool - July 2018

On Tuesday 3 July I decided to take a day off from looking after mum and go and explore Liverpool.  I had never been to Liverpool and lately I had been hearing good things about it. It was even European City of Culture in 2008.

I set off early (5:00 am) from home and drove the couple or so hours over the Pennines, past the moorland forest fires, past Manchester and into Liverpool.

Albert Dock

The first stop was the Albert Dock area.  This is the center of the tourist part of the city.  It is where they have rehabilitated the old dockside warehouses, built new accommodation and developed several museums. I walked past the Tate Museum, the Maritime Museum, the Museum of Liverpool, and saw statues of Billy Fury, the Beatles and even King Edward VI though no one seemed to be interested in him.

The Beatles and King Edward

The ferry that plies across the Mersey from the Birkenhead side to the Liverpool side runs a commuter service in the mornings and evenings and then a tourist service up and down the Mersey during the mid-day period.  I bought a commuter return ticket for 3.50 pounds and made the trip to the other side. It was a beautiful day and the river was smooth and calm as it flowed down into the Irish Sea. There was evidence of the industrial past and present of the area.  Lots of docks, factories, chemical plants, etc on either side of the river. There was a large ferry boat on the opposite bank presumably heading for Belfast.

The ferry docked at Seacombe and I got off for a little walk around.  There is nothing much to see in Seacombe, though there is a trail around the water’s edge all way around the Wirral.  That could be an interesting walk.

Mersey Ferry

When the ferry came back again I caught it back to Liverpool.  The ferry boat itself was quite colorful having been painted during some art project related to one of the Liverpool festivals.  It was painted in a bright colored version of the old WWI dazzle camouflage.

What a wonderful way to commute to work, park your car for free in Seacombe, and cross the Mersey to the Liverpool city center.

The Three Graces

After the ferry I walked over to the three magnificent buildings on the waterfront adjacent to the ferry dock.  These are known as the Three Graces - the Royal Liver Building, originally built as home to the Liver Assurance Company, the Cunard Building, home of the Cunard Steamship Company that took so many emigres to the USA, and the Port of Liverpool Building, a magnificent example of what apparently is known as the Edwardian Baroque style.  Interestingly the Cunard Building was built between 1914 and 1917. I had the impression that all effort during that time was focused on the War and that every male was involved in fighting or working in war related industries. Apparently not so. The Liver Building is topped by the two Liver Birds, now the symbol of Liverpool.

King Edward VI and the Liver Building

The ownership of the buildings has changed and now all of them are divided up between minor lessees.  The interior of the Port Building is accessible to the public and the interior is truly a work of art. The Cunard building unfortunately houses a rather cheesy Pop Music Museum.

I headed away from the water and up into the town.  There are so many wonderful old buildings from a time when Liverpool was a wealthy city and people cared about building to last and beautiful ornamentation of their buildings.  The Town Hall is a fine example.

Liverpool Town Hall

Further away from the river there was a group of even more magnificent buildings - the World Museum, the Central Library, the Walker Art Gallery and the St George’s Hall. I went inside the library which had a wonderful old circular reading room with spiral staircases up to the different levels. From the modern rooftop viewing area of the new library there is a nice view of the city below.

Libray and Walker Art Gallery

Library Reading Room

The Walker Art Gallery was also a surprise.  First it was free, and then it had quite a good collection of art - apparently one of the best in the UK outside London.

A break in walking with a lunch stop at the Lime Street station which must have been magnificent in its day and is now undergoing some sort of restoration.

Roman Catholic Cathedral

Continuing up the hill I reached the new Cathedral.  This is the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral. Apparently after the Irish famine, so many Irish Catholics came to Liverpool that they felt they needed a Cathedral.  Plans were drawn up by Edwin Lutyens before WWII for an immense cathedral (2nd largest in the world) with the largest dome in the world. Construction stopped during the war, money dried up, Lutyens died, and not much happened.  It wasn’t until 1962 that construction started on the present, much reduced, structure. Personally, I don’t like it. It has the nickname of Paddy’s Wigwam and the Pope’s Launch Pad.

St Lukes Church

Use down the street from the Cathedral is the ruin of St. Luke’s Church. This church received bomb damage during WWII and it has been left in its damaged state in memory of those who lost their lives during that period.  In the grounds there is a nice sculpture commemorating the Christmas 1914 game of football between the Germans and the English in No Man’s Land (not enhanced by the half naked fat homeless guy sleeping alongside it I am afraid).  

No Man's Land Football

Along the very nice Georgian Rodney Street (where Gladstone, Brian Epstein and Nicholas Montserrat were born) to the old cathedral, the Church of England Cathedral.  

Anglican Cathedral

This cathedral is much more majestic and it is big the 4th largest in the world, the largest in the UK and it impressive. The interior is vast and just to walk inside is a  wonderful awe inspiring experience. Surprisingly construction was started in 1904 and not finished until 1978 - two world wars and bomb damage in the second one caused some delays.

Interior Anglican Cathedral

Back down the hill now towards the water passing the Chinese Arch and the small Chinatown on the way.  By the docks again and there are so many signs of regrowth of the area - hotels, apartments, a convention center, refurbished warehouses.  I wonder how these modern additions will look in 20 years time, nevermind the 100 or so years from the older historic buildings.

I take a quick look inside the Museum of Liverpool by Canning Dock.  In my opinion, it is not a great museum - no real sense of direction or organization to the exhibits.  There was also a John and Yoko, Double Fantasy exhibit going on. That was more interesting but how many times can you listen to a loop of Imagine going on in the background all the time.

At this point I was pretty much done with walking around so I headed back to the car taking in the oldest building in Liverpool, the Bluecoat Chambers, along the way.  It was built in 1716 as a school and is now an Art Exhibition Center.

The Bluecoat - oldest building in Liverpool

An interesting side note about why Liverpool came to fame is that it was where the first Wet Dock was built, allowing ships to sail in at high tide and, with the dock gates closed behind them, remain floating during loading and unloading and then allowing them to sail out on the next high tide.  That started the city off as a viable port and it grew from there. Unfortunately on the backs of the African Slave Trade (miscellaneous trinkets to Africa, slaves to the Caribbean, sugar back to England).

Colorful Street

I left Liverpool after a most interesting day.  There is more to see here. I need to come back and visit the Tate Art Gallery, the Maritime Museum, the Slavery Museum, the World Museum and even spend more time in the Walker Gallery.

More photos here.