Well sort of!  As we had yet another Bank Holiday long weekend before us, we decided to head towards Liverpool.  We both enjoy Beatles music and would have enjoyed visiting the Cavern Club, especially after watching the Mona Lisa Twins performing there, but were disappointed to learn that the old club was destroyed and the new one is but a replica. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MonaLisa_Twins)

But we still wanted to visit Liverpool as we had once finished a great jigsaw puzzle of the Royal Albert Dock that Denise’s brother had loaned us. So we were thrilled to find a farm campsite that would take us for the four night weekend. Better yet, it was within walking distance of a new railway station with regular trains to Liverpool. N.B. We used to have public transport like this in the US.

The weather was warm and sunny and we set off on the train to discover Liverpool. The trains run every 20-30 minutes and in less than 30 minutes we were downtown. Fans of gritty old post war English cities will be disappointed; many of the central streets are now reserved for pedestrians and sidewalk cafes.

To say Liverpool was busy was an understatement.  In celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic, there were displays by all three armed services and hordes and hordes of people. 

There were big queues for everything, including the hop on hop off buses, and all Beatles tours were fully booked, so we changed rock n roll groups and rode the ferry across the Mersey. 

A very pleasant trip with lots to see. Funny thing. We asked for a round trip ticket and were told that you had to get off on the other side and await the next crossing, an hour later. When we said that we didn’t want to do that and started to walk way, he called us back and said, “Just buy a one way ticket.” So we did and discovered that no one made you disembark – you just rode back. 

After lunch, we set out to find the site where the picture on our Albert Dock puzzle was taken.

It took some walking and looking, but we got it in the end – except for the railing on the right of the picture.

And, of course, Denise demanded a ride on the Ferris wheel. We completed the ride with a 99 soft ice cream.

From the top of the Ferris Wheel you can see the brilliance of the Liverpool dock system and its fatal flaw. The enclosed docks protected ships from bad weather and allowed a completely enclosed customs zone. But, sadly, all of the basins and their access locks were too small and by the end of the 19th century, could no longer accommodate the larger ships.

Denise has always wanted to visit Chester, so, after a day on our bikes, we hopped on the train again for the slightly longer journey into Liverpool and then out to Chester. We had one change of trains, that went smoothly (both ways), and walked from the station to the town centre. 

Like many British cities, Chester is an old Roman town. (“Chester” comes from “castra” or fort.)

We admired the old houses and the “Rows.” The Rows appear to be unique to Chester, a second sidewalk, up one flight of stairs, giving access to another row of shops. Many of the rows connect building to building, allowing a parallel sidewalk, one flight up.

We stopped for a coffee and an ice-cream at a wonderful small cafe on the Castle wall. (https://www.instagram.com/huxleys_chester/) If you don’t know it is there, you will never find it at street level.

Inside the cafe was a porthole, installed by a former navy captain who had lived in the cottage in the nineteenth century.  Quite an eccentric, obviously.  Fascinating to think how many people have lived in these old buildings over the years, no, over the centuries.

We also took an afternoon boat ride on the River Dee, which was not as relaxing as we had hoped as there were several unhappy toddlers and an unhappy dog nearby!  Such is life.  But it was a lovely afternoon and the houses along the river were spectacular.  Would that we could afford one.

At that point, we hopped the train and joined the commuters going home.