She had a bad start that morning with 'nothing to wear' and after she had tried on a thousand options we headed north. Fortunately our first stop was at a cafe (obviously) which consisted of a few boutique shops. I noticed a mannequin wearing a lovely ribbed cardigan with a cupcake lace frill so said to her lets check out the store. The clothing label was gorgeous and really suited Carols shape so I became the runner and she hit the fitting room. Three dresses, and two tops later we left oh and plus a good coffee.
Our next port was Liverpool and we were both impressed and amazed at how they have blended the old with the new architecture here. The Docks area which has a huge industry history with ship building and fishing has all been restored and it is the largest grade 1 listed project I the UK.
The Docks
The restored Docks buildings.
Carol and I went up on the wheel which gave you stunning views of the city
Liverpool from the top of the wheel
The giant Cathedral
The art gallery which has its shape based on the letter X for maximum hanging space.
Old and new buildings together. You do not see this very often in England. They are mostly old.
Liverpool is, of course the home of the Beatles and attracts lots of tourists. The museum for this is in one of the Docks buildings. We were very impressed with the city.
Our drive continued further north to Blackpool where we arrived about 5.00. We had a booking at a B and B near the beach so headed there to check in. When John had made the bookings the reviews rated it 9 out of 10 mostly so we were hopeful of something reasonably nice. OMG. it was just very very average to awful. Anyhow we checked in and decided to walk the strip area where the lights are which is about 10 miles of coast.
The illuminations are quite spectacular and there are lighted themes of every imaginable thing, cartoon, story etc, etc.
View of street with terraced houses next door to our guesthouse
Our guesthouse in Blackpool
Lights along the promenade at night. Sorry camera died this point, so had to get day time shots but they are still pretty amazing.
Scenes of the light parade - really fantastic to see at night.
Views of the beautiful beach and you can imagine the party atmosphere in summer.
Whilst it all looks gorgeous the main town part is quite awful and depressed and felt quite oppressive. We tried to find a decent coffee house, but were very pleased to head it of town to do this. We walked for miles the previous evening looking for a meal but the only thing that remotely appealed was a diner offering a roast. Sadly we think it had been cooked three month previous and hauled out and reheated. It was awful!!!
We decided to cheer ourselves up by coming home through Iron Bridge. John and I had visited here earlier in the year, but it is somewhere you can visit again and again. It is the original location for the production of fhe most gorgeous Coalport China.
Views of Ironbridge Gorge
The original Coalport factory and kiln. The name and from the location where the coal used to be delivered to for use during the industrial revolution.
Some examples of the exquisitely painted china.
We felt quite refreshed after visiting a place with such beauty.
Location:Liverpool, Blackpool and Ironbridge
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