gryllosblog   Gryllo's (aka Ian Lewis') blog. All things to do with travel, wildlife especially birds, history, architecture and anything else that interests me.

In my last post I described the journey Margaret and I took through Wales. In this post I continue the saga as we drive from north Wales to Liverpool, Southport and Blackpool in Lancashire, Leeds and Harrogate in Yorkshire, Duffield in Derbyshire and eventually arrive at Maldon in Essex.

I have visited most of the major cities in the UK at one time or another but Liverpool has remained an exception. Margaret was keen to visit this most iconic of cities too. We arrived in the late afternoon and booked into our hotel adjacent to the newly refurbished docks.

As it was Sunday the following day we thought we had better visit the two cathedrals straight away as services would be going on in the morning. First, Liverpool’s imposing Anglican Cathedral.

According to Wikipedia: The cathedral is based on a design by Giles Gilbert Scott. The total external length of the building, including the Lady Chapel (dedicated to the Blessed Virgin), is 207 yards (189 m) making it the longest cathedral in the world;[n 1] its internal length is 160 yards (150 m). In terms of overall volume, Liverpool Cathedral ranks as the fifth-largest cathedral in the world[2] and contests with the incomplete Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City for the title of largest Anglican church building. With a height of 331 feet (101 m) it is also one of the world’s tallest non-spired church buildings and the third-tallest structure in the city of Liverpool. The cathedral is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

This cathedral spent a long time in the planning phase, as it’s construction was first authorised by Parliament in 1885. The initial site was unsuitable and due to various delays (including two World Wars) the opening ceremony wasn’t until 1978.

The beautiful Lady Chapel was the first part of the cathedral to be completed.

As the song In Our Liverpool Home goes if you want a cathedral we’ve got one to spare, Liverpool has two cathedrals. The Anglian version, although most impressive, is based on a traditional design, the Roman Catholic one is a wonder of modern architecture.

The circular design and the beautiful colours are quite breathtaking. Again from Wikipedia: ‘officially known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King,[it] is the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool and the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool in Liverpool, England. The Grade II Metropolitan Cathedral is one of Liverpool’s many listed buildings. To distinguish it from the Anglican Liverpool Cathedral, locals call it the “Catholic Cathedral.” Nicknames for the building include “Paddy’s Wigwam” and “The Mersey Funnel.” Unlike the Anglian one, construction was rapid, starting in 1962 and completed by 1967 although the site was purchased as long ago as 1930.

We were glad we visited the cathedral on Saturday afternoon but wished we had come half an hour earlier as we arrived just as they were locking up and we just had time to take a few photos of its wonderful interior.

We completed the day with a nice (chinese) meal in Chinatown.

The following day we walked the short distance to Albert Dock, an area of dockland that has been renovated and turned into attractive accommodation, shops, museums and other attractions.

We paid a quick visit to the Tate Liverpool (but although I like some modern art, I found little to my taste there) and a much longer visit to the Museum of Liverpool where we could have spent all day if we had the time.

I was very impressed by this panoramic painting by Ben Johnson (not the athlete) of the Liverpool skyline, with both the Anglican and RC cathedrals being clearly visible

The imposing Port of Liverpool Building, Royal Liver Building and Cunard Building at Pier Head are known as ‘the Three Graces’. This photo was taken through glass from the Museum of Liverpool, hence the unusual tint.

On the top of the Royal Liver Building are the two Liver Birds, the symbol of the City (and the name of an entertaining 70s Liverpudlian sitcom by Carla Lane).

But for all it’s great architecture, unique culture and importance of one of Britain’s most famous ports, Liverpool is best remembered by most as the origin of the Mersey Sound in the early 60’s, when various talented artists started to play live music in this famous club.

Across the road from the entrance to the Cavern is the ‘wall of fame’ commissioned by Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers which lists all the artists who played at the club in the 60s and 70s and few who have played more recently since it was refurbished. Centre stage, of course, is kept for the ‘fab four’, the Beatles, who not only put Liverpool on the world’s musical map but changed the face of popular music for ever.

However there is one artist I would have liked to see more than any other and his name is in the centre of this photo. I had a chance, but I was working at my father’s shop during University holidays in 1970 when Hendrix played at the Isle of Wight Festival. I could hardly go sick or just pack the job in without my father’s permission. If I had known that a few weeks later Hendrix would be dead then I might have acted differently!

We took a look inside the Cavern ….

….where even on a Sunday morning someone was playing ….

…. and admired a number of guitars donated by famous artists, for example this one has been signed by all the members of Queen.

We carried onto St George’s Hall and Lime Street Station and the imposing statue of Queen Victoria before heading back through a series of shopping arcades and covered walkways ….

…. until we were back at Albert Dock. There was much more to see in Liverpool but time was now pressing ….

…. as I had a long-awaited reunion in front of me. I first met Nia in 1970 at Leeds University on our microbiology course. We worked together after University in the Leeds Public Health Lab, but in 1974 she moved to London and we lost touch. She contacted a mutual friend via Friends Reunited six or seven years ago and he put her in touch with me. In the mean time she had moved to Lancashire, brought up two children and has a number of grandchildren. She now lives in Southport with her husband Graham. It was great to meet up gain after 42 years!

Before we left Southport we had a look at Southport Pier ….

…. which can be accessed either on foot or via a ‘noddy’ train.

The pier overlooks the Ribble Estuary which is probably the second most important site in the whole of the UK for wading birds and wildfowl. In winter it plays host to tens, if not hundreds of thousands of waders but in July we just saw a flock of Dunlin fly by and a distant gathering of Oystercatchers.

The nearby RSPB Marshside reserve added a few new species to our trip list, but once again winter would have been the time to come. We had already agreed with Nia and Graham to come again sometime in the future, but this time in February or March.

Looking across the mud-lats of the Ribble we could see the famous Blackpool Tower and the scary roller-coaster, and that was to be our next destination.

I have never been a fan of the traditional bucket and spade seaside resort, at least not in adulthood. Poole doesn’t fall into that category and Bournemouth only just does. Blackpool however is the epitome of ‘tack’ with its amusement arcades blaring out loud music, multiple fish and chip shops, candy floss stalls, the three piers with their ‘faded elegance’ and peeling facades and the ever-present smell of doughnuts.

The weather soon turned bad and there seemed to be no point in going up the famous Blackpool Tower as visibility was very poor ….

However Margaret, a fan of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, was keen that we visit the overly ornate Tower Ballroom.

With only two couples dancing the visit was hardly the ‘Strictly’ Blackpool extravaganza but it was well worth visiting.

I wasn’t too keen on the idea of going on Britain’s tallest roller-coaster ….

…. or travelling in a gilded carriage ….

…. but I was amused by these tiles on the promenade composed of a collection of comedy punch lines and dialogues, none more so then this famous dialogue from Fawlty Towers. The sketch, of course, was not intended to be critical of the Germans but of those fuddy-duddy Brits (epitomised by Basil Fawlty) who couldn’t put the past behind them. As can be clearly seen in this photo the rain was now very heavy, so we returned to the hotel to dry out.

Some holiday makers complain about gulls swooping down to snatch their food and are campaigning for a cull. I think this is absurd because if they don’t want their food snatched outdoor they obviously should eat it where that can’t happen (like indoors) plus they would be better off directing their anger instead towards those to intentionally feed the gulls and teach them that holiday makers equals free food!

From Blackpool we headed east to Leeds where I used to live in the 70s and booked into a hotel on the south side of the River Aire.

We were visiting Leeds to meet up with my old school and University mate Nigel Mackie whom I have known since 1967. Nigel greatly influenced my choice of music and my choice of politics and it is a great shame that we live so far apart. Rather than wander around Leeds again, we took advantage of the nice weather and went to Harewood House near Harrogate.

Buddhist monks in the gardens of a stately home was an unusual sight.

Taken from Wikipedia (again): Harewood House is a country house in Harewood near Leeds. Designed by architects John Carr and Robert Adam, it was built between 1759 and 1771 for wealthy plantation owner Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood. The landscape was designed by Lancelot “Capability” Brown and spans 1,000 acres at Harewood. Still home to the Lascelles family, Harewood House is a member of Treasure Houses of England, a marketing consortium for ten of the foremost historic homes in the country. The house is a Grade I listed building and a number of features in the grounds and courtyard have been listed as Grade I & II

The house, the upper stories of which are still lived in, contains the usual wonderfully ornate bedrooms, sitting rooms and libraries ….

…. none more so than the beautiful gallery. The extensive grounds were the site of a Red Kite reintroduction program and in spite of the huge numbers we saw in Wales, it was wonderful to see these soaring over the park and even over the suburbs of Leeds.

Leaving Leeds we drove south to Duffield in Derbyshire to visit my brother and his family. On route we called into Carsington Reservoir in the Derbyshire Dales as I know this to be a reliable site for two species we don’t see in Dorset – Tree Sparrow and Willow Tit. I’m glad to say we saw both.

As always we paid a visit to my sister-in-laws parents, Ida and Dennis. Dennis was full of his usual amusing stories and anecdotes – never a dull moment!

Leaving Derbyshire we drove south-east via the M1 and A14 to Essex. We had hoped to visit friends in Sussex on route but they had last-minute change of plans. With time on our hands we detoured to the town of Kettering in Northamptonshire where I lived from the age of 4 to 14 and I showed Margaret the house we used to live in, ….

…. Wicksteed Park that I used to visit at lunchtimes as it was adjacent to my senior school ….

…. and my old primary school that I attended from 1956 – 62.

There was more nostalgia as I returned an area known as Headlands. This railway bridge was much easier to look over then and several boys and I used to go train spotting from here. On the other side was open fields, a wood and a stream and here I remember seeing Water Voles, Foxes and a Barn Owl – all magical stuff for a kid like me. Now, of course, its a housing estate dominated by the roar of traffic on the A14.

With time for another stop, we had lunch at Fen Drayton near Cambridge and did a little birding at the nearby gravel pits. My last visit was in 2014 when I twitched a Baikal Teal but there was nothing of that quality on view today. However on the nearby Great Ouse River we had prolonged views of a swimming Grass Snake, a species I haven’t seen for many years.

We arrived at Margaret’s daughter Anita’s place in Maldon Essex on the evening of 7th. As Anita and John were at work on the Friday we met up with Simon Cox, an Essex birder I have met on several BirdQuest trips and another ringer. He was not doing any ringing that day but agreed to take us to the RSPB’s Old Hall marshes where we found this Glossy Ibis. In spite of the recent increase in numbers this remains a fairly rare bird.

Whilst staying at Maldon I took the opportunity to bird at Haybridge Basin on the other side of the Blackwater Estuary from Maldon. In a flock of 400+ Black-tailed Godwits I found three colour ringed individuals. Colour ringing is an excellent way of tracking some birds movements but the colour rings only allows a certain number of combinations and works best on long-legged birds that feed in open areas like mud flats where the ring combination can easily be read. All three birds had made remarkable journeys during their life, the best of the three I have reproduced below, showing multiple sightings in eastern England in winter and Iceland in the breeding season as well as a visit to Holland.

Of course we spent most of our time with Anita and John and went on a nice bike ride to the island of Northey which sits in the Blackwater Estuary opposite Heybridge Basin.