Saying goodbye to the Lakes and hello to Liverpool!
Today was most definitely a big change in scenery. We woke up this morning in Ambleside, and are currently in our Airbnb in Liverpool. Our train from Windermere wasn’t until 1pm this afternoon so we were able to pick my watch up from the local jewellers as it was getting a battery replacement, walk around town for a bit, and chill at a café. The weather was also gorgeous so sitting outside with a tea at the café was a perfect way to kill an hour or so before we had to get to the station.
We also got to Windermere station very early (again, travelling with us, that’s expected) so we hung out on the benches there for a while until the train came. Today’s travel day was a lot more straightforward than on the way up from London. We left on time, the train wasn’t too busy, and we arrived in Preston in an hour, with plenty of time to switch trains. Our second train was also an hour long and dropped us right in Liverpool. The station itself was a lot bigger than I expected, I actually really liked the station overall.
Stepping outside it was extremely overcast, which probably didn’t help with first impressions, especially because we had just come from beautiful weather in Ambleside. It was a bit jarring to be back in a big urban environment again, so I might just still be adjusting to this, but overall I don’t think Liverpool is the city for me. It just doesn’t have the vibrancy I loved in London, or even Melbourne. It definitely has personality, and I personally adore the scouse accent I think it’s so cooky, but there’s a certain dullness to it that doesn’t make it seem like much of a city as a whole, just lots of buildings with fun people. Does that kind of make sense?
We ducked around the corner to Tesco after we figured out our Airbnb, and stocked up on some groceries, before heading down to the Mersey Riverbank to check out Royal Albert Dock, which was definitely the highlight of the afternoon. It’s basically the area right on the river that used to be where shipments would come into the harbour. Now it’s been converted into a big dining and museum precinct, with definitely has the best vibes of the city. If the rest of the city had this energy I think I would really like it!
We ate at The Botanist, a restaurant in that area, which was absolutely divine! I had a lamb kebab, and it came dangling and you had to push it off the skewer. Loved the whole experience of it, it was really cool. And very different to all the other food I’ve had here so far, so it was very refreshing, more Moroccan flavours, I think?
After our dinner we went for a walk through the city to find the Cavern Club, which was where The Beatles started playing gigs when they were still a wee band. Obviously very touristy and novel, but it was still cool just to walk by. At this point I was really tired and being in a new city that I didn’t completely love meant I was looking forward to head back to the Airbnb and get some decent sleep.
I’ll give Liverpool another good chance tomorrow, we have some cool things planned! But just for reference, we didn’t choose to come to Liverpool because it was on the top of our list. It’s more because it’s a city with a good central airport that we’re flying from to get to our next destination. The fact there are a couple Beatles things to do does make it a good bonus, but Liverpool hasn’t been on the top of our list to go to. We need a break from the crazy walking! Hopefully we enjoy the Beatles tomorrow, I’m really looking forward to that, and having a relaxing day.
Will see how we go!
Currently MIA,
Lauren x
