Llangollen food festival, walks and Liverpool

We have done loads over the past few days, been out and about quite a bit, but the highlight was a trip to Liverpool yesterday.  

On Saturday the morning started very dull so we took a drive to the Llangollen Food Festival which took place at The Royal International Pavilion. It was a marvel of culinary delights, from sauces to different types of garlic, from yoghurts to toffee vodka. We sampled Llangollen Ale, dips, vegetarian black pudding and ice cream. A few bits were bought, Indian pesto, chilli sauce from Australia, chilli garlic and vegetarian scotch eggs. We were thankful that we went in the morning as by lunchtime it was getting very busy.

In the afternoon we walked up to Castell Dinan Bran which is a ruin of a medieval castle standing on a 800 foot hill above Llangollen. It was also the site of a Iron Age hill fort. The footpath up to the top zig-zags up the side of the hill and it was a good 45 minute climb, however it is well worth it. The 360 degree views were outstanding.

(photos: food festival and view from ruins)

Sunday was a very cold morning. The temperature in the cratch cover was 0 degrees and the ground was covered in frost. I checked the temperature at home at it appears that it was 5 degrees warmer. I was very surprised at the difference in temperature. Another notable difference is the sunset and sunrise times. Today in Chirk the sunrise was 7.45 am and sunset 18.04 and back at home sunrise 07:33 and sunset 18:00, quite remarkable.

Anyway, we woke up quite early and headed to the car boot sale. Sadly no old Tamiyas for Scott at a bargain price, but a new bed was purchased for Matilda (which she is not using despite it being next to the fire). In the afternoon we walked in the Berwyn Mountains. The walk in our book was described as an’ Easy, a fairly level walk with no steep hills’, which I imagined to be a slow meander especially needed after our hike the day before. Sadly, this was not the case, the footpath went up and up through fields and woods before turning down a country lane into a  field of sheep where the footpath took us along a river. It was such a lovely sunny  day and this valley was sun trap and very peaceful.

On Monday the alarm was set at 6.30 am and after a quick breakfast we drove to Chrik train station. The journey was a little hazardous as it seems the little rabbits had a death wish as they kept leaping out into the road. The car park at Chirk despite being small is very handy and free. The station soon filled up with commuters. The 7.38 train seems to be the only commuter train and even though it was busy it was not full. The train travels onto Wrexham, Chester and ends at  Holyhead. We alighted at Chester and transferred onto a train into Liverpool. This train was more like Metropolitan line train and the journey from Chester to Liverpool stopped at many stations along the way. The scenery was very much like any other suburb and reminded me of the journey from Rayners Lane and Uxbridge. During the train journey we made a plan for the day. I had a list of things to do from a friend who was from Liverpool. He wrote so passionately about the city and gave us such a comprehensive list that we were determined to see as much as possible.

We arrived at Lime Street Station and first walked to the Albert Dock via the Cavern Club (made famous by the Beatles). Even though it was not open, I had wanted to see it since I was little that I was too excited not to go there first. After a few photos we walked to the Albert Dock as the rain started. We got there just in time to take a ride on the ‘Yellow Duck Marine’ a tour bus which changes into a boat and goes into the water. The bus took us to the main sights before splashing into the water and taking drive/cruise around the docks. A fun way to see the city. After the tour we walked around the Docks. In particular the Albert Docks which is of course where This Morning was filmed (you remember, Richard and Judy and the man with the weather map in the water). We also went into the International Slavery Museum which was very moving and the Merseyside Maritime Museum which  had a very detailed model of the Titanic. Time was ticking and during lunch we figured that in fact we would not have time to see everything on our list. I was wishing that we had put the food timer on for Matilda so that we could have stayed the night to explore again the next day, especially as I saw a hotel which was Beatle themed. With a lack of time in mind, we decided that we would return another day and see the more cultural side of Liverpool. (The two Cathedrals unusually situated on either end of the same road) and booked ourselves on the Magical Mystery Tour (the Beatles Themed tour). This has been something I have wanted to do for years and really can’t believe that I have waited so long to do this.

The Tour bus was of course Beatles themed, quite tatty and the dashboard was held together with tape. The guide was very knowledgeable and spoke to Beatles history as the bus trundled through the suburbs of Liverpool. At times we were able to get out of the bus to take photos, however, other times we could only take pictures from it (e.g Strawberry fields).


The Magical Mystery Tour Bus:



PennyLane


John Lennon's home, 251 Menlove Avenue L25 7SA. This house is open to the public via the National Trust

This is one of Paul McCartney homes, his mother was a midwife and moved around alot. This house is also open via the National Trust

George Harrision's home and where he was born.


The Street where Ringo lived. I was surprised to see many streets where the houses are borded up and empty. I was unsure why, but I am guessing regeneration.



Strawberry Fields (L256EJ) This is a former Salavation Army Childrens home and was originally a Victorian Mansion which has been replaced. The gates however remain.



The wall outside the Cavern Club which has all the names of bands who have played inscribed.


Outside of the famous Cavern Club. The club was closed down in 1973 and was demolished in 1981. The club was rebuild on the original site and opened again in 1984. The beatles played 275 performances and played their last gig at the Cavern on the 3rd August 1963.

We ended the tour at the Cavern which was a fitting way to end our trip to Liverpool and I can tick something from the 'things to do before you die' list. We had a pint and watched a guitarist playing Beatles tunes before heading back on an uneventful journey home.