Image Attribution: By Phil Nash from Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 & GFDL

April 2024

This was our Society’s first organised tour and Liverpool turned out to be such a gem of a city, captivating us all. We enjoyed five sociable, educational and fun days, sampling Liverpool’s diverse restaurants and with time for retail therapy and personal sightseeing.

On the way up, we visited Attingham Park, a fine Georgian mansion and one of the most visited National Trust properties. A fascinating highlight for some of us was the following “not to be missed” tour:

"Amazing", "Exciting",  "A privilege to visit",  and "Best ever NT tour" - Just some of the feedback to Sonya, our marvellous guide for the “Hidden Home Tour” at Attingham Park.  We were shown through a suite of rooms on two floors used by the late and final Lady Berwick before her death in 1972   In 1980 the Trust let the same rooms to Mr Edwin Deerborn-Cohen, a hugely successful American businessman who furnished them with his collection of Regency period furniture, pictures and china to fulfil his dream of living the life of a Regency gentleman.  The rooms remain just as they were at the time of his death in 2020 and provide an enthralling glimpse into the past.   

In Liverpool, Simone our excellent Blue Badge Guide for the whole tour, started with an orientation of the city by coach to the Georgian quarter, Albert Docks, Waterfront, famous Liver Building, finishing at the Metropolitan Roman Catholic Cathedral, known affectionately by locals as “Paddy’s Wigwam”, due to its conical shape. As a contrast we also later visited the UK’s largest Anglican Cathedral, designed by Giles Gilbert Scott who also designed one of the smallest “buildings”, the red PO phone box.

A special moment was a visit to see an original copy of Audobon’s “Birds of America” at the Liverpool Central Library. Only 120 copies survive and one was recently sold for 8 million dollars! This was followed by a guided tour of the Walker Art Gallery, housing one of the finest collections of fine and decorative art in Europe.

Somewhere not to be missed was a visit to Port Sunlight, on the Wirral Peninsula. Built by the Lever family for their workers and has over 900 listed buildings, including a magnificent War Memorial. Lady Lever Art Gallery was added by William Hesketh Lever, Lord Leverhulme in memory of his wife and houses a superb collection of stunning artworks.

A blustery visit to Crosby Beach was rewarded with seeing Antony Gormley’s “Another Place”, a massive installation of 100 cast iron figures, stretched out in the sand along the coast.

Our last morning was spent at the Museum of Liverpool, telling the story of Liverpool and its people and our journey home, provided a chance to visit the National Trust’s Little Moreton Hall, one of the finest examples of a timber framed moated house and a chance to enjoy a final cup of tea and cake!

(Contributions from Alison Norris and Pat Spencer)