A few weeks before Christmas, getting excited about a couple of weeks off, having Ryland over and not anticipating being horribly ill, I arranged a hire car out of Cardiff with the somewhat optimistic goal of driving home via Liverpool and Newcastle.
We got off to a great start, Mark and Nic drove us down to the rental place and they gave us a free upgrade (from Clio to Captur) and we hit the road shortly after. We headed out of Cardiff quickly and immediately headed north towards Liverpool - where we hit the worst traffic I've ever seen. Having not driven in 6 months I was looking forward to heading out on the road again. After spending seven hours crawling towards Liverpool I was over it. But we got there in the end.
We got off to a great start, Mark and Nic drove us down to the rental place and they gave us a free upgrade (from Clio to Captur) and we hit the road shortly after. We headed out of Cardiff quickly and immediately headed north towards Liverpool - where we hit the worst traffic I've ever seen. Having not driven in 6 months I was looking forward to heading out on the road again. After spending seven hours crawling towards Liverpool I was over it. But we got there in the end.
The Beatles' music was the first that affected me in that unique way that only music can, when it forces you to feel something. As a result I've been reading about Liverpool since I was quite young, that is to say I've been reading about Liverpool in the late 50s to early 60s. Liverpool today is a far cry from the working class, industrial port city that I associate with the Merseybeats scene of the Beatles' early years.
Like many other British industrial cities that found themselves largely redundant in the post-industrial era, Liverpool underwent a mini Renaissance and is now a thriving contemporary city with a strong artistic and creative culture. And then There's the Beatles. The Beatles are to Liverpool what sex and weed are to Amsterdam - without them you'd have nothing to put in the souvenir shops.
The Liverpool docks are worth a visit and it's here that Shannae and I went to The Beatles Experience, a museum dedicated to the Beatles and the Merseybeats scene that includes a replica of the interior of the now demolished cavern club.
The Liverpool docks are worth a visit and it's here that Shannae and I went to The Beatles Experience, a museum dedicated to the Beatles and the Merseybeats scene that includes a replica of the interior of the now demolished cavern club.
We also had a bit of a wander around the city, past the site of the old cavern club and the new one which is right next door, and up to the amazing Liverpool cathedral.
My original plan was to head from Liverpool to Newcastle in the northeast corner of England, but given the traffic between Cardiff and Liverpool we decided against this. On Ryland's suggestion we instead chose to go just a little further north to Blackpool.
Our Blackpool experience was all that I could have hoped for. Firstly, it looked exactly as I envisioned it; old, run down, tacky British summer holiday spot with the seaside fairgrounds and an overwhelming vibe of 'this place was beautiful, once'. On top of that, our hotel was perfect. Also old, run down, a little bar on the bottom floor complete with a little old lady who proudly declared "I've been coming here for thirty-two years", I wouldn't have been surprised to see Basil Fawlty behind the front desk.
We got there pretty late so crashed almost straight away before checking out the piers and the closed Pleasure Island the following day. Soon after that we headed off on the long drive back to London via the Peak District where I had my first experience driving in snow.
Our Blackpool experience was all that I could have hoped for. Firstly, it looked exactly as I envisioned it; old, run down, tacky British summer holiday spot with the seaside fairgrounds and an overwhelming vibe of 'this place was beautiful, once'. On top of that, our hotel was perfect. Also old, run down, a little bar on the bottom floor complete with a little old lady who proudly declared "I've been coming here for thirty-two years", I wouldn't have been surprised to see Basil Fawlty behind the front desk.
We got there pretty late so crashed almost straight away before checking out the piers and the closed Pleasure Island the following day. Soon after that we headed off on the long drive back to London via the Peak District where I had my first experience driving in snow.