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On a bright, sunny morning, twenty walkers met at Kirkdale Station for a “walk and talk” to Goodison Park, Anfield Cemetery, Stanley Park, Anfield Stadium and the Isla Gladstone Conservatory. A short walk along Westminster Road and Goodall Street took us to County Road and Nimrod Street where we learned that this street and the adjacent steets were named by the Welsh builder Owen Elias and his son, Owen William Elias. The first letters of the streets spelled out their names. We were now on Goodison Road, named after a City Engineer, George Goodison. At Goodison Park we saw the statues of Everton legends, Alan Ball, Howard Kendall and Colin Harvey outside St Luke’s Church. On regular match days, the church opens up two and a half hours before kick off for supporters to come and have a cup of tea or just a sit down. Everton don’t play games early on a Sunday to avoid clashing with the church’s regular services. We walked along Goodison Road to the “Park End” and the statue of record goal scorer, Dixie Dean. We crossed Walton Lane and entered Anfield Cemetery. Brian gave us a history of the cemetery and a tour of some of the graves. I had only visited a family grave here before and hadn’t appreciated the sheer scale of the plot. We left the cemetery and walked through Stanley Park. As we crossed a bridge over the lake, Brian told us of the design and development of the park. Anglers were enjoying the sunshine as the lake stretched into the distance. Leaving the lake, we crossed the open expanse of the park with a “host” of daffodils leading the eye to the Anfield Stadium. We left the park to see the murals of Liverpool players past and present before visiting the Hillsborough Memorial at the stadium. Having paid our espects, we re-entered Stanley Park and walked along its edge passing the attractive formal flower beds. We reached the restored and renamed Isla Gladstone Conservatory where, after learning of its history, we had our lunch.
A most pleasant and informative walk. Thanks to Brian for leading and all the local history, and to Brenda for organising the meal.