This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Sixteen Stramblers took the train to Aigburth for one of our regular walks through South Liverpool’s Parks. Light rain soon faded away and although the sunshine stayed behind grey skies, it was dry with no wind. We made our way down Mersey Road to Otterspool Drive. A plaque on the pavement marks the original coastline before the prom was built. I’ve never noticed this before and couldn’t find out when it was installed. The prom was built partly with material excavated building the Queensway Mersey Tunnel. We turned into Otterspool Park, soon passing under the railway we’d arrived on. The paths were covered in soggy leaves but not muddy. At the end of the park, we walked up to the exit at the junction of Jericho Drive and Aigburth Road. The subway led us across Aigburth Road and into Sefton Park. We walked around the lake passing the fountains and bandstand. There weren’t as many autumn coloured leaves as I’d expected for late October. Passing the “Eros” fountain (it’s not Eros – it’s his brother, Anteros) we took a refreshment break at the Oasis In The Park Café. Refreshed, we walked up to the obelisk and out on to Windermere Terrace and into Princes Park (designed by Sir Joseph Paxton and opened in 1842. One of the first parks in England to have public access). We walked around the lake, stopping to look at the grave of Judy the Donkey who died in 1926. Loved by the children she gave rides to, she was alleged to have saved fifteen teenagers from an overturned boat on the park’s lake. Other tall tales of her exploits abound. We left the park at the magnificent Sunburst Gates and crossed into Princes Boulevard. Many plaques along the path give information on the history and development of the area. As we passed High Park Street, we could see the mural of Ringo Starr at the end of Admiral Grove. Part of the path is designated as “L8 Garden” with an L8 sculpture at its edge. Originally just the “8” with the links representing the chain connecting a ship to its anchor. The granite “L” was added later with maps of 1800s Liverpool etched on to it, as were the granite blocks with maritime phrases. A number of churches and places of worship are visible from the path and a plaque gives details of nine of them. Leaving the boulevard, we walked down Parliament Street to enter St James Park beside the Anglican Cathedral. Originally a quarry, it became a cemetery after the quarry was exhausted and includes the grave and monument to William Huskisson. The cemetery closed in 1936 and was turned into a park in 1972 by clearing the graves and using the headstones to line the walls and paths. We left the park through the tunnel up to the entrance to the Cathedral where the walk ended. Anne gave us an outline of next month’s walk in Westhead and invited suggestions for walks next year. There will be no walks in December and January.

Thanks to Anne for organising and leading the walk.