St Michael’s to Pier Head 19/01/25
Fifteen Strollers took the train to St Michael’s for the first walk of 2025. It was good to see everyone again and with no rain in the forecast, we didn’t mind the grey skies. We set off down Southwold Road and through the woods to Riverside Drive, where we crossed into the Festival Gardens. Here, the Chinese Garden has been neglected and looks quite sad. We were soon on the prom and what little wind there was, was behind us. A larger group of walkers was following and soon caught us up. A passing cyclist stopped to ask what the occasion was – he thought we were all one group on a charity walk! There were plenty of walkers, runners and cyclists on the prom but little to see on the river. As we approached the Chung Ku restaurant we could see the sandstone tunnel at the terminus of the Liverpool Overhead Railway in the distance. After we passed the restaurant and the Brunswick Business Park we saw the stone marking an “Imaginary Line” opposite its counterpart at Rock Ferry, marking the charging zone for vessels tied up on the Mersey. Oil tanker “Eagle Balder” was berthed at the Tranmere Oil Terminal across the river. We took a small detour inland along Harrison Way to Sefton Street to see the “Brunswick Ramp”. This was a ramp (and steps) to allow goods from the docks, carried by horse-and-cart and handcarts, to cross the Cheshire Lines Railway. It was erected by the Liverpool Health Committee in 1866. A number of anglers had set up lines into the river and they told us they caught whiting, cod, dabs and even small sharks! I’m still not sure whether the sharks were a wind up. Further along we came across a delightful group of juvenile oystercatchers pecking at worms on the prom’s edge and not in the least bothered by us strollers. We had to divert past Brunswick Marina to Sefton Street as our path was blocked by some repair work. We passed HMS Eaglet, where the Royal Navy Regional Headquarters moved to in1998. Behind Sefton Street, we could see a bronze coloured roof adorned with decorative sculptures. I took a quick look up Perry Street and discovered the building housed Liverpool Theatre School, but was possibly previously a Chinese restaurant as the roof and arch over the entrance were topped with dragon, fu dog and dragon boat sculptures. We returned to the waterfront at “The Keel” – previously the HM Customs building known as Queen’s Dock. At the front, there are two bronze statues, called “Time and Tide” by Philip Bews, both on steel columns. The dock wall has relief panels made by Diane Gorvin, of past ship repair activity and computer users depicting the future. We saw the “Daffodil” floating restaurant, formerly the Royal Daffodil, berthed at Canning Dock. In the distance at the cruise liner terminal we could see two large vessels. One was the Isle Of Man ferry, “Manxman”, the other was the naval ship, “RFA Tidespring”. The Royal Navy and RFA occasionally use the cruise terminal as a stop over as they conduct trials and transit in and out of Cammell Lairds. We ended our walk at the Museum and split for lunches and homeward journeys.
Thanks to Brian and Brenda for organising and leading the walk.