Into the Heart of Liverpool

Sunday 13th September
Geoff had taken Barnaby for a long walk along the towpath early this morning as we anticipated that the one thing Liverpool would not be was dog walk friendly.

We were ready and waiting for our rendezvous with BW at 10.am for the run down starting at The Stanley Locks. A phone call from BW announced that they would be late as the 3 of the 4 boats departing through Swing Bridge 6 had been 1 hour late for their rendezvous!!!!

They eventually arrived and we donned our life jackets as we had read that they were compulsory. Better safe than sorry.

At the bottom of the locks in the first basin we wondered what these warehouses would eventually be turned into, they were certainly vast.
What a view

Looking into sun at the Liver Building

Although they will take 6 boats in and 6 out per day, we were the only one going in today. It was a wonderful experience slowly traversing all these huge basins which once has been full of ships.

Tunnels are not really my thing so I reluctantly handed the tiller to Geoff as we approached the first of the 3 new tunnels going under some of the vast buildings. These are all part of the new Millennium Link into Liverpool. In fact although they were very low they were also quite short (compared to some we have been through!)...I might even have managed

New tunnel looks very different from all the older ones on the system

A couple more locks also manned by BW brought us to the vast Albert Dock which has been redeveloped and is now surrounded by cafes restaurants and smaller shops etc.

The last bridge takes us into Salthouse Dock where new pontoons have been but in for the likes of us. There are about 40 pontoons and we are the 6th boat in so plenty of choice we thought.
However our designated berth was over in an area we had been told by another boatie to avoid so with a vast choice before us I turned round and reversed into a more appealing space......the intention was to find the harbour master and ask if it was OK to stay here. However no sign on anyone so we have settled in......now at 0830 waiting to see if he (or she) comes around and asks us to move..........with so much space that would be a little galling...........
We did some sightseeing yesterday(have gone into tourist mode) Geoff visited the Maritime Museum and I went to the Anglican Cathedral for the 4pm Communion. When I eventually managed to enter the building it was an awesome sight. I nearly gave up getting in as my map did not indicate the entrance and I navigated myself to the wrong end and it is a very roundabout route to reach the other end..........
We plan a longer visit today amongst other things. Daughter Emma is joining us this afternoon for a week so we thought Cathedrals would be visited prior to her arrival as they are probably not her cup of tea.
We only have two days to fit everything in and if it was not so late in the season we would probably ask to extend our stay. As it is we need to have Emma in Manchester to catch her return train next Sunday

Sunset from our mooring

Night sky from our mooring

So here we sit in this vast expanse of water, makes us feel quite small. We are surrounded by all the new regenerated part of Liverpool. Nobody is even asking us for a mooring fee!! Electricity and water are at the end of every pontoon. Electricity is via card and the water is not yet flowing but can be obtained by a short trip out to the next dock.