Martha and I decided to head to Liverpool for the day. Easy enough to catch a train from Manchester Oxford Road station direct to Liverpool Lime Street.

Immediately after exiting the station we saw a Christmas market in front of St George’s Hall, so we wandered over to get a closer look. I was hoping to score another ceramic mug but, alas, only paper cups were available for drinks. There were also a lot of carnival type games here in contrast to the mostly food, drink and shopping vibe of Manchester.

I really wanted to see St. Luke’s Bombed Out Church and the Liverpool Cathedral so while the rain stayed away we walked south past both landmarks. St. Marks had a lady at the entrance next to the ‘suggested’ donation plate so I threw in a couple of my coins and called it even as there is not much to see on the inside.

In contrast the cathedral was huge! It’s the largest church building in England and 7th largest in the world. I’ve been to three of the others larger ones on the list (St. Peter’s Basilica, Milan Cathedral, Seville Cathedral) but this one feels different as it’s newer and more open on the inside. We also visited while a children’s choir was practicing so that was a wonderful bonus.

The wind and drizzle was starting to wear us down so we made a quick visit to the Chavasse Park area and then found a place to get a drink.

The Bridewell, located inside an old police station, was very charming and although they didn’t have food, we decided to stay anyways as we found a great cozy spot to rest our feet. My barrel-aged Imperial Stout from Kirkstall Brewery hit the spot nicely.

We had about an hour before our return train so we walked over to Mathew Street, famous for being the street where the Beatles played early on and currently home to several music venues and pubs.

We only spent a cold 3 hours here but I would return with Eric in (hopefully) better weather.