24 Hours in Liverpool
When I set out on my adventure, I can honestly say that visiting Liverpool was not on my must-do list. I didn't really know anything about the city other than that it is the birthplace of the Beatles and the local accent is a tricky one for my American ears. My trip to Liverpool was entirely based on wanting to see an exhibition of Tim Hetherington's work at the OpenEye Gallery. Hetherington was an award winning photojournalist, spending most of his time in the worst places in the world, producing incredible images and telling important stories. (If you have not already, I highly recommend you see both Restrepo, which he co-directed with Sebastian Junger, and Which Way is the Front Line From Here, created by Junger following Hetherington's death in Libya in 2011 while covering the civil war).
I considered simply making a day trip to see the exhibition (Liverpool is just over two hours from London by train), but after a bit of research I quickly realized there was a lot more to see and do in Liverpool and decided to make it an overnight visit, booking a room at the modern and minimalist Hope Street Hotel.
Liverpool is home to numerous architecturally significant buildings - ranging from Tudor to ultra-modern styles - and is scattered throughout with sculpture and street art. It is a photographer's dream city.
My first stop was the Open Eye Gallery and the exhibition was absolutely worth the trip. While many of the images in You Never See Them Like This were familiar from the documentaries, there is something about seeing them on a large scale that makes them that much more intense. His Sleeping Soldiers series was one of the most moving I've ever seen.
Following a trip to the nearby Tate Liverpool, I planned to take a ferry ride across the Mersey (cue up Gerry and the Pacemakers) but the gale force winds and my proclivity to motion sickness cancelled those plans!
Instead, I stumbled upon "The Beatles Hidden Gallery" -- located above the ferry terminal -- which is home to a treasure trove of previously unseen images of The Beatles taken between 1963-1964 by Paul Beriff. It was the perfect bridge between my main interests in visiting Liverpool: photography and doing something Beatles-related.
When it comes to The Beatles, I am enough of a fan that I had to do something John/Paul/George & Ringo-related, but not so much that I had to take a two hour bus tour or visit their homesteads. Instead, I decided that I would pay a visit to the club where it all began, and where so many legends have played, The Cavern Club. Technically the current Cavern is actually next door to the original, but they recreated the space using a lot of materials from the original, so it was good enough for me! I descended the stairs, ordered a pint and settled in with fellow-fans for an acoustic Beatles-tribute set. Perfect.
Having finally warmed up, I braced myself for the wind and walked back down to the Albert Docks to do a quick night shoot (and nearly got blown into the Mersey!) before heading "home" to Hope Street for dinner at their lovely restaurant, The London Carriage Works.
The next morning, the sun was shining and the weather was perfect for a trip to the top of Liverpool Cathedral's vestry tower. The Cathedral is the largest in the United Kingdom and the fifth largest in the world (and was designed by the same architect who designed the iconic red telephone booths, Giles Gilbert Scott). Thankfully, there are lifts to take you most of the way up the tower, but the hundred or so steps you have to climb offer terrific views of the tower bells (I can't imagine how loud it would be when they are ringing!).
The views were absolutely wonderful and well-worth the ticket and the queue.
After a quick trip to Bold Street for a bowl of Scouse at Maggie May's, I hopped back on a train and enjoyed my view of sunny Autumn English countryside as we raced back to London.