A DAY IN LIVERPOOL

Ask any of my friends, I'm very proud to call myself a scouser and it's something I'm not ashamed to bang on about while surrounded by southerners at uni in Exeter. So when my friend from Essex came up to visit the other day I was delighted to show off Liverpool in all its glory and I thought it would be nice to document this and share in case anyone fancied a cheap cultural day out in Liverpool.

I decided to show off some of the best art we have up here in Merseyside so firstly we headed up to Crosby on the train, we got a day saver ticket for well under £5 and this served us well right through the day. My friend was keen to see the Anthony Gormley installation, Another Place which is 100 identical cast iron statues left along the beach. I've been to the installation more times than I can count but I never tire of it, it's so changeable depending on the weather, tide, time of year and your company. I've been before when the statues were surrounded by thick snow but this time the weather gods blessed us with glorious sunshine (throwing my friend's fears that she would be subjected to eternal greyness for her entire trip out of the window) and we got there when the tide was right out so we got to get up close and personal with the more sea-weathered statues.

After about an hour wandering about in the (slightly sticky) sand we were ready to jump on the train back to Central. The train out to the beach couldn't be easier, it's just under ten minutes walk right onto the beach.  It was lovely to show off the outdoorsy side of such a big city to my friend.

Back in town we decided it was time for lunch so I took my fellow vegetarian friend to one of my old favourites, The Egg Cafe, which was a bit of staple to my teenage weekends. We both had what is definitely the best cheese on toast I've ever eaten and homemade lemonade for about £7 each. Full of veggie goodness we then wandered down Bold Street, calling into the charity shops on the way before heading down to the Albert Docks. No trip to Liverpool would be complete without seeing the River Mersey and the Three Graces so we had a quick photo stop on the Pierhead and were both pleasantly surprised to see the class ferry across the Mersey revamped into a 'Dazzle ship'.

After this we headed over the main docks and ambled around the Tate Liverpool until it closed, we were lucky enough to catch the Matisse exhibition (for free!) which was so interesting. I also loved the thought process behind the collections as they were all inspired from one or two central piece so it was interesting to think how the art works were connected.

At this point our feet were tired, we'd be out for a long time and we were in need of sustenance so stopped off briefly for an iced coffee and fruit cooler before traipsing up the hill to see the Cathedrals (plural!), with a mini detour to see the Chinese Arch. Unfortunately we didn't get up there until after 6 so both cathedrals were closed but being the edgy kids that we are I dragged my friend around the Anglican Cathedral grounds to look at the old graves (not sure she was really a fan of this bit and our conversation did veer into morbid territory). We then walked along Hope Street to see the Catholic Cathedral (known locally as Paddy's Wigwam) before dragging our tired feet back to the station and heading home.

Managing to cram a trip to the beach, lunch, a walk round the Docks, an art gallery and two Cathedrals into one day really reminded me just how much Liverpool has to offer and I think my friend fell a bit in love with it too. This day out cost us around £15 and we managed to squeeze so much into it, I'd highly recommend anyone who isn't already in love with this city pay it a visit, we're a friendly bunch.