A Few Days in Liverpool

Retired Mersey Ferry, The Royal Daffodil

The Royal Daffodil was built in 1962 as a passenger ferry on the River Mersey. Until a major refit in 1998/1999, it was called the Overchurch. It was withdrawn from service in 2012. The ship is now a floating leisure attraction at the Canning Dock, adjacent to the Royal Albert Dock.

This year, a new Mersey Ferry enters service, carrying on the name.

Today I visited Liverpool for a few days to see Mum, Alison and John. A trip that was supposed to start on the 14th July. Unfortunately, the Football World Cup semi-finals were starting then. The trip had to be rescheduled. There’s no way I wanted to be in a pub with the football blaring away on a TV. Or even at my sisters’, in case they wanted to watch the matches (they did). One thing I hate big time is listening to and watching football.

As usual, I caught the train from Huddersfield to Broad Green, getting to Huddersfield Station by bus.

Huddersfield Station

Huddersfield Station is currently being rebuilt. It’s still usable, but there is serious building work going on. Often, all or some trains are replaced with a rail replacement bus service. The station will be closed from the last service on December 24th until February 1st (well done closing it at the busiest time of the year).

When catching trains from the Station, it is always best to check with the train operator. The Transpennine Upgrade website has useful information about works at the station.

Before catching the train, I had a pint of Taylor’s Golden Best in the Kings Head (named after Jimi Hendrix), at the station. An excellent pint for just £4, cheap for Taylor’s. Taylor’s Landlord was also cheap, at £4.50 a pint.

My train to Liverpool was ten minutes late but arrived more or less on time.

On the train I carried on reading Tim Slessor’s book First Overland: London–Singapore by Land Rover. It’s taking some time to read this book; life seems to be getting in the way.

Broad Green Station

They’re also working on Broad Green Station. It started in May 2023 (as far as I can tell) and stopped after a few months. It still hasn’t restarted, but we are told the new station will be completed by the end of 2026. Don’t hold your breath. There’s a photo of the station, showing the works, in this post. In less than that time, Huddersfield station will be more or less rebuilt!

The quickest route from the station to my sister’s follows the road leading to the M62. The traffic noise is horrendous. I took the slightly longer route along Thomas Drive; it’s much quieter. I used to follow the same route to School in the late sixties and early seventies.

Bevvies in Town

After a quick hello to mum, my sister and I caught a number seven bus into town and met John in the Vernon Arms. After a few pints. we moved to the Ship and Mitre for a few more, and fish and chips for Alison and me. While writing this, I noticed I haven’t got a journal post about the Ship and Mitre. My next post will rectify that.

Then it was back to Alison’s for the awful quizzes (Mum loves them) and some episodes of Mash.