Touring by bike and by foot
The day started with brilliant weather and collecting a bike from the hire shop near the Albert Dock. It turned out to be the best bike i have ridden in years and at £15 for a day it was good value. After a long day in the car yesterday it was great to be out on two wheels. www.liverpool-bicycle.co.uk/bikehire.htm
The idea of touring Liverpool by bike came from both my enjoyment in cycling but also critically my interest in the Liverpool branch of the Clarion Movement Cycle Club which I talked about at Aid and Abet last year in the Satellite In Expert Liverpool Talk (see post 47).
Liverpool is a busy city with vast roads and many lanes of traffic but i am a confident cyclist and the drivers were courteous. As i was at the Waterfront i decided to cycle along the docks area. I visited the city about 3 years ago for a two day stop over so it was great to be able to have a closer look. Being on the bike allows me to stop easily and take photographs. With my interest in most things Industrial the sights were really interesting and the smells distinct, Molasses from Tate and Lyle, Metal from the EMR recycling plant and Oil from the many engineering businesses. Most of the images were taken on a slide film so i will wait patiently to see the results once they come back from the processors.
After the docks, i spent time just cycling wherever, without looking at the map. It was a great way to see Liverpool, well some of it at least.
Later it was onwards and upwards to the Kensington area, past the Williamson’s Tunnels which Dominique was visiting. I was there to try and locate The Arc, the Clarion Clubhouse, once located at 65a Kensington. Alas after cycling up and down the road and even stopping to ask at the library I could find no trace of it, but then i hadnt expected to after my inital research on google maps. The librarian did give me the number of the central library archive so I could arrange a visit next time. It would have been great to see the Arc, but more importantly it took me to an area of Liverpool I wouldn’t have otherwise visited, and even more importantly it suggested my mode of transport which given the great bike and fantastic weather made for a thoroughly enjoyable day. After a short break for refreshments I decided to cycle off in the other direction along the Mersey. It consisted of cleaned up warehousing now reinvented as small business units and new domestic dwellings, mainly flats. The route was right next to the river and the cycling easy, what a joy!
Cycled: 19.5 Miles
Walked: 10 Miles
Nicola Naismith
