Liverpool Things to Do Tips by ChrsStrl

The RC cathedral is a wonderful modern building - and they have fixed the roof now, but are currently expanding the shop and refectory area. Lovely people inside - the woman who works in the shop was a really helpful and friendly person!

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Directions: You cannot miss it!

Beautiful both outside and in try to visit it on a sunny day when the light is thrown across the circular space.

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Much less striking than the modern RC cathedral the Anglican one is fascinating in its own right. The interior has a bridge that crosses it.

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Do go up the tower. You ascend by lift and then 108 steps. it is an easy climb but the lifts sometimes require a little wait - they take only four at a time.

The views from the top are good.

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When I first saw this it was requiring a lot of work. Now it has been done and the city should be proud of the way it looks after its Victorian inheritance.

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Address: Sefton Park

Two and a half hours into Wales via Betws-y-Coed from Liverpool. Wonderful countryside, green hills, forests of firs, small villages looking rather mean and often grey, but the sudden views more than compensate. Lambs abound, which is pleasing to see that this time. But we experienced all the weathers, sun, rain, fog and mist, on the way.

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The village 'Prisoner' shop - full of good little mementos!

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The village proves to be a quirky little place. We report to reception and are directed where to check-in. Our room has moved again and we now find ourselves in, Fountains, just below room in which Noel Coward wrote 'Blithe Spirit' in 1941. It looks out across the Bay, in front of small heated swimming pool. The tide is out and there is a mass of dull sand, with channels of water.

Green islands rise in the Bay and, on the far side, the occasional solitary house stands, looking across the Bay. We wander up through the village of small shops and houses. The whole thing is rather indescribable.
The Prisoner shop has odd memorabilia of the series (which is shown every night on TV).

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Small details abound, odd pieces of statuary, sudden views. There is a campanile and a dome. The Dome holds a small art gallery, which has pictures of Portmeirion. The problem is, one is visually overwhelmed by details.

We sit and watch the video of the building of the village. Odd ones that stand out are the Toll House, which has a statue of St Peter, painted, on its balcony. The black cut-out sheep hangs as a sign (of what it is not clear) is on the outside. The Bell Tower stretches up, but it proves a windy corner, with views both ways. It is supposed to contain stones of the 12th century castle of the ancestor of Clough Williams Ellis, who was king of North Wales, and had his castle close to here. The Prisoner Shop, home of No. 6 in the series, was used only for its exterior. The interior was studio shot, and is supposedly a replica of the Prisoner's London home. The ornate ceiling in the Town Hall was Jacobean, bought for £13 from Flintshire. It has the labours of Hercules and the signs of the zodiac. It is a glorious piece of rescue work.

Near the Lady's Lodge is a large statue of Buddha that was used when 'The Inn of the Sixth Happiness' was filmed here. The central piazza has an ornately shaped pool and, at one end, the Pavilion with seven Ionic columns that Clough had acquired 30 years before, and left, unused. When eventually located a garden had been made over them!

The Bristol colonnade stretches on one side, rescued from the Bristol bath house. The Angel House, with its curving roof, was one of his first cottages, and looks out to the bandstand (built using the mermaid panels from the old seamen's home in Liverpool) and it disguises the electricity substation.

The hotel has a lovely mirror room, which is as it sounds, but it looks out over the estuary, so reflects the sky. The Indian room has tapestries of elephants. All rather pleasantly elegant.

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The village is a delight, its colours and quirks and the vista (when not covered by mist usually determining rain) of the estuary, sand that goes lighter gradually but through which are always channels of water. The small green island alternately is clear and then greyly mist-capped.

Our room is elegant, off-white fabric covers the day bed, chairs have ornate legs, one is like some old bow-legged farmer. The room is spacious, its glass door looking out on the steps leading down past the carp pool to the heated swimming pool. Upwards we get to the drive of the hotel. Small blue 'private' signs deter the casual day visitors from the routes. The food the second night was exceptionally good, and a Mexican red wine proves an unexpected delight. A fun meal. The weather never blesses us with sunshine and the Ghost Garden is closed off because of foot and mouth, but the rest of the walks are open, if a little muddy. The gazebo provides a fine view of the village,and a walk from and there to the painted arch means we discover Cliff House. Here the path leads to a windswept viewpoint and then on down to the shore. The sand can't be reached, a small river flows between the shore in the sand, too wide to span. It does give a view of the hotel from the seaward side, because of the curve of the bay. We walk on the concreted top of the low sea wall, back to fountains, emerging by our front gate. We visited June's room (inside the hotel Clough Ellis seems to have made it very similar to Romney Bay, all stairs and turns). It has an Irish tester and looks out across the Bay. It is, it seems, the bridal suite

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