Liverpool Marina was a great base for exploring the city and surrounding area—it’s an easy easy walk from the marina to the waterfront attractions at Royal Albert Dock and downtown. We spent nearly two weeks there, enjoying beautiful Liverpool and particularly the spectacular Bonfire Night fireworks display. Liverpool also is the home of KVH Media Group, who design, manufacture and support our primary satellite connection. And we took advantage of the city’s excellent train service to make two overnight trips, one to Manchester and another to York.

Below are trip highlights from October 30th through November 10th in Liverpool, UK. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at http://mvdirona.com/maps

10/30/2017

Liverpool Arrival Position: -2 59.06, 53 23.15 We arrived at the entrance to Liverpool Marina after an easy overnight from Belfast. Unfortunately the earliest we could enter due to tidal constraints was well after dark at 5:45pm. Fortunately the lock is well-lit and wasn’t difficult to enter at night. Read more …

10/31/2017

Liverpool Marina Position: -2 59.10, 53 23.44 Looking across Liverpool Marina the morning after we arrived. Dirona‘s stack, with grey domes and a red British courtesy flag, is visible at the left of the picture and the lock is just out of the picture on the right. This is the first time we’ve been docked with canal boats—some of the privately-owned ones here are very nicely done. From here canal boats can access the 127m (204km), 91-lock Leeds and Liverpool Canal without leaving the protected lock system or entering the River Mersey.

Manchester Position: -2 17.53, 53 27.76 Manchester has been a major manufacturing center since the Industrial Revolution. Many things were made there, including Jennifer. She was born in Manchester on October 31st and we made an overnight trip there from Liverpool on Halloween to celebrate her birthday. Read more …

11/2/2017

North Sea Logistics Position: -2 59.06, 53 23.36 We moved the boat this morning to a new berth because there wasn’t any power close by on our original assingment. Based on the pictures we’d seen of Liverpool Marina, showing canal boats and small pleasure craft, we were expecting Dirona feel a little out of place as the largest boat in the marina. But several large North Sea commercial boats berth there as well. This is North Sea Logistics Endeavour and Endurance. Endeavour is about to be lifted out at Bluepoint Marine Services.

Exploring Liverpool Position: -2 59.47, 53 23.98 Liverpool is perhaps best known as the hometown of the Beatles, but that’s only a small part of the city’s heritage. After our trip to Manchester, we spent two days exploring Liverpool’s beautiful waterfront. And you can’t go to Liverpool without visiting to the Beatles Story, a museum devoted to the band’s Liverpool roots and rise to fame. Read more …

11/4/2017

Dirona Position: -2 59.02, 53 23.28 Liverpool residents Martin and Mary Sloman sent us this picture they took of Dirona moored below their house, saying it was a nice change from the wind turbine boats they normally see.

Power Cable Position: -2 59.02, 53 23.28 We have 90ft of heavy 50A cable but when we arrived in Liverpool, it was just not quite long enough for where we were originally moored. So James made up another 50ft of cable this morning.

Liverpool Cathedral Position: -2 58.44, 53 23.94 Liverpool Cathedral is the largest church in Britain, and the fifth largest in the world. Construction began in 1904, funded largely through private donations from wealthy Liverpool residents during the height of the city’s commercial shipping success. The cathedral towers over the city from St. James Mount—we could clearly see it from the marina nearly a mile away. We walked up to St. James Mount and spent an afternoon touring the spectacular building, including climbing to the top of the tower for sweeping views over Liverpool. Read more …

Legends Position: -2 59.19, 53 24.40 We watched Liverpool Football Club play that night downstairs at Legends in downtown Liverpool. The city has a reputation for being a bit rough, particularly around football matches, but it was a great game in a good atmosphere.

Cavern Club Position: -2 59.27, 53 24.39 On our way home we passed the iconic Cavern Club, the Beatles home club where they played 275 times.

Fireworks Position: -2 59.02, 53 23.28 We’ve been seeing fireworks from the marina for the past few days. Tomorrow is Guy Fawkes Night, the anniversary of the failed November 5th, 1605 attempt to bomb the English parliament. Annual celebrations on that date include big bonfires and fireworks displays.

11/5/2017

Race Day Position: -2 59.02, 53 23.28 Perhaps a dozen sailboats left Liverpool Marina this Sunday morning. They fit as many as possible through together in the first locking, and at least two more groups went through after.

Dirona Position: -2 59.01, 53 23.29 We took this picture of Dirona at Liverpool Marina as we headed out to watch the Bonfire Night fireworks.

Wheel Position: -2 59.49, 53 23.90 The Freijwheel Wheel Of Liverpool adjacent to Dukes Dock looks awesome at night.

Albert Dock Position: -2 59.49, 53 23.91 Albert Dock all lit up for the season, with the lights reflecting into Dukes Dock. The Liverpool waterfront really is beautiful.

Bonfire Night Position: -2 59.70, 53 24.06 Thousands of people lined the Mersey River in downtown Liverpool to take in the Bonfire Night fireworks. Bonfire Night, or Guy Fawkes Night, is the anniversary of the failed November 5th, 1605 attempt to bomb the English parliament. Annual celebrations on that date include big bonfires and fireworks displays throughout the UK. We’ve also seen Guy Fawkes Night celebrated in New Zealand.

Fireworks Position: -2 59.56, 53 23.84 The Liverpool Bonfire Night was among the best fireworks shows we’ve ever seen. Matching displays were fired from a pair of barges moored in the Mersey River just off downtown Liverpool. We really enjoyed the show.

11/7/2017

York Position: -1 4.91, 53 57.74 York Minster, built mainly between 1220 and 1480, is one of the largest medieval cathedrals in Northern Europe and among the most beautiful Gothic buildings in the world. From Liverpool, we made a two-night visit by train to York, taking in the catherdal and the cities other excellent attractions, including the superb National Railway Museum, the largest railway museum in the world with over 100 locomotives on display, and the York City Walls that date from the 13th century and are the most complete medieval city walls in England. Read more …

11/9/2017

St. George’s Hall Position: -2 58.76, 53 24.47 Striking St George’s Hall, opposite Liverpool’s Lime Street Station, was built in the 1800s as a concert hall and courthouse. Initially two separate building were to be constructed, but the same designer won the bid for both and suggested combining them to create one large building that would be bigger than most other public buildings in the country at that time.

Queen Victoria Position: -2 59.38, 53 24.31 A monument to Queen Victoria in downtown Liverpool was unveiled in 1906. The statue amazingly survived the World War II Liverpool Blitz when most of the area was destroyed by German bombs.

Maritime Museum Position: -2 59.58, 53 24.09 We were looking forward to visiting the Merseyside Maritime Museum and learning more about the city’s growth and nautical history, but unfortunately many of the exhibits we were interested in were under construction and closed. We did enjoy the World War I and II exhibits though.

Albert Dock Position: -2 59.55, 53 24.06 The view to Albert Dock from their cafe might have been our favourite part of the Merseyside Maritime Museum.

Philharmonic Position: -2 58.22, 53 24.12 We stopped of for a drink at the fabulous Philharmonic bar, designed by the Lusitania shipwrights and considered one of the most beautiful bars in the country.

Loo Position: -2 58.22, 53 24.10 Even the loo at the Philharmonic is beautiful—its the country’s only heritage-listed bathroom.

Hard Wok Cafe Position: -2 58.35, 53 24.11 We loved the name of this Chinese food restaurant.

11/10/2017

KVH Position: -2 59.44, 53 24.38 The KVH Media Group is based in Liverpool and since we’re both KVH satellite communication users and known to enjoy technology, they invited us up to their office to meet the team and have lunch. From left to right are Stephanie Whitehead, Rob Parkin and Jamie Broadbent. We appreciated Jamie’s invitation to come learn more about KVH systems.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at http://mvdirona.com/maps.