I have been to... Liverpool

 We recently spent a few days in Liverpool. I've been there several times for work, but those trips usually involved trains at the crack of dawn and last thing at night, although I did attend a Research Computing conference there overnight some years ago. Anyway, it was nice to visit the city as a tourist.

The mighty Cavern Club, restored naturally, as the original closed years ago.

We stayed in a hotel down in the restored docklands right on the riverfront. A lovely part of town and you've never imagine it was the second heaviest bombed place in Britain in WW2.

Top of my itinerary was the Western Approaches HQ museum, set back a few streets from the docks.

This was the old command bunker for the Battle of the Atlantic, now restored as a museum.

Lots of comms equipment, teleprinters at the top, telephone switchboard at the bottom. The whole structure is some way underground.

The main Ops Room is just jaw dropping. The ceiling is at least 20' high and covered in enormous maps on the North Atlantic.

Tally boards tracking Aircraft and Convoys.

Larger scale map of the UK, the doorway gives an idea of its size.

There are some sample convoy tracks up on the main map.

This poster commemorates the "capture" of a U-Boat by a Hudson.

There were several Luftwaffe target maps of Liverpool, unsurprisingly concentrating on the docks, railway stations and the dockyards across the river in Birkenhead. Despite being easy to find (like Hamburg, Rostock and Lubeck) due to being on the coast, the Luftwaffe scattered bombs all over the city. 

There was a special section on the Arctic Convoys. Nice model of a Flower Class corvette. I was lucky enough to go on one of the last year in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As I've previously mentioned, my grandfather was in the Royal Navy in the war and served on both the Atlantic convoys and the Murmansk run.

The bunker was continuously occupied by staff, telephones and tea being essentials.

There was a special sub-museum on the Wrens.

Most of the operational staff were women, average age 19-21.

More comms gear.

I'd completely forgotten the Post Office used to be called the GPO.

An original Enigma machine! This one was salvaged from a U-Boat, the bits of which are in a museum across the water in Birkenhead. Sadly the U-Boat museum closed years ago, although there are plans too reopen it an incorporate it in the Western Approaches museum. The sub is still visible from the Mersey Ferry.

The Maritime Museum was also around the corner, this one is free and well worth a visit. It has an entire floor devoted to the Lusitania, and half a floor to the Titanic.

There is a big section on the battle of the Atlantic in both WW1 and WW2.

And some really interesting sections on merchant marine and cruise liners.

One of the propellors from the Lusitania is in the dockyard outside.

As are are a number of other ships in various states of repair.

We took a ride on the Mersey Ferry, this one and its sister ship took part in the Zeebrugge Raid in WW1!

There were a number of ships under construction or commissioning in the naval dockyard, including Boaty McBoatface.

The Anglican Cathedral from the river.

Hey, its Liverpool. The Fab Four.

Eleanor Rigby.

The Beatles Museum was right near our hotel, but has poor reviews.

The modern Catholic Cathedral is just stunning. I used to walk past this on my way to meetings at Liverpool University, but I've never actually been inside.

It is very impressive and well worth a visit. I think this is the most modern cathedral in Britain.

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