What’s the best way to see Liverpool? Wake up at the back… Yep, the ferry across the Mersey. Liverpool scores bonus points because they’ve even named a song after it. Although it loses points because, by the end of the cruise they actually play it. Oh dear.
Still, on a good day the forty minute-or-so trip is a delight. Brief commentary offers at-a-glance facts about the major buildings you can spot from the deck while strategically placed information boards reveal that this route is the oldest paid river crossing in the UK, dating back to 1150. There’s a cafe onboard.
Until the end of 2016 there’s a chance to see Sir Peter Blake’s take on dazzle ships – Everybody Razzle Dazzle, which covers a Mersey Ferry with the distinctive patterning originally used during WWI to camouflage British ships. Visitors to the ferry can learn more about the history of dazzle and the role that the Mersey Ferries took in the First World War in an on-board display.
Alight at Seacombe for Spaceport, an incongruously placed visitor attraction complete with planetarium and hands-on astronomy exhibits aimed at young children.
