In previous posts I have looked at the street art that can be found around The Baltic Triangle and in the area close to London Road . In this post I will consider the art that can be found in and around Oldham Place as well a few other locations.
Oldham Place is quite hidden away and is not the sort of place you’d casually stumble across on a walk in the city. It can be found just off Roscoe Street which runs between Mount Pleasant and Leece Street. The nearest local landmark is The Bombed Out Church. The Roscoe Head is a very fine public house that you will also come across on Roscoe Street.
Oldham Place is the home of Zap Graffiti, here you can buy art supplies or take a graffiti art class held on Saturday afternoons. It has much to offer and gives a second reason to visit, if one were needed.
In the yard round the back there is a huge Back to the Future piece that takes up a whole wall.
The use of colour on some of the pieces is quite outstanding.
From the splendours of Oldham Place a short walk will bring you to the following locations.
Slater Street. Home to three pieces that formed part of the Contrast Mural Festival in Spring 2018.
It has two cathedrals. The Anglican Cathedral is separated from the Metropolitan Cathedral by the length of Hope Street. You could almost believe that it was planned that way, but it unfortunately wasn’t.
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
The Anglican Cathedral took 74 years to complete from when building began in 1904 and when you visit you can begin to understand why, its enormous. The Metropolitan Cathedral opened in 1967 and took a mere five years to build although there had been plans to build a Catholic cathedral in the city for many years. A previous attempt was abandoned in 1958 because of spiralling costs but the crypt still remains and has access from Brownlow Hill.
Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
The whole area around the cathedrals is well worth exploring. You can read about it here
2. It is the home of the Beatles. All four Beatles were natives of the city and performed many times in local venues before they became well known. The most famous of which is The Cavern Club on Mathew Street, although it is not the original building its a pretty close recreation and is well worth a visit.
There is so much that you can do in the city which is Beatle related, from The Beatles Story museum at the Albert Dock to tours out into the suburbs to see their childhood homes and locations such as Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields. If you are in the city before 22nd April 2019 you can also visit the John and Yoko Double Fantasy exhibition at The Museum of Liverpool which is a must see for all Beatles fans.
For information about Beatle related locations in the city you can read an article here
For details about the Double Fantasy exhibition you can read an article here
3. It has the Three Graces. The Three Graces together make the iconic Liverpool skyline at the Pier Head. Consisting of The Royal Liver Building, The Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building they were granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 2004.
The Royal Liver Building opened in 1911 and its design was influenced by buildings in Chicago. Two Liver Birds sit atop, one is looking out to sea, the other faces the city. It is said that if the Liver Birds were to leave, the city would fall!
The Royal Liver Building
The Cunard Building built between 1914 and 1918 and was the headquarters of The Cunard shipping line. At the start of the twentieth century Liverpool was the point of arrival and departure of numerous passenger ships and the building would have been a hive of activity.
The Cunard Building
The Port of Liverpool Building was the home of The Mersey Docks and Harbour Board when the city was one of the largest ports in the world.
The Port of Liverpool Building
Several years ago there were plans to create a fourth Grace, it was to resemble a cloud, but spiralling costs meant that the project was shelved.
4. The Royal Albert Dock. The Albert Dock is a waterfront warehouse complex built in 1846 at the time when Liverpool was a great trading port. It was the first building of its type not to use timber as part of its construction. It was therefore fireproof compared with similar dock warehouses. It was damaged by bombing in the Liverpool Blitz of 1941 and eventually closed in the early 1970s, quickly falling into a state of disrepair.
Regeneration in the early 80s saw the Albert Dock rise again and it quickly became a top tourist attraction in the city. In many ways the birth of Liverpool as a tourist destination began with the Albert Dock and the nearby Festival Gardens. Today the Dock is multi use with shops, restaurants and bars. It is also home to three excellent museums; The Beatles Story, The Maritime Museum and Tate Liverpool. The Albert Dock was granted Royal status in 2018.
5. Museums. If museums are your thing then Liverpool is the place for you as it caters for all ages and interests. William Brown Street is home to The Walker Art Gallery and The World Museum. The architecture here is well worth a visit in its own right.
Down at the waterfront there are a whole range of options with; Museum of Liverpool, Maritime Museum, International Slavery Museum, The Beatles Story, British Music Experience and Tate Liverpool. If you are able to move further out to the suburbs and beyond a whole new range opens up including the childhood homes of both John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
The medieval town of Saint Émilion is an absolute gem and is a must do destination for anyone visiting the Bordeaux region. It is a UNESCO world heritage site and its location is wonderful, completely surrounded by vineyards. It is one of the major wine growing appelations of the Bordeaux region, producing red wines and is an appellation where the merlot grape reigns supreme.
I have been lucky enough to visit Bordeaux on three separate occasions. In August it was hot and very crowded. Parking is limited in the town, it is surrounded  by vineyards, and is therefore very hard to come by if its busy. In December the town is very quiet and ideal for great photo opportunities but some businesses were closed as it was out of season. My most recent visit was in October and it was ideal. Not too busy, parking readily available even arriving late morning, everything open and pleasantly warm. I would guess visiting in spring would be pretty similar
Saint Emilion makes an excellent day trip from Bordeaux. The journey by car is around 50Km and takes about an hour depending on the traffic in Bordeaux when you leave. If you have planned a vineyard visit do allow plenty of time in case the traffic out of the city is bad. It is possible to catch a train from Bordeaux’s Gare St. Jean. There are 14 trains per day however not all of them are direct, the four trains during the main part of the day require a change at Libourne. At the time of writing the 9.11 from Bordeaux is the last direct train until the 17.09. The station at Saint Emilion is located about a 20 minute walk from the town, the walk is very pleasant but it is worth bearing in mind. It is also possible to join a tour from Bordeaux to the town. Costs here very much depend on the type of tour and its duration.
There is no getting away from the fact that Saint Emilion is a tourist town and wine is its most important business. Over the years I have seen that the number of shops selling wine has increased considerably. Many will allow you a tasting and there is no obligation to buy. There are some great wines for sale but you are unlikely to find any bargains amongst the more renown chateau on offer.
There is however much more to the town than wine. It is a town built for wandering, discovering the streets, alleyways and yards. As its small you don’t need a map but do bear in mind that its hilly. As you wander there are lots  of little shops and not all of them sell wine.
There are art galleries and craft shops which are well worth a visit and a stop for the local delicacy is a must. Macarons de Saint Émilion are not the brightly coloured creations that many may be familiar with. These are thin, crisp almond biscuits and they have been made here for centuries.
There are also plenty of restaurants to choose from and the terrace area in the lower part of the town is very popular and it is easy to see why. It is a superb location.
Cordeliers Cloister can be found in the eastern part of town and is a listed monument dating back to the 15th century. It was abandoned in the late 18th century but then the caves beneath were subsequently used for the production of sparking wine. The wine goes by the name of Les Cordeliers and its production is very rare in the local region. Tours of the cellars are available as is a tasting of the wines. A glass, or two, is very pleasant on a warm afternoon.
Saint Emilion never disappoints and I always seem to be able to find something new in this medieval town. A visit is a day well spent.
