It was only the sixth day of my coastal walk when I came across a lone figure staring out to sea at Margate. Since then, I’ve looked forward to reaching Crosby Beach.
Is he searching the horizon for something? Waiting for an arrival? Or simply being, indomitable, standing alone against the wind and sea.
But he’s not alone. This is the setting for Another Place — 100 cast iron figures, casts of Antony Gormley’s own body, spread out over two miles. There is strength together.
Further north at Hightown, there’s a 4,000-year-old submerged forest. I don’t know whether this is part of the remains or a more recent addition, but it looks suitably gnarly.
Southport Pier is closed, so I take a stroll round the attractive park.
A woman is feeding goslings. There were 12 yesterday, but the vicious gulls ate five. The gulls approach menacingly, only to be driven back by the hissing parents, necks lowered. Unfortunately, they are greatly outnumbered and I fear that as soon as one of them leaves to find food, the goslings will be easy prey.
I don’t often get the chance for a close-up wildlife shot, but the goslings are happy to oblige, waddling close to the railings.
Catching the train back to Liverpool, I pop into The Cavern Club. It may be a tourist trap now, but the acts are excellent and I end up staying for three hours, chatting and drinking with a couple of Norwegian guys who visit the city every year to watch Liverpool. Gary Murphy plays a great two-hour set of classics including “Dueling Banjos” from Deliverance. My sort of place. Unfortunately, they empty the main stage area for the evening when the resident Beatles tribute band play and it’s sold out. I try to persuade the lady at the box office to squeeze me in but no joy.
I’m reluctant to head back to the hotel, so explore a few more backstreets for murals. An artist is standing on a hydraulic platform, about to start spraying a huge wall covered in black stencil lines. I could happily spend a long time in Liverpool.
Walk distance: 21 miles.
Total distance: 3,153 miles.
You didn’t mention the bit between Liverpool and Crosby so I hope you didn’t get bothered by the police (as I did) walking through the mostly derelict docks north of the city centre. Despite only ever being on the public road it seems walking along that road holding a SLR camera and map was enough to attract attention! I enjoyed another place though and pleasantly surprised by the coast of the Wirral though the beach at Southport seemed to be turning to mud at least nearer the shore line.
Southport itself was very pretty. I was probably up before the police on the grim road section out of Liverpool!
There are some of those Anthony Gormley figures in Edinburgh too. I love how those ones are being covered in barnacles. And the goslings are seriously cute.
I said to a friend “That will be me in 20 years.”. He said, “You don’t stand still long enough.” 🙂