England: Liverpool With The Beatles

John insisted on including Liverpool on our UK itinerary as he is a big Beatles fan, but he didn't end up going to any paid attractions as most exuded an air of profiteering. He just wanted to be in the same milieu. Apparently many people had the same idea - we saw many Beatles fans happily snapping pics at any and every Beatles monument, location, pub, or shop.

Liverpool itself was much grander than we had expected, with monumental neo-classical buildings sponsored by a highly profitable trade triangle, that took manufactured goods to West Africa, slaves to the Americas, then sugar, coffee, cotton, etc. back to Liverpool.

Its population went up more than 10-fold between 1800 and 1937, a historical peak. Many of the immigrants in that period came from Ireland, just 150 miles to the west. All four members of The Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr) had ancestral roots in Ireland.

Upon disembarking at Liverpool Lime Street Railway Station, we literally stepped down the stairs onto Lime Street in city center across from St George's Hall, and the Empire Theater where the Beatles played 6 times.






After checking into our hotel, we headed to the Walker Art Gallery whose collection of Pre-Rasphealite paintings is the largest and most impressive we've ever seen.








Not to mention this trio: King Henry VIII (center), The famous "Pelican Portrait" of Queen Elizabeth I (left), and Marguerite d'Angoulême, Queen of Navarre (right).


Most of The Beatles sites are in the Mathew Street area, particularly, the Cavern Club.






And its modern rhyming copycat the Cavern *Pub*, the John Lennon mural in front of the Sgt Peppers Apartments, the Liverpool Beatles Museum and more.










One afternoon we walked to check out the gi-nourmous Neo-Gothic Liverpool Cathedral, one of the 10-largest churches in the world, and then walked home via the busy Bold Street.










From our hotel on James Street it was a 5-minute walk to the Liverpool waterfront / docks. In addition to the so-called Three Graces buildings (1st below), there is the Art Deco George's Dock Building (2nd below) which is part of the ventilation system of the Queensway Tunnel, the spiffy modern Museum of Liverpool (3rd), and a larger-than-life statue of the Fab Four.








The River Mersey waterfront at night.
















The Picton Reading Room at Liverpool Central Library with excellent views from its rooftop terrace.






Historic Art Deco Royal Court Theatre

Wales: Conwy + Llandudno + Caernarfon Castle + Penrhyn Castle + Bodnant Garden

From Oxford we had a miserable travel day, because of cancelled, overcrowded trains. We originally had designs for a 4-hour stopover in Chester on our way to Conwy in North Wales. The delays ate up all our time; we went straight to Conwy.



Conwy was much smaller than I had expected, but rather likeable and medieval, founded in the 1200s, after King Edward I of England's conquest of Wales, to establish colonial power. It still has its medieval walls and castle. The castle was closed while we were there in preparation for filming of a feature film based on a video game. The rumor is it's Elden Ring, filmed in Imax with a $100 million budget. We were also mesmerized by the harbour's impressive tidal range and sturdy pair of bridges.











We originally had plans to climb Mount Snowdonia, but the weather was not good enough. One afternoon we popped over to Llandudno to have a quick look. Llandudno was founded by Edward Mostyn by converting public land to private land through Enclosure in the 1840s.

In the following decade, the railroad came to Llandudno, connecting it to the industrial heartland. In recent decades airplane travel has connected the industrial heartland to far greater places. Llandudno has held on surprisingly well, in fact I was thinking we should have based ourselves here, better selection of accommodation. One could say it was another version of Brighton in North Wales. See photos below of the Llandudno pier and promenade.







Another day from Conwy, we got a day ticket on the bus - we rode 5 and 5C - and made the rounds.

• Caernarfon Castle, another one of the King Edward I castles, like Conwy Castle, forming the "Iron Ring" of control and domination.
• National Trust Penrhyn Castle, not a real castle, but rather a grand house built in the style of a castle with profits from four Jamaica sugar plantations totaling 1000 slaves. There was William Morris wallpaper in situ!
• Bodnant Garden is known for its 160ft laburnum tunnel and it was in full bloom. It was glorious. John - now I see what other people are trying to do with real or fake plants, around the world. The gardens were gifted to the National Trust while the McLaren family still owns the house and 5000 acres; no direct connection to slaves and colonies. The McLaren's wealth came from chemical inventions and industrial ventures.

Bus 5C, plus Caernarfon Castle and its huge parking lot.






We left Caernarfon by bus, rode for about 15 minutes, then walked about 30 minutes in a light rain to Penrhyn Castle.
















And the Penrhyn Garden






The highlight of the National Trust Bodnant Garden is the Laburnum Arch, flowering when we visited!




Round Garden


The family's manorhouse.


The Terrace Garden


Pin Mill and Reflection, Lily Pond, and Canal Terrace


Himalayan Blue Poppy


The view from the Lily Terrace and its semi-circular Lily Pond.


More gardens.