Festival Gardens | Otterspool | Restored Gardens & Apartments

[Chris B]

What a strange article. It's like the author couldn't quite decide what to write about - the Festival Gardens or the riverside walk - so decided to just put the two together in an uneasy mix.

Originally Posted by MR KITE

When you reach the river, it’s 5.5km to the Pier Head if you turn right. It sounded an appealing way to spend an hour or two. The promenade is clean and single-purpose; railed off from the riverside, on the landward side it’s utterly characterless, taking you beside banked shrubberies and alongside gated residential communities (one of which is on the site of the Herculaneum Dock, seemingly blotted out of memory) followed by even more heavily gated industrial estates, some of which have at least retained ranges of two-storey brick dock buildings, especially those of the Brunswick Docks.

A traffic-free route along the Mersey into central Liverpool is welcome but, if you are not training for a half-marathon and want to use your eyes, not your ears via headphones, it’s a joyless experience. Nothing moves on the water, there’s been no effort to attract bird life and there is no information about what you can see on the other side. For all those views across the Mersey, and the distant promise of the port and the Three Graces, this must rank as one of the dullest walks anywhere.

Funnily enough, I went along the river yesterday, taking in all the sections mentioned above. Now I'm not going to defend it all. There are certainly places that are in need of work like Columbus Quay and the wasteland near to Brunswick Dock to name two. However to call it dull and joyless seems very odd to me. Along the entire route, there are various pieces of interest - the old lock huts at the former entrance to Brunswick Half Tide Dock, the old rails still embedded in the cobbles at various points, the quirky South Ferry Basin, and other historic items dotted around, all of them adding interest to the area. It's not perfect, and perhaps some information signs would help (I agree on that point), but 'dullest walk anywhere'? No way.

[Awayo]

Good analysis ChriSBO. I was about to write something but that saves me (and spares the rest of us...).

[openlyJane]

Originally Posted by Chris B

What a strange article. It's like the author couldn't quite decide what to write about - the Festival Gardens or the riverside walk - so decided to just put the two together in an uneasy mix.



Funnily enough, I went along the river yesterday, taking in all the sections mentioned above. Now I'm not going to defend it all. There are certainly places that are in need of work like Columbus Quay and the wasteland near to Brunswick Dock to name two. However to call it dull and joyless seems very odd to me. Along the entire route, there are various pieces of interest - the old lock huts at the former entrance to Brunswick Half Tide Dock, the old rails still embedded in the cobbles at various points, the quirky South Ferry Basin, and other historic items dotted around, all of them adding interest to the area. It's not perfect, and perhaps some information signs would help (I agree on that point), but 'dullest walk anywhere'? No way.

I've emailed her with an invite to accompany me on a full length walk from Cressington into town. What a joyless piece that was.

[Liverpoolphil]

Was very encouraged to see the place very busy the other week during the bank holiday. People are using it and enjoying it. Was a bit worried when it took so long to get the cascade and lake fixed. The watercourses we flowing really strongly. I still think there should be a Friends of Festival Gardens set up. A fund people can donate to if they wish for the upkeep of the park. All monies would go to the park.

Very good resource for the city. I did the walk back into town the other week. Was a nice walk. Took an hour and a half at a nice pace. Very nice walk.

[Liverpoolphil]

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/...visits-3659608
Did anyone hear anything about this event? 58000 scouts on the site. Did i read that right?

[buggedboy]

No he met 58k across the whole trip.

[openlyJane]

Originally Posted by openlyJane

I've emailed her with an invite to accompany me on a full length walk from Cressington into town. What a joyless piece that was.

Gillian Darley responded to my email this morning. She was in the city to give a lecture; she is writing a book about Ian Nairn, Architectural Historian, and she was hoping to capture the atmosphere of his writings about The Mersey.

I described what would have been revealed, and the sights and experiences that would have been possible had she turned left instead of right, but also explained that most of that stretch into town belongs to British Waterways and not the city council. There is interest along here too, though, given the "right" frame of mind.

I sent a link to my thread and invited her to a shared stroll along the prom when/if next she's in town.

She responded positively, and said she'd contact me if in the city again ( very polite!).

I feel really disappointed when writers write definitively based on very little knowledge or experience of the city.

[Scarecrow]

I feel disappointed when they do know about the city and decide to wipe their arse on the place anyway. Carla Lane springs to mind.