A Dull Day

By that I don't mean that the company was dull: far from it.  In fact CJ and I had an excellent few hours in the morning having coffee and doing the crossword at Brimstage Hall and Craft Village and mooching round a garden centre.  Driving between the two we stopped at the small village of Thornton Hough and at Raby to photograph some of the buildings.  The weather was dull but I'm hoping that you will enjoy the photos anyway.  I shall definitely return one day to take some more photos.  Perhaps I'll even compare them with some of my old photos if I can finds them.  The buildings may not have changed but the cars will have!

The Wheatsheaf Inn at Raby

The last photo brings back lots of pleasant memories from when I was 18+ and often met friends here for the occasional libation.  There were wonderful coal fires in the winter and the beer garden in the summer.  

At New Brighton

When I was a wee totey thing there was, far far away from where I lived in Liverpool a seaside resort called New Brighton. It was near enough to go for a day out but even that involved a bus or tram to Pier Head in Liverpool and a ferry across the Mersey (you'll know that, of course from the song by Gerry and The Pacemakers) to New Brighton. One day I'll find my old photos of the ferry and post them.

Today CJ and Jo live on the same side of the Mersey as New Brighton and today we decided to go and explore. We found a few things were still there but the rest of the town at its centre had been virtually rebuilt in recent years: new seaside blocks of desirable apartments.

Our carriage for our recent outings has been the trusty Nighthawk Tourer (also known by one of my neighbours as The Hearse). Today she was honoured with a wash whilst we were in a garden centre.

The Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm is a wind farm located on the Burbo Flats in Liverpool Bay at the entrance to the River Mersey.

The Perch Rock battery was completed in 1829. It mounted 18 guns, mostly 32 pounders, with 3 6" guns installed in 1899. Originally cut off at high tide, coastal reclamation has since made it fully accessible. It was built to protect the Port of Liverpool and as a fortified lighthouse to replace the old Perch Rock Light. It was originally built on an area known as Black Rock and was cut off at high tide, but now coastal reclamation has made it fully accessible. It is currently open as a museum.

New Brighton Lighthouse was originally known as Perch Rock Lighthouse and construction began in 1827. Since 1 October 1973 it has not been in use as a lighthouse, having been superseded by modern navigational technology. In the background on the other side of the River Mersey is the Crosby Coastguard Station.

An Hostelry

When I was in my 20s I used to frequent a little country pub on the Wirral.  It was called The Wheatsheaf at Raby.  When CJ, Jo and I were returning from one of our outings we passed it and stopped for a photo.  What really worried me was that although I recall that ‘the gang’ used to meet there a lot on our regular nights out I didn’t remember it inside at all.  In fact the only thing I could recall is that it was virtually impossible to park the car anywhere near it on a Thursday or Friday night.  One day I shall return.  Hopefully it will either be a cold winter night and the fire will be burning warm and welcoming or it will be a beautiful, warm and sunny summer evening.  The things of which memories are made.