The Crown Princess arrived in Liverpool, England at approximately 4:30 a.m. We weren’t aware of the arrival at that early hour but learned of it at about 6 a.m. and departed the ship around 8 a.m. In a group of 16 Cruise Critic members, we began our tour of the day with Peter Rosenfeld of BusyBus Limited.
There were a number of different excursions offered for this port that included landmarks related to the Beetles and their songs. Since Sylvia and I were almost adults when the Beetles broke into the music scene in the US, we were not really interested in spending our day looking at Beetles memorabilia. Therefore, we had chosen an excursion that took us through the city of Liverpool and to then into the countryside of Wales. Here you see a couple of pictures of the Pier Head building in Liverpool, England.
Our first stop in Wales was the ancient city of Chester. Chester was founded in the year 79 by the Romans during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian. Chester's four main roads, Eastgate, Northgate, Watergate and Bridge, follow routes laid out at this time – almost 2,000 years ago.
Here you see Chester Cathedral, a Church of England cathedral. Built on Anglo-Saxon foundations dating back to 907, it has gradually been extended and rebuilt three times, the most lasting design from 1250 being what we mainly see today.
In Chester on a “walking tour” I quickly ducked into a camera shop where I was able to obtain a second battery for my camera. Once on the street again after this “quick” transaction of less than 5 minutes, I found that I could only barely see my group up ahead. Running for blocks I was finally able to catch the group and continued on at the fast pace set by our guide, Peter. With a complete 2 mile walk to stroll(?) around, we could experience virtually every period of known history—Romans, Vikings, Saxons, Medieval England, Victorians, Edwardians—it’s all there.
Eastgate and Eastgate Clock stand on the site of the original entrance to the Roman fortress. It is a prominent landmark in the city of Chester and is said to be the most photographed clock in England after Big Ben.
The original gate was guarded by a timber tower which was replaced by a stone tower in the 2nd century, and this in turn was replaced probably in the 14th century. The present gateway dates from 1768 and is a three-arched sandstone structure which carries the walkway forming part of Chester city walls. In 1899 a clock was added to the top of the gateway to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria two years earlier. It is carried on openwork iron pylons, has a clock face on all four sides.
Buildings reflecting architecture of all different styles & periods sit side by side in Chester.
Black-and-white buildings
Northgate of the wall around city of Chester.
(One of my favorite views.)
From Chester we traveled to see Conwy and it’s castle. Conwy is a fascinating walled town that includes the ruins of a large castle. Once the tour of the castle ruins was completed we shopped in the small stores and stopped for lunch in a pub. I ordered fish ‘n chips; Sylvia got something else. (I didn’t like the fish’n chips—too greasy for my taste).
For our mini bus the vehicle passageway through the city’s wall looked quite challenging. (We made it, very carefully & slowly!)
The lovely flowers in the city of Chester welcomed the tourists.
Back in the countryside we began to watch out the window of the bus for sheep; especially the rarer black ones.
We stopped at the Marble Church, St. Mary’s, Bodelwyddan. This Catholic church is built largely of limestone with a 202 ft high tower and steeple that can be seen for miles around. Externally there are many fine carvings including gargoyles and headstops. It is said that its name comes from the thirteen different kinds of marble within the interior, however many locals would say its name derives from its white “marble” appearance. The foundation stone was laid on the 24th July 1856.
Then, we continued on through the Snowdonia National Park for the breath-taking views…
As we traveled through the countryside of Wales we constantly watched for black sheep. Occasionally, one would be spotted by someone from our group, but not everyone would see it. Here, we all finally got to see a couple of black sheep.
Our terrific guide/driver, Peter Rosenfeld, from BusyBus.
The tour ended at about 5:30 back at the docks in Liverpool.
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