Hi Kev I don't know![]()
we started walking from Otterspool towards the Albert Dock & only realise we were in the festival site when we saw the Japanese garden ,it was a lot harder to find our way out luckily 2 lads were sagging school in there & showed us a gap in the fence otherwise we might have still be in there
Mandy
There used to be a hole in the fence on the seaward side, just past the pub.
I haven't a clue if it's still there though. So not much help there then!![]()
Ermine tastes much the same as sackcloth when there's nothing left to eat.
Liverpool's International Garden Festival Site
Saturday 30th September 2006
An early morning drive took me and my eldest lad to the very small car park that is hidden just off the round-a-bout on Riverside Drive. The gate was open so we went through, the man walking his dog plus well trodden pathways were reasurance that we were ok.
Walking around the edge of the fence we saw plenty of openings into the site but carried on round until another much larger gap appeared with well trodden paths on the other side, where many had been before us.
We were immediately greeted by a huge hill, that we decided to walk up. From the top (which is very small area to stand) we could see all around, the Anglican Cathedral, the Festival Dome, southwards towards Garston. That was a unique experience.
Returning towards ground level we continued following the path around until little reminders of what was once a world class tourist attraction began to appear. The old paths, wooden bridges, overgrown lakes even a large hand impression that I seem to remember included dinosaur ones.
As we carried on, a shiver went down my spine as the Japanese gardens came into view. I was excited and stunned. They have stood here for decades in this condition, a testament to the original build quality? Lets hope these are restored soon.
Time was flying by as we began our exit towards the promenade towards the River Mersey. Even that was beautiful as we walked towards the railings.
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Was that the dome that used to have Pleasure Island in it?
I also see you found my handprint.![]()
Last edited by Max; 09-30-2006 at 02:08 PM.
Gididi Gididi Goo.
That place has so much potential I wish they'd give it priority and develop it.
I was really interested in those photos Kev.
It's so sad and depressing to see the state of the place tho' .. I had 3 great days out at the Garden Festival all those years ago.
I remember all the various features so well. I remember all the crowds of people and the queues to get in. There was a great atmosphere.
Who would have dreamed then that the site would end up looking like it does now.
Eerie and depressing.
It would make a fantastic park.
Last edited by lindylou; 10-01-2006 at 03:13 PM.
I feel the same Lindy.
We had a cracking day there with some of our Chinese friends from London. I'm not sure whether they were more impressed with the Garden Festival or the fact that the waiters in China Town spoke Cantonese/Manchurian in a Scouse accent!
Guess who's doing the cuddling in the pic?![]()
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The most recent news on the site has stated that developers Langtree has teamed up with housebuilders David McLean to develop large areas of the site for residential and leisure use, with the former gardens restored, 2 weeks ago.
A few old photos of the Garden Festival:
http://community.webshots.com/user/maidmarion114
Good pics everyone! I have not read enough to know whether anything is going to be one at the Garden Festival site for 2008? I sincerely hope so because it looks a bit of an eyesore now, doesn't it.
I was going to post the following in the new creative area. However, because of the close proximity of the area I am talking about to the Garden Festival site I thought it might fit here. Time, summer of 1965.
Sunset Over the River Mersey
In the misty summer distance,
the sun disappears in the hazy
Welsh hills beyond the Wirral:
one of the colour slides I took
as a teenager with my 35 mil
Zenith Russian camera, an orange-
purple sky and the reflection
on the muddy shore of Otterspool,
not exactly exotic but beautiful
despite the black, dun glutinous mud
(soil around Liverpool's black-brown),
maybe a car tire, the twisted wheel
of an old baby pram, just south
from the Beatles' Cazzie Shore.
I painted the same scene in acrylic;
long, slim painting to match the scene,
the layout of my slide, presented the pic
to some friends; never saw it again.
Christopher T. George
Christopher T. George
Editor, Ripperologist
Editor, Loch Raven Review
http://christophertgeorge.blogspot.com/
Chris on Flickr and on MySpace
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