The Skylark was my mode of transport for 40 minutes today and what a great little informative tour. Thank to Johnny Blue for putting me onto it.
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And so we're off, starting at the Albert Dock - then into Salthouse then Wapping Dock.
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The Baltic Fleet from a level not normally viewed with its funnel painted chimneys. It was from here where people were press ganged into serving on ships, often not coming round until miles at sea then made to sign up for 10 years with no choice and no passage back to Liverpool. It's regarded as one of Liverpool's oldest pubs and has its own 'Wapping brewery' in the cellar.
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The 'Seven pillars memorial'. Pillars adorn the whole length of this largest cluster of grade one listed fireproof warehouse buildings - holding up the structures above - but the very last warehouse was bombed during the May blitz so the pillars act as a monument on behalf of all the dockers killed during that strike and many others that didn't see the docks close for a single day during the war, them in fact being integral to it.
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Jesse Hartley's Brunswick Dock tunnels: The dock level no longer rises and falls with the Mersey tide but it once did. When timber was landed onto the quayside at high tide, all was well, but when the tide went out, the water level fell 20 feet and gangways would have been too steep to land the heavy timbers. Jesse Hartley had tunnels cut into the dock wall so that the timbers could be loaded at low tide too onto waiting wagons and carts that then came up a slope.
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These plush apartments went for up to £650K because of their pseudo French Riviera views.
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It is reputed that Tom Jones and Steven Gerrard have vessels moored here. This one, Emmy B is Spice Girl Emma Bunton's.
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I have to go the H.M. Customs & Excise building through work, but have never seen it at this level before.
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The rear of H.M.S. Eaglet - that's the building, Liverpool's very own Naval base.
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Liverpool watersports centre.
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We are now at the Mersey wall and this man made slope was once an outlet to the River. There is a gate to the right of this so theoretically, this vessel could go out onto the Mersey but as explained, the port authorities charge £160 each way - which would dramatically increase the fiver ticket cost
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And so we head back and overtake the Duck Marine WWII landing craft in the process. By law all these boats have to sound their horn when going under bridges so as we negotiated 5 of them - our ears were deafened 10 times.
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