Rural Liverpool on a budget | VisitEngland Travel Blog

Jasmine Birtles

Jasmine Birtles, Moneymagpie.com founder and all-round expert on making your money go further, shares her weekend away in rural Liverpool where she stumbles upon plenty of hidden gems and a couple of tigers?

?Rural? may not be the first word that comes to mind when you think of Liverpool but you would be surprised. Come for a weekend and you will definitely want to come back for a week.

Day One

Arrive at Liverpool Lime Street station. Take the underground at Liverpool Lime Street straight to the wonderful village of Port Sunlight (15 mins door to door). You can easily spend the whole morning in Port Sunlight or even the whole day.

Port Sunlight ?Tim Dutton

Start off at the Port Sunlight Museum where you can find out about the fascinating history of the place and perhaps stop for coffee or a light lunch in their cafe. Walk around the village stopping particularly at the newly-refurbished war memorial which is a work of art in itself, and stop by Lady Lever Art Gallery to admire Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite masterpieces.

If you spend the whole day, drop in at the Tudor Rose tea rooms, take in a show at the Gladstone Theatre and have dinner at the Leverhulme Hotel and Spa. In fact, you might love the village so much that you decide to stay there overnight. If so, there are cottages for holiday hire. Just go to portsunlightvillage.co.uk to book. Rentals range from ?567.00 ? ?618.00 per calendar month.

Did you know? there are only four Wedgewood ?jasper? fireplaces in the world and three of them are in the Lady Lever gallery in Port Sunlight?

Birkenhead Park ?Tim Dutton

Next

Get back on the train and nip up to Birkenhead (Birkenhead Park Station) for a quiet stroll in the park. You can spend a happy hour or so walking round the park, taking some arty snaps of the Swiss Bridge and Roman Boathouse by the lake or, doing some exercises on the outdoor gym equipment followed by a snack in Cappuchino?s cafe.

Did you know? Birkenhead Park is the first publicly funded civic park in Britain. In other words, the first park where the working class had open public space to enjoy their leisure.

Overnight stay

Stay at Mere Brook House in Thornton Hough in the Wirral for 5 star gold bed and breakfast that is like home from home?.but better! It?s a beautiful house in lovely country surroundings and the owner, Lorna, together with Joanne who runs the housekeeping side make you feel so at home you won?t want to leave.

For dinner, pop down the road to The Cowshed restaurant at the historic Wheatsheaf Inn in Raby for a fabulous meal from its award-winning chef.

Speke Hall ?Liverpool City Region

Day Two

Take the train (at Bromborough station) back to Liverpool and pick up the bus (Liverpool Airport) to take you to Speke Hall, right next to the airport. Even if the house isn?t open it?s worth wandering round the grounds particularly their meadows which are lovely in the summer.

Next

Get the train from Liverpool South Parkway and spend the afternoon on the East side of Liverpool in the region of Knowsley where you can enjoy the delights of Knowsley Hall and its safari park.

The safari park is a joy for anyone of any age. Not only is there a host of wild animals (including baby ones) to delight in, but there?s a great restaurant for lunch or tea and lots of activities for children if you have some with you.

Knowsley Safari Park ?Liverpool City Region

Did you know?William Shakespeare was part of an acting troupe that performed regularly at Knowsley hall and the 6th Earl of Derby is believed by some to be the real author of Shakespeare?s works.

Alternatives

• Check out the wonderful Palm House in Sefton Park in Liverpool. This symphony in glass was beautifully restored in the 90?s and is now home to a variety of exotic plants. It?s worth visiting if you go for a walk in the park during the day or if you want some entertainment at night. They have regular events including comedy nights and dance classes.

• The whole Wirral peninsula is also great for cycling and horse riding as it is generally flat and for horses there?s a great mixture of countryside and seaside to trot through.

Palm House, Sefton Park ?Peter Ealey

Moneysaving tips

• If you?re going by train remember you can get a third off your ticket with a railcard and they only cost ?28 each.
• Also, the earlier you can book the better for getting cheap deals. If you?re not completely sure of your dates but you want a good deal, book with Southern as you can book any ticket with them and they will give you a full refund if you don?t use it.
• Prices for B&Bs are very reasonable in and around Liverpool. For an even cheaper deal try Airbnb.com which offers locals? spare rooms to stay in. Prices start from less than ?20 a night.

See visitengland.com/morecountryside for more ideas on rural breaks in England.

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Source: http://visitenglandblog.com/rural-liverpool-on-a-budget/

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