England Isn’t Just London. Travel North West For Authentic Local Experiences
There’s so much more to England than its capital, London—something I rediscovered earlier this month, visiting childhood haunts in the North West.
A stroll along Otterspool’s Promenade, overlooking the River Mersey on a Saturday evening.
A walk around the "lake" at West Kirby (on the Wirral Peninsula) on a Sunday afternoon.
A trek over to Hilbre Island on a quiet weekday.
Then there were new dining experiences… British food can’t be described as "bad" anymore! In Liverpool, on Church Street, just off Penny Lane, and all along Allerton Road, a wide variety of restaurants are popping up. We tried Spire and weren’t disappointed. Healthy fare, satisfying portions nicely arranged, and friendly service.
In West Kirby, opposite the promenade, there’s the Sunset Lounge Bar. It’s been there for the last 21 years, and we signed a petition, at the owner’s urging, that the local council not close it down for redevelopment. A delicious mid-afternoon lunch snack hit the spot—well prepared food and old-world charm, good fuel for that walk around the lake. No! Visitors are not walking on water (in the Weskirb photo); the divide between the "lake" and inlet has a creative and historic walking trail. And, looking off into the distance, some more modern/incongruent constructions are clearly visible: wind turbines opposite Hoylake’s shoreline, the next resort over. Energy-saving opportunities are changing natural land and sea scapes everywhere, even here.
