The L Word

Liverpool, Leeds, London...the list of great 'L' cities in England isn't something I've paused to think about very often before, but I think it deserves some thought. I've now visit all three, and I've started to realise just how ignorant I've been about our small, but culturally diverse, country. Of course we all know London, but how many of our cities have you visited? How much history and heritage from any of them do you actually know? I hark from Sheffield, a city made famous (or perhaps that should be infamous) by 'The Full Monty', but the perceptions about it being a dingy industrial dump are quite simply false. Anyone who has seen the city's new Winter Gardens (apt for a city which is so interminably cold) or listened to the tragically short-lived Arctic Monkeys would have to agree. Leeds, except for it's charming (but dangerous to frequent with a Credit Card) Victoria Quarter, is arguably unremarkable, but Liverpool is another case in point. Floating along in my own little bubble I knew that it was the city of the Beatles and Colleen Rooney, but was hopelessly unaware that the stunning waterfront hid beautiful architecture, wonderful shops, two remarkable cathedrals, and a Tate gallery. Picasso's Weeping Woman was there, for goodness sake, as were some of Tracey Emin's 'neon' works. The city's Walker Gallery, too, is not only worth a visit, but vastly superior to Manchester's city Art Gallery, and bursting with little gems (Hockney, anyone) that I never expected to see. And best of all, it's free entry, and about one minute's walk from Liverpool Lime Street train station. Add to that the meagre cost of my £4.60 YP ticket from Sheffield, I was left incredibly impressed. Liverpool, you have been warned, I will be back...