Wednesday, 20 March 2013

National Football Museum, Manchester.

Originally located in Preston, Lancashire, the National Football Museum was relocated to Manchester in 2012. Its 6 floors contain numerous exhibitions and thousands of items of football history from all across the globe. It holds classic balls, shirts and trophies from throughout the ages, including items belonging to many of the sports greatest legends. Some of the current exhibitions include the FA collection, UEFA library collection and the football league collection. For any football fan in the area, this is a must see...especially seen as entry is free!

Saturday, 9 March 2013

Speke Hall, Liverpool.

Speke Hall is a magnificent example of Tudor architecture, built in the 1500's during a time of religious turmoil. Because of this, the house contains a priest hole, allowing the priest to hide if in trouble, and observation hole, built in the chimney so that you can see people approaching, and an eavesdrop, a small hole under the eaves of the house which allow the servant to listen in on the conversations of people trying to gain entry at the original front door.
The house itself is a magnificent look through history, with many items of Victorian furniture available to view during tours of the house. It is also possible to roam the gardens, full of many beautiful plants and trees, as well as a maze and lots of fun things for kids. You can also explore the wooded areas and explore the nature of the area.
There have been many ghost stories involving Speke Hall. One is that a women, hurt by the unfaithfulness of her husband, killed her baby then herself. Another variant is that Mary Norris, one of the original inhabitants, haunts the tapestry room. Mary is believed to have thrown her baby out of the window into the moat before killing herself after her husband, a keen gambler, had lost almost all of their belongings. However, the moat is too far from the house for the baby to have been thrown into.


Tuesday, 5 March 2013

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, Liverpool.


The Metropolitan Cathedral, also known as 'Paddy's Wigwam', is one of Liverpool's two cathedrals, the other being the Anglican Cathedral of Christ, which is about half a mile away.
 Located in the city centre, this Roman Catholic cathedral was consecrated in 1967. A Roman Catholic cathedral was commissioned to be built after an influx of Irish into Liverpool during the Great Irish Famine
The building was designed by Sir Frederik Gibberd (1908-1984), who's design was picked from around 300 entries from all over the world. It is an amazing piece of architecture, so if you are Catholic, or just fond of unique buildings, the cathedral is easy to get to and tours are available for around £3.