The Heritage Ride 1

Liverpool Lime Street

I first had the idea of a Heritage Ride when I was taking a train from Manchester to Cardiff for work. I noticed that the headboard of the train showed that it was going all the way to Pembroke. Pembroke is where Palmours came from, first recorded in the 1660s. It looked like the type of train it would be easy to take a bike on. That got me to thinking; why not take the bike to Pembroke then ride back to York, where I live now, via Preston where I was born?

The more I thought about it, the better and bigger an idea it seemed. I started coming up with other places to visit: where I went to school, where I lived and worked, favourite places and so on. Soon the route was looking a little too long and a lot too unmanageable. But still a great idea.

So today, Day One of my Heritage Ride, I sit on a train bound from York to Liverpool for the first part of my trip. Trans Pennine Express trains have an excellent bike storage system, so I put the bike next to an elegant fixed wheel machine and sit amidst the many York to Leeds commuters.

The train crawls in towards Liverpool as if posing the question to all on board “Are you sure you want to go? Here?” But we do.

Lime Street Station, when I was a student it was a grim and gloomy place to get through as quickly as possible. Now it has been transformed into a typical light airy city centre station. There are statues of Ken Dodd [always risky to canonise a light entertainment figure in these post-Saville days] and Bessie Braddock MP, and a feeling of civic renewal. This contrasts with the once-mighty Adelphi Hotel that is now stranded forlorn and grubby next to the station. 

I stock up on provisions from the sparkling food outlets on the concourse, click my shoes into my pedals and head off.