River Mersey travel tips

As the old cliché testifies, it's often the journey not the destination that's most rewarding. With that in mind, here's ten spectacular journeys around Britain.

I hadn’t planned my walk along the Sankey Canal to coincide with the axing of HS2 but it happened like that. It was a sunny day. I had been promising myself a hike along the towpath for ages. I grew up in the area and it holds a special place in my affections. As I wandered it struck me that this under-explored waterway was arguably the UK’s first significant development in infrastructure since the Romans built roads. It was built in two years.

Inspired by Newcastle's Great Exhibition of the North, we take you to another great city in the North of England – Liverpool.

Even if you’re not in the city for International Beatle Week, there are plenty of Beatles-related things to do in and around Liverpool. Cavern Club, where the band played over 300 times, has become an institution and has live music seven days a week. The club’s Magical Mystery Tour meanwhile offers a whirlwind way of seeing as many Beatles-related places as possible, including Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane and the Casbah Coffee Club.

Ask most people living on the western bank of the River Mersey estuary where they’re from and they’ll tell you Liverpool. It’s easier that way. It’s a world-renowned city famous for musical exports and football heritage – everyone knows it. But they’re lying. What they really want to say is that they’re from the Wirral. Any mention of it, though, is met with a puzzled look. Nobody really knows about the Wirral, you see.