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Merseyside Accommodation

World Heritage Site - Liverpool's Three Graces, seen from the Albert Dock

Anfield - Liverpool Football Club & Museum

Liverpool and The Beatles: now part of music mythology

Liverpool Maritime Museum & International Slavery Museum on the Albert Dock

Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa on England's Golf Coast

Antony Gormley's 'Another Place' at Crosby Beach, Sefton Coast

Southport's Victorian Wayfarers Shopping Arcade on famous Lord Street

Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight on the Wirral

Fort Perch Rock & the Lighthouse from New Brighton Promenade

Birkenhead Priory, Merseyside's oldest building dating from 1150

Liverpool Southport Sefton Coast Wirral Liverpool City Centre Merseyside Tourism UK

Liverpool is one of the North's premier city breaks, crammed with a superb choice of galleries, museums, boat trips on the Mersey, historic churches and architecture and a host of special events and exhibitions running through 2008 - Liverpool European City of Culture year. The history of Liverpool is a fascinating journey, containing numerous stories of immigration and emigration, shipping heritage, slavery and in the 20th century struggle and protest. The city's history is given due attention in museums such as the Maritime Museum and International Slavery Museum on Albert Dock and in the hotly awaited new Liverpool Museum due to open on the waterfront in 2010 (replacing the hugely popular Museum of Liverpool Life). Merseyside is served by its own international and growing airport situated just 7 miles outside Liverpool city centre. Public transport within the area is superb including a comprehensive bus service with numerous daily open top bus tours on offer. Ferries push daily across the Mersey to Birkenhead's ferry port Woodside and further north Seacombe Ferry port which is also home to popular family attraction Spaceport. Merseyside's network rail service is likewise superb, enabling quick and easy daytrips to numerous attractions around Liverpool including one of the UK's best safari parks at Knowsley and the popular World of Glass family attraction at St Helens.

Southport, a mere 18 miles north of Liverpool, shines as one of the North West's most attractive classic seaside resorts. Boosted by the splendour of its preserved Victorian architecture, particularly along Southport's most famous shopping mecca Lord Street, Southport sits on the Sefton Coast, renowned for its spectacular beaches. The town boasts a superb mix of seaside holiday attractions including a historic Victorian Pier, a choice of waterparks and amusement parks, theatres, galleries and arts centres. In Merseyside you'll find two of England's Golf Coast Royals - Birkdale near Southport which hosts the Open in 2008 and Royal Liverpool on the Wirral Coast. The Royals are boosted by a huge choice of golf clubs across Merseyside. One of the region's unique features is the Wirral Peninsula which boasts a diverse range of attractions including acclaimed museums and art galleries alongside some of the best of the North West's golf courses and a stunning coastline stretching from New Brighton to West Kirby and the Hilbre Islands on the Dee Estuary.

Liverpool City Centre - European Capital of Culture

Liverpool's historic waterfront along the River Mersey is one of the city's top cultural hubs. Here sits the now World Heritage Pier Head, The Royal Liver Building, the Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool. The Albert Docks were extensively renovated to great effect in the 1980s and here you'll find some of Liverpool's most popular museums and galleries including the Maritime Museum incorporating on the third floor the definitive International Slavery Museum, the Tate Liverpool, numerous chic cafes and restaurants, and stunning promenade walks overlooking the striking dockside architecture by Herbert J. Rowse on the Birkenhead riverfront across the Mersey. If you're new to Liverpool, the Albert Docks is a superb area to start your Liverpool cultural city break before moving on to more museums in the centre and around the city. Liverpool's choice of museums, galleries, arts centres, new cutting edge media and film centres and the city's unique shopping experience make Liverpool one of the UK's most exciting city breaks.

In all its museums, Liverpool doesn't mince it's words and tells the stories straight from the perspectives of those who experienced Liverpool life. Mersey-beats and the Beatles are of course legendary and homage is duly paid to the Beatles in many of the museums and Beatles tours around the city. The Grand National and Aintree race course, Liverpool FC, Everton FC, beautiful cathedrals, spectacular art galleries with world renowned collections and three large universities make Liverpool the place to be. Learn more about how British cities and businesses grew fat on the back of the slave trade at the Maritime Museum on the Albert Dock and how merchants made their fortunes pumping the proceeds back into Liverpool, and taking high offices like becoming the Major or members of parliament. Take Thomas Leyland, one of the richest men in Liverpool. From 1782 to 1807 he transported well over 3000 slaves to Jamaica and in 1807 he started his own bank - Leyland and Bullin. This bank became part of the Midland Bank.

Albert Dock Visitor Information Centre, Anchor Courtyard, Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4BS. Open 7 days a week from Oct to March 10am to 5pm. From April to Sept 10am to 5.30pm.

08 Place, Liverpool Tourist Information Centre, 36-38 Whitechapel, Liverpool L2 6DZ. Tel. (00 44) (0)151 233 2008. Open all year round Mon, Weds, Thurs, Sat from 9am to 6pm, Tues 10am to 6pm, Sunday & Bank Holidays 11am to 4pm. Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Arrivals Hall, Liverpool, L24 1YD. Tel. (00 44) (0) 151 907 1057. Open all year round 5am to Midnight.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport & Around Liverpool

Liverpool Airport sits just 7 miles outside Liverpool city centre and is one of the UK's top expanding airports. Served by budget airlines like Ryanair, you can fly direct to Liverpool from numerous European destinations including Girona, Barcelona, Lisbon, Paris and Rome. Within the UK and Ireland direct flight destinations to Liverpool include Belfast, Dublin, Inverness, Aberdeen, the Isle of Man, Cork, Derry and Shannon.

Direct bus services leave from Liverpool Airport to Liverpool City Centre every 20 minutes, Mondays to Fridays daytimes, and in the evenings and weekends every half hour - fares are excellent value, see the Airport's webguide right for prices. Bus services also run hourly direct from Liverpool Airport to Manchester City Centre.

Check out the website for comprehensive details on essentials such as parking at Liverpool Airport.www.liverpooljohnlennonairport.comCustomer Services, Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Liverpool, L24 1YD. Passenger Information Tel. 0871 521 8484.

Many of Merseyside's top family attractions sit around Liverpool. Two of the most popular include the spectacular Knowsley Safari Park - one of the best in the UK. Another firm family favourite is the Catalyst Science Centre in Widnes which has chemistry as its particular theme and offers three award winning interactive galleries. Gardens and green space are in abundance around Liverpool and top spots include Sefton Park with its classic vast Victorian Glasshouse just south of Liverpool City Centre. Not to be missed too is the perfect fun packed family day out at the National Wildflower Centre set within the Victorian Court Hey Park just 5 miles from Liverpool City Centre. Knowsley, Huyton, Kirkby, Halton, Widnes, Runcorn and Prescot all offer easy access into Liverpool City Centre via bus or train. Both Runcorn and Widnes are conveniently situated just east of Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

England's Golf Coast in the North West

Some of the UK's finest golf courses are here along the Wirral, Lancashire and Mersey coastline inclusive of three famous Royals - Royal Birkdale, Royal Liverpool and Royal Lytham & St Annes. These three historic British golf courses have regularly played host to the Open Championships, and in 2008 Royal Birkdale is to host the Open Championships again.

The Royals attract a huge international audience and are complimented by a host of other premier private and municipal golf courses in the region including Formby Hall, Southport & Ainsdale, Hesketh and Hillside Golf Club. Southport and the Wirral combined boast 7 championship courses. Golf choice is huge in the area and from Southport 27 golf courses are within a 30 minute drive, whilst a further 160 golf courses are within a one hour drive. Southport can justifiably claim to be one of the UK's golf capitals!

Many of the courses around the Royals on the North West Golf Coast play host to other major golf competitions such as the Ryder Cup and other amateur events. The Ryder Cup has been at Southport & Ainsdale and Royal Birkdale twice. They also serve as qualifier courses for the Open.

Southport Classic English Seaside Resort

Southport's key success is its wide appeal and choice of attractions. As a family seaside holiday base, Southport is one of the best boasting amusement park Pleasure Land with a hefty mix of 'challenging' roller coasters and plenty smaller rides for the tots. Also in the resort is waterpark and leisure complex centre Splash World which combines cutting edge water rides with on-site Dunes Leisure Centre with spa, gym and leisure facilities. Other seaside amusement centres are dotted along the prom and on the pier. Boat trips, a miniature railway, bowls, go-karting, pitch & putt golf and a host of restaurants, cafes and traditional seaside fare are here aplenty.

Other highlights include Southport's eclectic mix of events and festivals - the town's international Jazz Festival at the end of May annually picks up national media attention (checkout the webguide right for this year's outstanding line up). Other events in Southport's exciting calendar include the Southport Comedy Week, the North West Motor Show, the Southport Air Show, Flower Shows and the popular Woodvale Rally.

Southport Tourist Information Centre, 112 Lord Street, Southport, Merseyside PR8 1NY. Tel. 01704 533333.

The Wirral Peninsula & Wirral Golf Holidays

The Wirral Peninsula is the Merseyside region's hidden gem. Stunning natural beauty on the Wirral in both the interior and on the coast particularly at West Kirby and the Hilbre Island nature reserves sits alongside stunning Victorian and Georgian architecture at Birkenhead around Hamilton Square and outstanding art at the Lady Lever Art Gallery at Port Sunlight. The historic seaside resort of New Brighton is currently seeing numerous regeneration projects which promise to boost its already superb choice of traditional seaside attractions including the Floral Hall and promenade overlooking historic Fort Perch Rock and the Lighthouse.

The Wirral Peninsula is a UK hotspot for golf holidays. Complimenting the North West's plethora of golf course choice elsewhere around Southport, Merseyside and England's Golf Coast, the Wirral is home to one of the three Royals in the area - Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake which hosted the Open Championships in 2006. Alongside main big four Wirral Golf Clubs - Royal Liverpool, Caldy, Heswall and Wallasey sit a host of private and municipal golf courses across the Wirral. Not only have you some of the finest golf courses close to hand on your Wirral Golf Holiday, you've also easy access to a huge choice of outstanding golf courses in the North West including Royal Birkdale, Royal Lytham St Annes and England's Golf Coast.

St Helens & Haydock Park Racecourse

St Helens sits mid-way between European Capital of Culture city Liverpool and Manchester and boasts a fine selection of cutting edge new attractions all its own. The World of Glass in St Helens is an award winning famiily attraction and nearby Haydock Park Racecourse is one of Britain's most popular racecourses. The Citadel Arts Centre is fast becoming one of the Northwest's premier live music and performance venues situated in the heart of St Helens town centre and the new Northwest Museum of Road Transport holds an outstanding collection of vintage buses - the UK's largest. The industrial history of St Helens is rich. The town was once the capital of the global glass industry and it was here that Stephenson's Rocket won the Rainhill Trials. St Helens is also home to the Vulcan Locamotive Works and the Grade I Listed Sankey Viaduct, the first of its kind in the UK, is not to be missed on the Rail Heritage Trail.

St Helens is the home of rugby - World Champions the Saints have proved to be the Super League's most successful team. St Helens is a popular Northwest shopping town. Historic Tyrer's Department Store is a St Helens tradition, complimented by an attractive town centre with a wide selection of high street stores, cafes, restaurants and bars. Merseyside's largest Lake and highest point is near St Helens at Carr Mill Dam and Billinge Hill. Internationally acclaimed public art is appearing on Merseyside. Alongside Antony Gormley's 'Another Place' on Crosby Beach, St Helens now boasts 'Dream' by Jaume Plensa on the site of the old Sutton Manor Colliery. Ex miner's had a big input into the project.

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