Charles Dickens was fascinated by the frenetic activity in Liverpool's docks in the mid-19th century, vividly describing it in The Uncommercial Traveller:
"... there was a rattling of wheels, a clattering of hooves, a clashing of iron, a jolting of cotton and hides and casks of timber, an incessant deafening disturbance on the quays, that was the very madness of sound."
The sounds may have changed since then, but the granite-sided docks and monumental dockside warehouses are powerful reminders of the days when the Mersey became Britain's highway to the world.
Taking the ferry 'cross the Mersey' is an essential experience in itself and the 50-minute River Explorer river cruise offers a complete tour of this fascinating urban stretch of the river.
It's also the ideal place to plan your day from the wide variety of recreational opportunities now on offer along this lively waterfront. As the shore approaches, your eye takes in the promenades and riverfront walks alive with people who come to stroll, cycle, fish or simply enjoy the constantly changing river landscape.
On the Liverpool side, beyond the waterfront buildings that symbolised the city to generations of seafarers, lie the newly revitalised, World Heritage docklands. Grouped round the key visitor attraction of the Albert Dock you'll find shops, restaurants and bars, not to mention a national art gallery and two national museums.
One of the most exciting new additions to the landscape is the Liverpool Arena and Convention Centre which from 2008 will provide high-quality conference and arena facilities in a superb setting. And with the launch of the new Liverpool landing stage, cruise ships will soon become a regular sight in the Mersey.
Further along the waterfront you will find a chain of renovated docks that have become a focus for watersports, as well as a community of impressive new waterfront homes clustering round the masts that throng the busy marina. From here you can walk or cycle along the promenade almost to Garston, five miles away.
Over on the Wirral shore the ferry terminal at Seacombe provides an ideal stopping-off point. As well as visiting the colourful Aquarium and the newly created Spaceport attraction, you can admire the impressive Liverpool waterfront from the adjoining promenade that forms the start of a continuous waterfront route right round to Hoylake on the Dee Estuary.
From Birkenhead's Woodside terminal you can join the waterfront walk to ancient Birkenhead Priory - passing the site of the monks' original Mersey ferry over 800 years ago. Also well worth a visit are a working tramway, a historic pumping station and the other attractions of the ‘Birkenhead Packet'.
Away from the waterfront, you'll find recreational opportunities everywhere on both sides of the river. Many people are surprised to learn that Liverpool is one of Britain's greenest cities with extensive areas of parkland, while across the water Birkenhead can offer both a country park and a true city park. The recently refurbished Birkenhead Park was the UK's first public park and was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton.
