Albert Docks, Liverpool

Last Friday I visited Liverpool with my Art Gallery and Museums Studies class in order to visit the Museum of Liverpool and the Tate Liverpool. I have previously visited the docks briefly with a local friend but have never actually explored the docks fully. The Albert docks have been part of Liverpool's waterfront for over 100 years and now houses various nightlife venues and top museums. With stops at the highlights of Tate Liverpool and the Museum of Liverpool we also managed a whistle-stop viewing of the International Slavery Museum. I was impressed with how the docks have been brought into the 21st Century while still retaining historical value.

I found the 'Dazzle Ship' very amusing; the retired 760-tonne Pilot ship was transformed this summer by the Merseyside Maritime Museum and artist Carlos Cruz-Diaz. The stunningly eye catching piece dedicated to British marine artist Norman Wilkinson who first created 'dazzle ships' for the Navy in 1917.

I found the whole of the Albert Docks to be very interesting overall and wished I could have spent some more time exploring. There is definitely another visit in order some time soon. (When hopefully the weather will be better!)

The Tate Liverpool 

The Museum of Liverpool

While I am not a fan of modern art, the Tate Liverpool was definitely an experience and I can see why it is an integral part of the Albert Docks area. We particularly enjoyed a visit to the Andy Warhol exhibit that is currently showing at the Tate; his most iconic images are on show in a very dynamic display for the very reasonable price of £5 for a student admission. 

The Museum of Liverpool however was much more to my liking, full of interactivity and engagement which would be particularly fulfilling for those with younger members of the family. 

National Railway Museum, York

On a family trip to York, my younger brother wanted to visit the National Railway Museum. Now, as much as I love museums, I wasn't too stoked about visiting a museum full of trains and neither were my parents. Dropped off outside the museum, I was left as museum chaperone for the day. 

I have to say, the exterior did not excite me, instead it seemed to prepare me for a long boring day trudging around after my brother. We entered and left a donation (the museum is actually free admission) and were handed a map and a list of the day's activities by some very friendly staff members. We arrived in the Great Hall and almost immediately my preconceptions were proved wrong. Just the shear size and array of trains on display are enough to impress even if, like me, you know nothing about the history of trains.

The huge space that the objects are housed in helps to convey a sense of majesty and grandeur. Beautifully conserved and displayed, there is plenty of information on each train and many have elevated platforms for easy access to peer inside the driver's cab and carriages.

With a collection containing over 1,000,000 objects spanning 300 years of railway history it is easy to see why the visitor may get confused but it's safe to say that the use of space is utilised so well that you hardly notice that you are seeing so much in such a small amount of time. From a replica Stephenson's Rocket to the Eurostar and Japan's high speed bullet train, the National Rail Museum covers every aspect and delivers something for every visitor. We visited during the school summer holidays and the whole museum was very busy, especially with families and children. Even with the large amount of visitors on this day, the only crowded spaces we found were the gift shop and the cafes.

Station Hall is situated in a building across the street, accessible through an under-road tunnel. Station Hall was built in the 1870s and was once home to York's main goods station, functioning for nearly 100 years. The visitor is completely transported to a station of the past surrounded by classic station objects, celebrated Royal trains and impressive historic installations. 

In the center of Station Hall, with the impressive backdrop of the Royal trains, is The Dining Car Restaurant. A beautiful space where you can eat your lunch in a recreated Victorian lounge area or your very own traditional 'dining car' booth. This area was so beautiful and the perfect place to stop for lunch in this historic setting, we were really disappointed that we had already eaten lunch in the more modern (but equally lovely) Mallard Cafe in the Great Hall.

The National Railway Museum also offers some surprises along with the more typically expected engines and carriages. When I visited, the Gallery housed a beautiful photography exhibition covering industrial work spaces and employees. This lovely collection from a variety of photographers created a very artful area alongside the physically industrial space of the Station Hall and Great Hall.

One other surprise for me was The Warehouse; a lovely area that houses over 700,000 of the museum's objects displayed in an eclectic cabinet of curiosities layout. The visitor can spend hours just perusing the thousands upon thousands of objects ranging from chairs and train models to stained glass windows and the Platform 9 ¾ sign from the Harry Potter movies. Even though some may find the scattered display hard to stomach, I found it highly entertaining and could easily visit the museum again just to visit the Warehouse.

Overall, The National Railway Museum York, completely shattered my expectations and taught me not to judge a museum by it's cover! As a visitor with no previous knowledge of trains or railway history, I left feeling happy and educated and because of this I highly recommend a visit, it may change your mind too!

On a side note; I loved the mini-train which runs at regular intervals between the museum and York city center for a small fee. Especially what we needed on a rainy northern day!

The John Rylands Library, Manchester.

When I first moved to Manchester, The John Rylands Library in Deansgate was somewhere that really made me fall in love with the city. The late Victorian Neo-gothic building was opened to the public in 1900. It was founded in memory of John Rylands, Manchester's first multi-millionaire. Rylands owned the largest textile manufacturing company in the UK and the library was founded in his memory after his death in 1888 by his wife Enriqueta. Sat directly on the street on busy Deansgate, John Rylands is the perfect place to step away from the hustle and bustle outside. 

With church like architecture, the building itself seems to represent the worship of knowledge. The new building extension does not impose on the beauty of the original building at all, housing the cafe and gift shop, so to keep the more modern amenities from interrupting the flow of the old. The new and the old is juxtaposed perfectly with the original walls of the building still showing through as you walk up the stairs and into the library itself.

The library owns over 250,000 printed volumes and over a million manuscripts and archival items. The collections include Medieval illuminated manuscripts, what is believed to be the earliest specimen of The New Testament and the second largest selection of printings by William Caxton. Such a beautiful collection reflects the elegance and the artistry of the architecture itself and provides the perfect setting to browse the historic collections.  

One of my favourite parts of the library is the original Victorian toilets, which can be found next to the original entrance hall. They are still fully functioning and have been unchanged since 1900, showing a wonderful Victorian charm including cubicles large enough to fit in a traditional bustle skirt. Something that intrigues and delights me the most is that the library is still fully functioning place of academic research; all of the books and manuscripts in the library's collection are available to access through the libraries reader services and the dedicated reading room. 

The Historic Reading Room is easily my favourite area of the library, and one of the most spectacular places in Manchester. The huge stained glass windows and floor-to-ceiling book cases make the room a hybrid of church and library that creates an aura of wonder and resonance. The Historic Reading Room, as well as the rest of the library, still remains a place for quiet study, relaxation and research as well as an intriguing exhibition space presided over by the proud statues of Mr and Mrs Rylands themselves. Such a unique space and a beautiful building has fully cemented itself as one of my favourite Manchester places. 

     Well done to the staff of The John Rylands Library & their sense of humour!
    On my visit, Mr & Mrs Rylands were fully mustachioed  in honour of Movember.