The economy of Liverpool is beginning to recover from its long post WWII decline. Between 1995 and 2001 GVA per head grew at 6.3% annum. This compared with 5.8% for inner London and 5.7% for Bristol. The rate of Jobs growth was 9.2% compared with a national average of 4.9% for the same period, 1998-2002.

Like the rest of the United Kingdom the city has seen a large growth in service industries and has several major call centres. The activities of the port have left the site with a communications infrastructure that had for a long time exceeded requirements. Growth in the areas of New Media has been helped by the existence of a relatively large Computer game development community.

Tourism is a major factor in the economy and will be of increasing importance in the run up to the Liverpool years as European Capital of Culture. This has led to a great increase in the provision of high quality services such as Hotels, restaurants and clubs. The buildings of Liverpool not only attract tourists but also film makers, who regularly use Liverpool to double for many cities around the worlds and making it the second most filmed city in the UK.

There are three tunnels under the River Mersey: one railway tunnel, the Mersey Railway Tunnel, and two road tunnels, Queensway Tunnel and Kingsway Tunnel. There is also the Mersey Ferry, made famous by the song Ferry Cross the Mersey by Gerry and the Pacemakers. In fact the song is now played on the ferryboats themselves every time they prepare to dock at Liverpool.

In 2001, Liverpool Airport, situated near Speke in the south of the city, was renamed Liverpool John Lennon Airport, in honour of the late Beatle John Lennon. The airport’s logo consists of a sketch that Lennon had drawn of himself, and the words “Above us only sky”, lyrics from his song Imagine. The airport was the starting point for many Beatles tours in the sixties, and image of the boys boarding planes there were seen throughout the world. In 2002 716,000 passengers used the Port of Liverpool, with the Isle of Man and Ireland being the two most important passenger routes.

Liverpool is served by the Merseyrail urban rail network. The sections in the city centre are mostly underground. It has two lines: the Northern Line, which runs to Southport, Ormskirk, Kirkby and Hunts Cross, and the Wirral Line, which runs through the Mersey Railway Tunnel and has branches to West Kirby, New Brighton, Ellesmere Port and Chester. The city’s main railway station for longer-distance services is Lime Street station. Trains from Liverpool operate to destinations including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Preston, Leeds, Scarborough, Sheffield, Nottingham and Norwich.

Historically, Liverpool had an extensive tram network; however, this was dismantled in the 1950s. From 1893 to 1956, the Liverpool docks were served by the Liverpool Overhead Railway. A number of other railway lines, such as the Canada Dock Branch from Edge Hill to Kirkdale, no longer see passenger services, or have been removed completely, such as the North Liverpool Extension Line.

In 2001 a plan to build new a light rail system, Merseytram, was developed, although after central Government refused to underwrite the project, it was cancelled in November 2005 due to spiralling costs.

In Liverpool primary education is available in various forms supported by the state include secular, Church of England, Islamic, Jewish and Roman Catholic. Currently no specific Islamic secondary education is provided.

One of Liverpool important early schools was The Liverpool Blue Coat School was founded in 1708 as a charitable school, it continues today. Liverpool College is the leading private school. Another of Liverpool’s notable senior schools is St. Edward’s College, a former private high school located in West Derby.

Liverpool has three universities, the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool Hope University. It also has a university college, Edge Hill College of Higher Education, which has re-located to Ormskirk in South-West Lancashire. Liverpool John Moores University is one of the polytechnics given university status in 1992 and is named after the owner of the Littlewoods retail group. The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine was founded to address some of the problems created by trade, today it continues as a post graduate school and is one of only two institutions on planet Earth that house the de facto standard anti-venom repository.

The University of Liverpool awarded the first ever Philosophy PhD in Robert Pirsig’s Metaphysics of Quality to Anthony McWatt in July 2005. The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts which was set up by Sir Paul McCartney in 1996, to train artistes and technicians, in the building which formerly housed the Liverpool Institute for Boys.

The built environment of Liverpool contains over 2,500 listed buildings (of which 26 are Grade I listed and 85 are Grade II* listed). It is the inheritance of high-minded public spirit since the late 18th century, largely with Dissenter impetus, resulting in more public sculpture than in any UK city aside from Westminster, more listed buildings than any city apart from London and, surprisingly, more Georgian houses than the city of Bath. Many well-known architects are represented in Liverpool, including Peter Ellis, Harvey Lonsdale Elmes, John Foster, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Frederick Gibberd.

Liverpool’s wealth as a port city enabled the construction of two large cathedrals, both dating from the 20th century. The Anglican Cathedral, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, has the longest nave, largest organ and heaviest and highest peal of bells in the world. The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral was initially planned to be even larger; of Sir Edwin Lutyens’ design, only the crypt was completed. The cathedral was eventually built to a simpler design by Sir Frederick Gibberd; while this is on a smaller scale than Lutyens’ original design, it still manages to incorporate the largest panel of stained glass in the world.

In 2004 Liverpool’s waterfront was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the justification being the city’s importance in the development of the world’s trading system and dock technology. The docks are central to Liverpool’s history, with arguably the most well-known being Albert Dock: the first enclosed, non-combustible dock warehouse system in the world and the first structure in Britain to be built entirely of cast iron, brick and stone.

Restored in the 1980s, it is the largest collection of Grade I listed buildings in Britain. Part of the old dock complex is now the home to the Merseyside Maritime Museum, Museum of Liverpool Life and the Tate Liverpool. Other relics of the dock system include the Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse, which at the time of its construction in 1901, was the world’s largest building.

The Pier Head is arguably the most famous image of Liverpool, the location of the Three Graces, three of Liverpool’s most recognisable buildings. The first is the Royal Liver Building, built in the early 1900s and surmounted by two bronze domes with a Liver Bird (the symbol of Liverpool) on each. The second is the Cunard Building, the former headquarters of the Cunard shipping company. The third is the Port of Liverpool Building, the former home of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board which regulated the city’s docks.

Away from the river, the area around William Brown Street has been labelled the city’s ‘Cultural Quarter’, owing to the presence of the William Brown Library, Walker Art Gallery and World Museum Liverpool, just three of Liverpool’s many neo-classical buildings. Nearby is St. George’s Hall, perhaps the most impressive of these neo-classical buildings, was built to serve both as a concert hall and as the city’s law courts. Also located in this area are Wellington’s Column and the Seble Fountain.

Liverpool’s Town Hall dates from 1754 and has a beautifully-designed interior.

The term Red Brick University, applied to many British universities dating from a similar period, was inspired by the University of Liverpool’s Victoria Building, noted for its clock tower.

Some of Liverpool’s landmarks are better known for their oddness rather than for their role. Williamson’s tunnels are architectually unique as being the largest underground folly in the world. The Philharmonic Dining Rooms are noteworthy for their ornate Victorian toilets, which have become a tourist attraction in their own right.

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Liverpool has two Premier League football clubs: Everton F.C. at Goodison Park and Liverpool F.C. at Anfield. Both teams have enjoyed a considerable amount of success, with Liverpool having won 18 league titles, the European Cup five times and the FA Cup six times, while Everton have won nine league titles, the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup once and the FA Cup five times.

Aintree Racecourse to the north of Liverpool (actually in the adjacent borough of Sefton) is home to the famous steeplechase, the Grand National. One of the most famous events in the international horse racing calendar, it is held over a number of days in early April of each year. In addition to horse-racing, Aintree has also hosted motor racing, including the British Grand Prix in the 1950s and 1960s.

Liverpool Harriers, who meet at Wavertree Athletics Centre are one of five athletic clubs. Liverpool has a long history of boxing that has produced John Conteh, Alan Rudkin and Paul Hodkinson and hosts high level amateur boxing events. Park Road Gymnastics Centre provides training to a high level. The City of Liverpool Swimming Club has been National Speedo League Champions 8 out of the last 11 years. Liverpool Tennis Development Programme based at Wavertree Tennis Centre is one of the largest in the UK

Inhabitants of Liverpool are referred to as “Liverpudlians” and nicknamed “Scousers”, though this term is often (erroneously) used to cover other Merseysiders. They are noted for their distinctive accent and dialect, called Scouse.

Liverpool has a vibrant artistic life. Several pre-Raphaelites are among the important paintings in the Walker Art Gallery. Sudley House contains another major collection of pre 20th century art. The Tate Liverpool gallery houses the modern art collection of the Tate in the north of England. The Liverpool Biennial is a festival of arts held (as the name implies) every two years. The festival generally runs from mid September to late November and comprises three main sections; the International, The Independents and New Contemporaries although many fringe events are timed to coincide.

It was during this event in 2004 that Yoko Ono’s work “My mother is beautiful” caused widespread public protest by exhibiting photographs of a naked woman’s pubic area on the main shopping street. Despite protests the work remained in place.A flourishing orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra performs in its own hall, the Philharmonic Hall. The city also became well known for the Liverpool poets, of whom Roger McGough and the late Adrian Henri are among the best known. The anthology The Mersey Sound, by Henri, McGough and Brian Patten, has sold over 500,000 copies since first being published in 1967.

The city is also home to several successful theatre companies, such as the Everyman and Playhouse and the Unity TheatreIn 2003, Liverpool was awarded status as European Capital of Culture for 2008 and property developer Grosvenor started a £750 million regeneration of part of the city centr.

The King John’s Charter of 1207 created the Borough of Liverpool and by the middle of the 16th century the population was still only around 500. In the 17th century there was slow progress in trade and population growth. A number of battles for the town were waged during the English Civil War, including an eighteen-day siege in 1644.

In 1699 Liverpool was made a parish by Act of Parliament, that same year its first slave ship, Liverpool Merchant, set sail for Africa. As trade from the West Indies surpassed that of Ireland and Europe, Liverpool began to grow. The first wet dock in Britain was built in Liverpool in 1715. Substantial profits from the slave trade helped the town to prosper and rapidly grow. By close of the century Liverpool controlled over 40% of European and 80% of Britain’s slave commerce.

By the start of the century, 40% of the world’s trade was passing through Liverpool and the construction of many major buildings reflected this wealth. The population continued to rise rapidly, especially during the 1840’s when the Irish began arriving by the thousands due to the Great Famine. By 1851, approximately 25% of the city was Irish-born. During the first part of the 20th century, Liverpool was pulling in emigrants from across Europe. During World War II there were eighty air-raids on Merseyside, killing 2500 people and causing damage to almost half the homes in the metropolitan area. Since 1952 Liverpool has been twinned with Cologne, Germany, a city which shared the horrifying experience of excessive aerial bombing.

Significant rebuilding followed the war, including massive housing estates and the Seaforth Dock, the largest dock project in Britain. In the 1960s Liverpool became a centre of youth culture. The “Merseybeat” sound which became synonymous with The Beatles and fellow Liverpudlian pop bands of the era catapulted the city to the front of the popular music scene. (more…)

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in North West England. The city is governed by Liverpool City Council, one of five councils within the Metropolitan county of Merseyside. The population of the borough in 2002 was 441,477, and that of the Merseyside conurbation was 1,362,026. Whilst it has lost most of its manufacturing base, Liverpool is still well-known as a sea port. In sporting terms, it is home to the internationally-known football clubs Liverpool F.C. and Everton F.C.. In the year 2008, Liverpool will hold the European Capital of Culture title. Liverpool is one of England’s core cities, and is its 5th most highly populated.

In the late 19th century, Liverpool laid claim to being the “Second Port of the Empire”, handling more goods than any city outside London.

Liverpool is also internationally famous for its connections with popular music; the city is the birthplace of The Beatles, one of the most successful and famous bands of all time.

Liverpool is situated along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, with the city centre located about 5 miles inland from the Irish Sea. Liverpool has a varied topography being built across a ridge of hills rising up to a height of around seventy metres above sea-level at Everton Hill. The city’s urban area runs directly into Bootle and Crosby in Sefton, Huyton, and Prescot in Knowsley. It faces Wallasey and Birkenhead across the River Mersey.

In 1207, King John granted Liverpool its first charter. In 1644, during the English Civil War, Liverpool surrendered to the royalists under Prince Rupert after several sieges. Air raids during World War II caused heavy damage and casualties. The statesman William Gladstone, the artist George Stubbs, and the members of the musical group the Beatles were born in Liverpool.

Liverpool Cathedral, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, was begun in 1904 and completed in 1978. A Roman Catholic cathedral was consecrated in 1967. St. George’s Hall is an imposing building in a group that includes libraries and art galleries. The Walker Gallery has a fine collection of Italian and Flemish paintings, as well as more modern works. The Univ. of Liverpool was incorporated in 1903. There is a separate school of tropical medicine.

The city’s most famous sons are undoubtedly The Beatles and the city attracts many visitors who come to follow the trail of the Fab Four from their humble beginnings to international stardom as the world’s first super band. And it’s impossible to talk about Liverpool without talking about football; divided in to two camps - either the blue of Everton or the red of Liverpool, both teams play in England’s top Premiership league and, male or female, young or old, it seems like the entire city is passionate about the sport.

The red half of the city had extra reason to celebrate in 2005 when Liverpool were crowned champions of Europe after overturning a 3-0 deficit to beat AC Milan on penalties in the Champions League Final in a spectacular game that’s still fondly talked about around the city’s bars. This incredible melting pot has earned Liverpool the accolade of being crowned Europe’s capital of culture for 2008, an event for which the city is already planning its celebrations.

Just 60 miles north of London, Cambridge is located in the heart of the East of England, excellent road and rail links ensure the city is accessible from all parts of the U.K.

London Stansted Airport and the ferry port of Harwich are both within easy reach of Cambridge. Europe and the rest of the world isn’t far away either.

BY ROAD

From the South and from London, Cambridge is a short trip up the M11 motorway. From the north, the A1 and M1 link to the A14 dual carriageway straight to the city, and from the east and west, the A14 again takes you to Cambridge.
NEW SIGNS TO HELP YOU

In order to assist drivers visiting Cambridge, we have installed new traffic signs to give you updated information on Park and Ride services, car parking and traffic conditions in the city centre.

These signs are located on the city-bound approaches to each Park and Ride site.

As you drive further into Cambridge additional signs are located across the city centre. They indicate the direction to each car park and will tell you the number of spaces available, when they are full or if they are closed for any reason.

For short stay trips the City Centre Car Parks offer great convenience, but for longer visits there are 5 world class Park and Ride sites located on the outskirts of the City that provide free parking and a swift and frequent bus ride to the City Centre.

BY AIR

Cambridge is within easy reach of London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Birmingham International Airport.
London Stansted is the nearest international airport to Cambridge, located just 30 miles to the South of the city, with easy access by train, coach, or car (M11). EasyJet and Ryanair fly from Stansted.

BY COACH

National Express operates coach services to Cambridge from major towns and cities throughout the U.K.

There are frequent coach services from both Central London, and London Stansted Airport through to the city.

The X5 cross county Stagecoach service links Oxford to Cambridge, via Bicester, Buckingham, Milton Keynes and Bedford. (more…)

Cambridge has never been a heavy industry city. It started as a crossing place for the river now known as the Cam. This river was navigable all the way to Kings Lynn, on the Wash, and so Cambridge, surprisingly enough, was a port, with good trading links to the continent. There is still a lot of trade with mainland Europe through East Anglia, but this now happens along roads instead. Cambridge is surrounded by good quality farmland. It has always been the local trading place for the surrounding countryside. There is a thriving daily market which sells local fruit and veg as well as other goods, and a Farmers Market on Sundays.

Cambridgeshire people come to the city for other shopping and facilities as well, of course, and there are the usual debates between city and country about car parking and ease of access! Cambridge is the county town of Cambridgeshire, and both Cambridge City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council are based in the city. One main shopping area is in the centre, spreading up Castle Hill and along St Andrews Street, including a shopping mall called Lion Yard (entrance Petty Curry). The other main shopping area is around Fitzroy St and Burleigh St, with another shopping mall, the Grafton Centre. There are small shops along Mill Road. There are plenty of bookshops (see below). Two famous shops in Cambridge are Arjuna (wholefood co-operative, excellent for spices) and Fitzbillies (yummy chelsea buns).

The unique factor of the Cambridge economy is the University of Cambridge, which has had an immense effect on the development of Cambridge throughout its history. There is the direct employment caused by the university. Apart from the specialised jobs within the university, the number of university students alone is about 18% of the non-student population, and all these students must eat (and drink!), and live somewhere, and have clean rooms, and be entertained.

Other businesses connected with the university include books. Cambridge University Press is the oldest printing and publishing house in the world. Heffers is Cambridge’s largest bookshop, but there are plenty more, for new and second hand books.

There are over three and a half tourists which visit Cambridge each year. Cambridge does not really encourage tourists, but since they do, they must be looked after.

The greatest spin-off has been Silicon Fen. Trinity College developed some of its land on the north-eastern border of Cambridge into the Science Park in 1970. St John’s College followed with their Innovation Centre in 1987. These provide business support and accommodation for early stage knowledge based companies. They may be started by people and knowledge from the University of Cambridge, but they don’t have to be. The concept has proved very successful, and it is known as the Cambridge Phenomena. It also has traffic jams!

Another employer in Cambridge is Marshall’s, a privately owned aerospace company.

It must not be forgotten that the University of Cambridge is not the only educational establishment in Cambridge. There is another university, APU, and other colleges and schools. There are numerous language schools to teach English. (more…)