Inspired by the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, we travelled by train to England in March. Combining ESC host city Liverpool with the industrial heritage of Manchester. Manchester to Liverpool was also the first steam railway line ever. A perfect pretext to travel to The North.

Our England 2023 trip was very different to our England 2022 trip. In 2022 we remained in the south, going to Cornwall, Devon and the Isle of Wight. This year in March, we went to the North, to Liverpool and Manchester and a quick layover in Birmingham. 

In 2022 we were surrounded by pensioners and we felt the aftermath of COVID-19 related precautions. That was less the case.

But here are a phenomena which caught our attention.

1: Poverty hidden

The North has this reputation of poverty and unemployment. Both in Liverpool and Manchester, that was not visible. Surely, Liverpool was a hotspot for tracksuits and sweatpants, but at least the city centre looked in a good shape.

Or is it? Maybe it’s just well hidden. On our train ride to Birmingham and London we did see more buildings in an abandoned state. Not unlike what we when travelling to the Belgian province of Hainaut in Wallonia. 

2: Obsessed with working class heritage

Both in Liverpool and Manchester, museums obsess over the working-class, blue collar heritage. How the North was and is being put down by the South and the elite. It’s a trauma, it’s a complex, it’s an identity.

3: The pink pound

There’s some serious vying for queer attention. Rainbows everywhere. Stairs, benches, audio tours. Museums don’t shy away from a LGBTQIA+ narrative.

It does make you feel welcome, although there is an air of rainbow washing and the feeling a bit a cash cow.

4: Less for more

Probably a remnant of COVID-19, but also from Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine an the inflation crisis. Prices have gone up, service is going down. 

Radisson Red, The Edwardian and the Montcalm – links to the reviews in the list of posts – were decent, but were they worth their four and five stars? How the club lounge at the Montcalm was handled, was a true let-down. 

We’ll think twice before paying the five-star premium… but probably we’ll book such places anyway.

5: Pedestrian unfriendly

Something very apparent this year. The United Kingdom was very pedestrian-unfriendly. Drivers are everything but courteous towards pedestrians crossing the street.

I don’t know if pedestrian have priority over cars when crossing the street in the United Kingdom, but we felt drivers were accelerating rather than slowing down when seeing pedestrians.

Also the ‘green light time’ for pedestrians is often so limited people just jaywalk. 

So?

This sounds like a lot of complaining, but we had a good time discovering Liverpool and Manchester and enjoying some train rides. 

Liverpool & Manchester 2023

1. BEHIND THE SCENES | Gustaph and ‘Because Of You’ to represent Belgium at 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool.
2. REVIEW | Avanti West Coast Lounge London Euston station.
3. REVIEW | London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street on Avanti West Coast’s pride train.
4. LIVERPOOL | 2023 Eurovision Song Contest venues & locations: arena, fan village, EuroClub, EUROfansCLUB.
5. A visit to the Museum of Liverpool.
6. LIVERPOOL | Merseyside Maritime Museum ft. Piermaster’s House, Border Force National Museum and International Slavery Museum.
7. LIVERPOOL | Western Approaches / Liverpool War Museum.
8. REVIEW | Radisson Red Liverpool.
9. Discovering Liverpool.
10. Liverpool to Manchester on the very first – 1830 – railway line.
11. MANCHESTER | Imperial War Museum North (IWM North).
12. Manchester’s gaybourhood around Canal Street.
13. REVIEW | Radisson Collection The Edwardian Manchester.
14. MANCHESTER | Science + Industry Museum.
15. MANCHESTER | People’s History Museum.
16. MANCHESTER | Afternoon Tea at Richmond Tea Rooms near Canal Street.
17. Impressions of Manchester.
18. REVIEW | Montcalm Royal London House – City of London.