Dunes

A long, but culturally balanced day trip to Liverpool, with a couple of hours in the Walker Art Gallery, an excursion looking for butterflies on Formby & Ainsdale dunes, football at Goodison Park for a pre-season friendly against Roma, and 6-7 hours sat on trains (which at least helped me make some headway with my #LBB20 reading).

I made an early start, so I reached Lime Street by 10:00. I started across the road at the Walker for a coffee, and as it was a bit overcast and then rainy, a good tour of the galleries including a visiting exhibition of The Rokeby Venus. I have visited before but it is huge so there is plenty to spend time with.

Then back on the train for the 30 minute ride up to Formby Dunes (main image) by which time it had brightened up. I was hoping for Grayling butterflies, as I don’t see them local to me, and was rewarded by a fair few. They always sit with wings closed for camouflage, so typically you will unwittingly disturb them as you’re walking through and then just try and track them to their landing spot (extra). Also about were Common Blue, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Six-spot Burnet. I also enjoyed the dune environment (main image) and the views across the sea to my home stretch of the North Wales coast. On my way out I paused at the National Trust pop-up stand for the requisite Natterjack Toad pin badge, and reminisced with the rangers about my conservation volunteering visits to these dunes in the late 80s and early 90s.

Then back on the train towards town, alighting at Bank Hall for the walk across to Goodison - not my customary station for getting off, but I was able to follow everyone else the mile or so to the ground. 24/25 will be Everton’s last season at Goodison Park, our home since 1892, so the long goodbye is underway. The EFC heritage society have issued a commemorative scarf, so I picked up one of those upstairs at St Lukes (the famous church in the corner of the ground, extra) along with a few old programmes and more pin badges.

I don’t get many chances to get across, and tickets are hard to come by, but I will try to have a few visits this season if I can. This pre-season friendly was a great opportunity (16yo is away on her DoE gold expedition) and even if the game was very low stakes it also gave the opportunity to see another famous European club in Roma.   1-1 was a fair score line and it was good to see a few of the new players get an outing. I’ve put a few photos from inside (Lower Bullens seat on this visit) and outside in extras for the scrap book.

The train journey home was smooth enough, once I’d negotiated the post-match squeeze aboard at Kirkdale down into town. It was half ten by the time I got home, but I was glad I made a day of it.