St Mary's Priory

A grey drizzly day greeted me this morning so not an early start, lay in bed reading for a while. Toasted Tiger bread for breakfast before a quick run over to the valley with the dogs and then a trip over to Birkenhead for a visit to the Priory which is a Benedictine Monastery built about 1150, and is the oldest standing building on Merseyside.

I read in the museam that it was first restored over a 100 years ago. Mike and I climbed the tower of the church which was Birkenhead?s first parish church and is also a memorial to the 99 men who lost their lives on the submarine Thetis which sank in Liverpool Bay in 1939 during sea trials. There are plaques all up the stairwell with the names and profession of the men who died.

The views from the top are amazing, you can walk around the top of the spire and get a 360 view, there was lots of work going on in the dry dock next door to the church. Planes taking off and landing over in Liverpool and a great view of the new Echo Arena and Liverpool skyline.