Liverpool Royal Liver Building Tour
Rising behind Liverpool’s Pier Head waterfront, The Three Graces of Liverpool:
- The Royal Liver Building
- The Cunard Building
- The Port of Liverpool Building
The Three Graces have stood since the early 1900s as ships have sailed by on the River Mersey and have seen the city’s changing fortunes over the years.
Most recognisable of the three is The Royal Liver (pronounced “lie-ver”) building. On this building perch the two giant Liver Birds, the symbol of Liverpool. Bertie looks inland and Bella looks out towards the sea.
The best way to appreciate the scale of the historic Liverpool waterfront is to visit the roof of the Liver Building on the Royal Liver Building 360 Tower Tour.
The Royal Liver Building is the left most of the Three Graces, with the Liver Birds perched at either end of the building. Once a month the tours include a visit to the boardroom as a bonus extra.
Oddly enough for a rooftop tour, the entrance is down some steps (not those in the picture above) into the basement at the South West corner of the building.
The First Rooftop
After a brief safety video, a lift takes visitors to the first roof level where you get to appreciate the size of the clock faces.
Inside the Clock Room
Back inside and a few flights of stairs take you up to the clock room. This has three of the clock faces. The fourth clock face is on the second tower at the opposite end of the building. Inside there is a quite impressive video installation which sweeps you through Liverpool’s history.
Seeing the clocks from inside makes their size become obvious. The faces of the clocks are larger than those on Big Ben (the Elizabeth Tower) at the Houses of Parliament in London.
The mechanical clocks are kept in sync by an electronic mechanism. Traditionally, mechanical turret clocks are synced via gears and rods.
The Views of Liverpool From The Top
After a final spiral staircase climb, the tour emerges on to the highest roof of the tour. The group is now above the clocks and below the towers on which the Liver Birds nest. The view from the roof takes the eye across miles of the Liverpool skyline.
Bertie the Liver Bird looks inland across Liverpool, Bella is in the tower above the viewing platform, looking out across the River Mersey.
The view towards Liverpool Cathedral.
Looking South across Liverpool and the cathedral the River Mersey. The rectangular tower to the left is the ventilation shaft for the Queensway road tunnel.
The view across the River Mersey towards Birkenhead and Cammell Laird ship builders on the Wirral.
Looking South East down the River Mersey along the Liverpool Waterfront.
Looking to the North West and out beyond the mouth of the River Mersey towards Liverpool Bay and the Irish Sea.
