Manchester & Liverpool.

I had just under a week to kill in the UK, so took myself out of overpriced London and went to explore some other cities. I’ve spent a lot of time in England but majority of that was in London, or way up north with family.
So I thought it was time to see some other cities. We headed straight for England’s second biggest city, Manchester.
I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t what I was greeted with. Although large in size, it didn’t portray the standard large metropolitan that i was expecting. We made our way to Manchester United’s football ground for a tour, which was pretty good, even if the pitch was just sand due to restorations. We also went to the science museum which was outstanding, and definitely worth the visit, especially since all museums are free. Manchester also has a specific area that consists of totally independent businesses, that’s pretty cool to see and so rare when travelling in major cities.
Liverpool was a huge surprise, I was expecting it to be industrial and almost dull and somewhat similar to Manchester as well. It was the total opposite. A beautiful port, clean interesting city with an unbelievable nightlife. Definitely my preferred out of the two.
We stayed at a great hostel. The Embassy, owned and run by Kevin and his son Kevin Junior. Kev snr, made this hostel stay a one off gem. He took us on his own The Beatles tour, which of course ended at the world famous Cavern club, where we saw a great Beatles cover band. Kevin’s passion and insight was something that made everyone love him. He even gave us all gifts as we departed, I got a jar of Vegemite, which definitely made my trip and this hostel one of my favourites.
It was certainly a good idea to get out of London and save a few quid. I’m just so glad I made it beyond Manchester and made it to Liverpool, my new number one British city.