The closest I've come to weeping angels in Liverpool...

As I told you in a previous blog, one of my taxi drivers recommended places in Liverpool for me to visit. One of which was the Anglican Cathedral. His condition for the Anglican was that I needed to go on a clear day to that I could go up to the tower at the top and look all around the city. Apparently you can see Wales on a good day. Taking his advice, I watched out for a clear day. When one finally came around with blue skies and everything, I headed out on my adventure. As per usual, the girls were at uni so this was another solo adventure. Not that that's a bad thing, I quite like my solo adventures. I get to go at my own pace and don't feel like I'm holding anyone back by stopping to take pictures. Kim and I were talking about the Anglican and she aptly described it as “the big scary Gothic thing”. Now before I headed out, I got directions from Leah. A Liverpool native. My original plan was to go down the street I know really well (yes there's only one, sad I know). She pointed out that another way might be faster and easier. Feeling up for the challenge, I decided to go her new route.

This new route really shouldn't have been that difficult. I've headed in this direction with the girls many times so I figured I'd be fine. Well when you're looking for a specific street I a different country, it helps to know where the street signs are. That was the fault in my plan. I kept looking up to see what street it was since that's where the signs are in America. I could not for the life of me figure out where they were. Turns out that they are sometimes little signs on walls closer down to the actual street. Or just signs in the grass sticking up like our election posters do. Obviously they are more permanent than those though. Now these should be easy enough to spot, and they are when there actually is a sign. Not every street corner has a sign. Or if they do, someone needs to teach me the ways of finding them.

So, I'm walking along and enjoying the scenery.

But this is taking way longer than I anticipated to find the street I need. Eventually I decide to stop moving and get a hold of Leah. She ends up having no idea where I am. That makes two of us. But she does tell me that if I can find Croxteth road then I should take that down to the cathedral and I'll be fine. Leah tells me that I should be closer to that than the original street I was looking for. This comes as a relief to me because I don't particularly want to walk through that part of town I just went through again. It made me feel a bit uneasy, which I'm sure was mostly just that fact that I had no idea where I was. Having a new goal in mind, I ask a lady on the street how to get to the Anglican and where Croxteth is. Turns out I was standing on the corner of it. Thank goodness I stopped!! So I turn down the road and mentally keep my fingers crossed that I will reach my destination soon.

Along Croxteth I ran into some sketchy looking people, an old lady that looked me dead in the eye and murmured something that sounded like a mix of “angel” and “hello”, and some very beautiful houses. One of which is below.

There was also this random guy who looked much older than me who made eye contact then broke it a lot as we got closer to passing each other on the street. Finally right before we passed each other he just looked at me and said “You are lovely.” I said thanks and kept on walking. It was nice to hear but I didn't want to stop since I was already kinda lost. Then out of nowhere, I looked up and saw a sign sent from the heavens.

As I turned the corner I realized just how correct Kim was in her description. It's beautiful, but it's also big. It's scary. It's dark and surrounded by and old quarry that has been turned into a graveyard. Which is then surrounded by a tall, rusty, old cast iron gate. That's intimidating enough. Then the closer you get, the more you can hear the high winds blowing through it making sounds of horror. You know all those movies and Halloween decorations that have “scary” wind sounds? Yeah those are real. And they were recorded in the heart of this cathedral. I don't know how to describe it other than maybe: wolves howling in despair through a megaphone while standing on a burnt hill next to a dead tree with the full moon. I know you all probably think I'm over reacting but I don't care and you weren't there. Plus watching as much Doctor Who as I do doesn't help. All I could think about was the weeping angels.

Now of course I still went in. I mean I had walked around an hour and a half and been lost just to find this place. No way I'm giving up that easily. But I did almost run inside because naturally as you get closer to big scary buildings, they get creepier. Ever get that feeling of how incredibly tiny you are when put right next to something huge like a big building or a ship while kayaking? I hate that feeling and try to get away from it.

Once inside I felt much better. It is absolutely gorgeous inside and much more peaceful. There are people willing to help you out and give you tours. I just walked around aimlessly and admired how incredibly huge everything was.

There was a very nice elderly man who was doing pastel work of the Lady Chapel. Which was the first bit of the cathedral to be completed. We chatted for a bit and he gave me one of his greeting cards free of charge. It's got a nice picture that he took on the front and he wrote me a message on the back. He also let me take a photo of him at work. Here you go!

Now I'm sure you're all wondering about the tower tour. If not then you can skip this part if you really want. I bought my ticket to go up and was instructed that I go up two lifts (elevators) then 108 stairs. Not a problem at all. Or so I thought. Since the only thing I've ever gone up like this was the Eiffel Tower, I had no idea what to expect. I got in the elevator which had a capacity of 6 people. I was alone and this lift fit the building well. Rickety, old, and made me unsure of how safe I really was. Then I got off the first lift and walked out into the middle of the wind I described earlier. Needless to say I was surprised and felt like I was going to wet my pants. The stairway to the next lift was enclosed with what looked like chicken wire. You could see the middle of the creepy building on the outside and it gives you the chills. I made it to the second life sufficiently freaked out with my heart pounding away. Then as that continued to rise, so did my anxiety levels. I got to the 10^th floor which was the top and the beginning of the 108 stairs. Right before the lift reached the top floor, I realized that my mind was chanting “NO. NO. NO. NO. NO!” I seriously could not bring myself to go up those stairs. Getting back in the lift, I went down and like a child watching a scary movie, I had my hands covering my ears. I was extremely freaked out. All but running down the stairs to the first lift, I was now actually saying “Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope!” Part of the tower ticket includes a special embroidery exhibit on the third floor. I figured it would be a good place for me to calm down. Sitting down in a chair in a luckily empty exhibit, I attempted to calm myself down. I literally just had the sounds of the wind running through my mind and images of the weeping angels. Mind you I could still actually hear the winds as well. Forcing myself to calm down, I started walking around the small embroidery exhibit and took pictures of the items. I didn't actually find a lot of it interesting but it was something to ease my mind. I may have been more interested in a different state of mind. Mom, I took some of these photos for you because I thought you would be interested in the details.

 At the end of the exhibit I made the not so wise decision to see how far up I was. I freaked out a little more, which is strange since I'm not afraid of heights. Enjoy the one picture I managed.

Once back down to safety on the first floor, I ended up getting a live camera tour of the tower from the ticket guy. He was very nice. Then I calmed myself more by talking to the attendants of the Anglican. Soon, I was on my way home which wasn't actually that hard to find. I went the longer way that involved the road I know very well. There was no need for more nerves that day. But who knows, if I go again with a friend then I'll probably be able to actually go up the tower all the way. That's my story of the Anglican Cathedral and how freaked out I was.