The 10 things I’ll miss about Liverpool and a few I won’t

I’ve spent 22 of my 28 years living here – university and work took me away a decade ago, before I returned home to work for the ECHO. But now I’m off again, moving down to London for a new job. It will be heart-rending to leave as I love this place and working as an ECHO journalist has only deepened that.

This job gives you a unique perspective of the city and I feel immensely privileged to have been trusted with telling the stories of people from across Merseyside.

With my departure impending, I’ve been thinking a lot about my hometown. I will miss so much about Liverpool, so I’ve tried to sum up what I think is the best of the city here.

The pubs

For my money, there are not many places that can compete with Liverpool when it comes to pubs. Amazing boozers can be found all over our city – whether that’s in the south with Smithdown Road, Lark Lane and Woolton Village or the north’s offering of matchday pubs, particularly County Road’s historic Everton haunts.

But the city centre is where this truly comes into its own. Dale Street and the business district is punctuated by its superb watering holes, harking back to the days of the lunchtime pint.

There are the enjoyable quirks of The Ship and Mitre, The Denbigh Castle’s Everton association and its fine selection of German lagers, Dead Crafty’s unrivalled offering of weird and wonderful beers and The Vernon Arms, which is everything you could ever ask for from an old-school, street corner pub.

Echo’s Dan Haygarth at The Philharmonic Dining Rooms (Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)

Then you have the Georgian Quarter, the perfect area for a pub crawl. I could go on for years (and I think I have done) about the pubs there, so I’ll keep it as brief as I can.

There are too many to mention, but you have the grandeur of The Philharmonic, the intimate, almost house party feel of The Belvedere and one of my favourite places on earth – The Grapes on Roscoe Street, all combining in the most sublime way.

I’ll miss them dearly but they will be my first port of call when I come home.

Sefton Park and Aigburth

I was born and brought up in Aigburth. I adore the place and think it’s a template for what a suburb can be.

There’s plenty of greenery, lovely houses and so many great local businesses. We’ve also got the wonderful Sefton Park on our doorstep – everyone knows it’s idyllic – but the fact it spills out onto the bustle of Lark Lane only makes it better.

The Georgian Quarter

I’ve already mentioned how much I love the Georgian Quarter’s pubs, but I think it’s generally my favourite part of the city.

Liverpool is blessed with so much great architecture but nowhere is this more prominent than in the Georgian Quarter. The elegant townhouses, theatres, restaurants and the aforementioned boozers make this an extremely pretty and nicely lively part of town.

Hope Street, with Liverpool’s two cathedrals at either end, is at the heart of that. You won’t find many other streets like it.

The Pier Head, the Three Graces and the waterfront

The waterfront is Liverpool’s picture postcard image – and for good reason. It is a grand representation of how important this city is, as well as a reminder of how far it has come since the challenging days of the 1980s.

With the Liver Building, the Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building, you have three of the most impressive city structures you will find anywhere. Walking along the waterfront when the sun is bouncing off the River Mersey is as good for the soul as it gets.

I love the walk from the Pier Head, through the Albert Dock and all the way down to Otterspool Prom back in Aigburth. If you ever need reminding of how special this city is, that walk will do it for you.

The buzz of coming into town on a Saturday

Liverpool Central is not the world’s finest train station (more on that later, you’ll be delighted to know), but there’s something special with how it feels around lunchtime on a Saturday.

Most people have finished their weeks of work and are heading into the city centre from across the region for to spend their hard-earned cash. Whether that’s shopping, a meal out, a trip to the theatre on an afternoon on the ale, everyone shares the same excitement for the day to come.

So, in a strange way, the slightly tired 1970s trappings of Central Station represent the promise of a weekend beginning. And this city knows how to enjoy itself as well as anywhere.

Everton Football Club

Everton fan Dan Haygarth (Image: Colin Lane / Liverpool ECHO)

My true love, Everton Football Club. The Blues can be hard work at times and my parents were right when they told me supporting Everton is character-building.

That has firmly been the case in the rather testing last few years. But they also gave us the perfect farewell to Goodison – a place that means so much to us all.

It is hard not to get romantic about Goodison Park. The walk down Goodison Road to your turnstile, passing terraced houses, chippies and pubs as the smells of cigarettes, beer and gravy fill the air, is exactly how a footballing Saturday should be.

I already miss it. I love everything about that place. The sense of belonging and unity shared with close to 40,000 others, the history and the glory it represents, the nerves and anticipation inspired by the start of Z-Cars, the sound of wooden seats thumping back as expectant fans stand for a corner, the split-second of silence that precedes the cacophony of noise that greets a goal.

But most of all I love the way it shook to its Victorian foundations when we scored a late winner. There is simply nothing like it.

Fortunately, it lives on for Everton Women and, in the new stadium at Bramley-Moore, we have a worthy replacement for the men’s side. David Moyes is back, everything feels much steadier and, largely thanks to Jack Grealish, Everton are fun again.

Crosby Beach

Any city worth its salt is found on a body of water. The Mersey is the city’s lifeblood but Liverpool Bay and the Irish Sea give Merseyside its fine array of beaches.

In my opinion, none of these are better than Crosby Beach. I have fond memories of playing beach cricket as a child and I still think it’s the best place to spend a sunny Merseyside day – a pint at the Bus Yard won’t hurt that either.

Even when the sun’s not out, Anthony Gormley’s statues make sure the view out into the sea is atmospheric. A great beach.

Derek’s sandwiches

I have a real weakness for big sandwiches. There are plenty of sterling options in Merseyside – Castro’s on Hackins Hey being right up there – but my favourite is Derek’s. I simply cannot get enough of their huge Italian American-style sandwiches.

Hand me the chicken grinder and I’ll be a happy man. If I’m hungover, few things will fix that quite like their lavish array of sandwiches.

Derek’s started on Allerton Road – and that first shop is still my favourite – but you can now find them in Crosby, on Berry Street and on Lark Lane. If they fancy opening in London, I’ll be the first in the queue.

The ECHO

The ECHO has been the voice of Liverpool since 1879. Other outlets cover our region but none of them do it like this newspaper.

Our Liverpool city centre office is full of hard-working and talented people who care deeply about this region. They get to the heart of the challenges it faces, stand up for those who need it and champion what makes it great.

I’ll miss working there hugely but will always be very proud to have written for my hometown newspaper.

The people

It may be a cliche but it’s true – Scousers are the warmest, funniest and most generous people you will find.

Also, I will always admire the rebellious and defiant streak in this city. Liverpool stands up for itself and won’t suffer fools. It’s a special place made up of great people.

What I won’t miss

Dan won’t miss the buses

I’m not wanting to do a Ringo Starr and leave on a sour note, but I do have a couple of problems to mention. No place on earth is perfect – not even Liverpool.

So, returning to Liverpool Central station, I think this city is truly let down by public transport. It’s an issue that I’ll often get on my soap box about.

Travelling to Liverpool from elsewhere in the country by train is often a complete nightmare. The options within the city aren’t perfect either.

I feel like I’ve lost years of my life waiting for buses that don’t show up – and if they do, you waste away while sitting in traffic. When it comes to the railways, Merseyrail does a decent job, even though its new trains have had a patchy opening few years.

But its network simply doesn’t serve enough of the region. Not enough people have a nearby Merseyrail station – best of luck to those having to use Northern Rail every day.

Added to that, bus routes are mainly drawn into town, so getting across Merseyside if you’re not heading into the city centre can feel like a mythic quest. We are lightyears behind London and Manchester when it comes to public transport and people deserve a lot better.

But, leaving on a high, I will miss Liverpool dearly – buses aside.

Provided Avanti West Coast doesn’t fail me (optimistic, I know), I will be back as often as I can. You can’t really stay away for long.