Run Britain Day 81: Liverpool to Southport

Mum and I set off from the Albert Docks on the other side of the Mersey once the biblical rain had stopped. This is actually one of the rare stretches of the coast that I have run before. Every single time I have come back to a place that I have already been to, it’s felt weird that I have run all the way here. It was no different running through Liverpool.

After leaving the lovely centre of the city, the running becomes bleak for a little while because the coast path is just the road leading to the docks, which means it’s full of lorries.

But it does lead past Everton’s new football stadium, which I had been given clear instructions to take a picture of. My brother-in-law Ryan is an avid fan and when I first shared my route with my family, the first thing he did was zoom in on Liverpool and tell me excitedly that I would be passing the stadium. It feels like a long time ago that we looked at the route and got excited about certain milestones.

Beyond Liverpool there is a fantastic beach which has been made somewhat unusual by the presence of 100 life-sized cast iron men, staring out to sea. They’re buried at different levels in the sand and some of them are in the water. It’s a creepy work of art by Anthony Gormley. I think Crosby Beach would be nicer without them.