Our outing to Everton Football Club’s new stadium was so popular that we filled two coaches, one leaving from Hull and one leaving from Cottingham. Unfortunately, the coach leaving Hull had an eventful journey to Liverpool. It should have taken approximately two and a half hours, but unfortunately, it took five hours. The coach developed a fault and had to keep stopping, and to compound the issue, it was also stopped by DVSA officers for a routine vehicle check. This all resulted in them missing out on the tour of Port Sunlight and instead going straight to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Fortunately for the members on the second coach, they were able to visit Port Sunlight as planned before heading to the Hill Dickinson Stadium. On arrival, a tour guide boarded the coach to take us on a tour of this unique village.
Port Sunlight is a preserved industrial village in the Wirral, Merseyside, built by William Lever in 1888 for the workers at his Sunlight Soap Factory. The village has Grade 11-listed houses in Arts and Crafts style, with a mixture of architectural designs, and no two blocks of houses are the same. The houses have either three or four bedrooms, sanitation and gardens at the front and rear. There are landscaped gardens with hundreds of roses, which would be lovely when in bloom in the summer. Port Sunlight also has its own school, hospital, church, theatre and ladies’ tearoom, all for the benefit of the factory workers. The church is where William Lever, later 1st Viscount Leverhulme, is buried. There was also a museum to visit and the Lady Lever Art Gallery, which had a café, where, once the tour of the village was over, we were able to stop for refreshments before our journey to Everton’s new football stadium.
From Port Sunlight, we travelled into Liverpool via the Wallasey Tunnel, which takes you under the River Mersey to the new home of Everton FC, the Hill Dickinson Stadium, which stands alongside the River Mersey.
The stadium is built on the site of the old Bramley-Moore Dock, and there is evidence of the dock wall running along the eastern side of the site. There are also preserved cobblestones and railway lines, which once served the dock. The tour included a visit to the Men’s First Team dressing room, followed by a walk in the footsteps of the players down the tunnel to the pitch side, where you get to see the true size of the stadium. We were able to view the pitch from the upper tier and visited the Media Theatre, sitting in the seats usually occupied by the press on matchdays. We also toured the South Stand concourse from where we had a panoramic view of the River Mersey and Liverpool’s skyline. Alf, our tour guide, told us that the waterfront next to the stadium is going to be redeveloped. To finish the tour, we viewed a mural depicting three of Everton’s legendary players, which included the famous Dixie Dean, who played for Everton between 1925 and 1937.
It was another great day out organised by Barbara and Andy. To ensure an uneventful journey home, a local garage mechanic repaired the coach during our stadium tour.
Shirley Cormack.
Port Sunlight Housing Designs Port Sunlight Housing Designs
Port Sunlight Housing Designs Port Sunlight Housing Designs
Port Sunlight Housing Designs War Memorial
War Memorial
The Stadium First Team Changing Room
Safe Standing West Stand Hospitality Seating
Pitch side
