L1Local

04/09/2026

"There was a time when asking a Liverpool kid where they were going on holiday did not produce Tenerife, Turkey or Florida. It produced: 'Me nan's caravan in Wales.'"

"Grandad had a chair. Not a chair. His chair. Nobody sat in Grandad's chair unless they wanted a constitutional crisis before breakfast."

"The television aerial usually required two people to operate it. One outside moving it by fractions of an inch and another inside shouting, 'THERE! DON'T MOVE IT!' through the window."

"Nan pushed the manual Hoover backwards and forwards every morning: Scrrrch. Scrrrch... Walk in with half of Towyn attached to your trainers and suddenly: 'Shoes off!'"

"The 2p machines were works of psychological genius. A great metallic landslide appeared to be one nudge away from happening at all times. It never was."

Before easyJet, this was where Merseyside actually went for the summer:
https://l1local.co.uk/guides/liverpool-north-wales-caravan-holidays/

04/09/2026

What's on across Liverpool this Saturday and Sunday, and the clashes worth planning around:

SATURDAY:
• No Play Festival takes over Rough Trade on Hanover Street from midday to 10pm with dozens of acts across five stages.
• Baltic Triangle day parties: Don't F**k with Disco on Jamaica Street (2pm to 10pm, 21+, phone-free, hats required), Mansion Rooftop Party 2 at Liberte Sky Garden, and All Day 90s Pop at Camp and Furnace.
• Big Indie Tribute Festival is at The Dome (Grand Central Hall, Renshaw St, 6pm).
• Final performance of Dirty Dancing at the Liverpool Empire before Waitress moves in on Monday.

SUNDAY:
• Everton play Manchester United at 2pm at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Even if you are not heading to the match, expect heavy footfall and road restrictions around Bramley-Moore Dock, Sandhills and the north waterfront.
• Connected Voices brings a choir of over 200 voices to the Auditorium at the arena (doors 3.30pm, start 4.30pm).
• Spell Songs plays the Philharmonic Hall at 7.30pm, while Fin Taylor brings his comedy tour to the Tung Auditorium.

Times, door policies, age restrictions and travel notes:

https://l1local.co.uk/news/whats-on-liverpool-5-11-september-2026/

04/09/2026

Ask a Liverpool kid in the 1980s or 1990s where they were going on holiday and the answer was often the same: me nan's caravan in Wales.

Rhyl, Prestatyn, Towyn, Winkups. The car packed as if the family were emigrating. Bingo after tea, where shouting "house" as a joke was not an option. Two pounds for the arcade and the 2p machines that never quite tipped over. Rhyl Sun Centre with its indoor waves and a monorail, doing a fair impression of the Caribbean while North Wales did November outside.

Those holidays were modest, and people remember them clearly for exactly that reason. This piece looks back at them, and at what slowly changed the map: low-cost flights from Liverpool, which easyJet started in October 1997.

https://l1local.co.uk/guides/liverpool-north-wales-caravan-holidays/

03/09/2026

Liverpool waterfront, 10 August 1950.

Taken from a ferry approaching the Pier Head.

The Liver Building, Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building make the location immediately recognisable. But look left: Liverpool Riverside railway station was still part of the waterfront.

Photo: Ben Brooksbank / Geograph. CC BY-SA 2.0.

03/09/2026

Travelling around Merseyside tonight? A few changes worth knowing:

• Borough Road Town Link Flyover: 6pm–midnight
• Fender Lane westbound: 7pm–4am
• Tarbock Island: 7pm–5am
• The late Manchester Oxford Road to Liverpool Lime Street service is also affected by engineering work

Check your route before leaving rather than discovering the diversion from the bus window.

03/09/2026

A quieter Liverpool option for tonight:

Bluecoat has its Jalsaghar closing event from 6–7pm, with pop-up poetry readings led by Artist in Residence Jennifer Lee Tsai.

Bluecoat, School Lane, L1.

The Bluecoat hosts a year-round programme of exciting events and exhibitions, from literature readings, artist talks, performances to family events and…

03/09/2026

03/09/2026

Everton's new stadium is open. The transport system serving it is still being worked on.

Sandhills is the nearest Merseyrail station to Hill Dickinson Stadium, but the latest matchday improvement proposal has been deferred pending a site visit.

The proposed work mainly changes how crowds are managed once they reach the station. It doesn't simply add more trains.

With Everton at home again on Sunday, we've broken down what is actually proposed and what it won't solve.

Liverpool councillors have deferred the latest Sandhills station upgrade. What Merseytravel wants to change, what it will not fix and what happens next.

03/09/2026

Three places that have actually opened across Liverpool and the city region this week:

Coffee King — Myrtle Street
Elixir — Queen Square
Digz N' Lidz — Lord Street, Southport

We've kept the list short deliberately. These are the openings where we could confirm an actual date.

Details and addresses on L1Local.

Coffee King, Elixir and Digz N' Lidz lead the confirmed Liverpool and city-region openings for 1 to 6 September 2026, with dates, locations and links.

03/09/2026

Liverpool, May 1955.

Can you work out which road this is before reading any further?

There's still a very recognisable building in the photograph. The department store it belonged to is gone. So are the trams.

Answer: London Road, looking east from the roof of Co-operative House.

Photo: Gordon Cragg / Geograph, May 1955. CC BY-SA 2.0.