I enjoy exploring cities by riding local bus routes from end to end, hopping on and off to check out interesting sights, shops, and cafes along the way. I'm staying in the city center and would like to venture into suburban areas too. Can anyone recommend particularly scenic or diverse bus routes that would give me a good feel for different parts of the city? Thanks!
Off the top of my head, the 80/80A would be my first thought. Heading out of the city centre you'll pass through the lovely Georgian Quarter then on past the faded glamour of the large townhouses of Princes Avenue passing the Synagogue and Greek Orthodox Church. You could jump off and have a wander round Princes Park and neighbouring Sefton Park is even more lovely. The bus route takes you up Ullet Road and where that takes you onto Smithdown Road there are a number of nice cafes, pubs and restaurants. It is quire a diverse area with a lot of students and some of it feels maybe more down at heel than maybe some of what would be considered the nicer parts of the city but still some good places to check out - Belzan for example is one of the best restaurants in the city.
Just a few hundred yards down road is the famous Penny Lane and again as you go onto Allerton Road there are a number of nice cafes, eateries and places to chill. I'd also recommend Greenbank Park if we're not overdoing it with the parks for the day but the Watering Can is a lovely cafe in a lovely setting so definitely worth checking out.
The bus turns off Allerton Road via Queens Drive onto Dovedale Road where there's a nice deli and then turns onto Rose Lane where there's some nice cafes and restaurants and a good craft beer pub called Black Cat (they do other drinks too if beer's not your thing!). You're now in Mossley Hill which is a nice suburb of the city and you may wish to jump off on Brodie Avenue and walk a bit to Sudley House, which is a museum set in a Victorian Merchant's house.
If historical buildings are of interest you may wish to stay on the 80A until just before the airport and you can jump off and check out Speke Hall, an old Tudor house owned and ran by the National Trust.
A trip over to the Wirral would be interesting although technically it is leaving Liverpool. It would include a trip through one of the tunnels beneath the Mersey, and on emerging on the other side, a journey through residential areas that turn "sea-sidey" as you get closer to New Brighton. Once there you can walk along the promenade with great views over to Liverpool and out to sea. If you've not seen a North West low tide, it will be an eye-opener for you. Places to eat and drink there too. Journey time around 45 minutes.
The 432 bus will take you there, but I'm sure there are others routes available. I know I have caught one from Sir Thomas St.
Perfect! Just the kind of detail and insight I was looking for. Thank you.
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139 helpful votes Brilliant post from Dave S in post #1. Highly recommended.
As I read it, I was with Dave throughout the journey. Many decades ago when I lived in Liverpool, I used to take that no 80 daily, the description brought back many memories.
" You could jump off and have a wander round .... Sefton Park is even more lovely "
My now wife and I did exactly that on our first time together in Liverpool.
" The bus route takes you up Ullet Road .... a diverse area with a lot of students "
You will pass the place I lived, when a student, on Ullet Road :-)
" some of it feels maybe more down at heel "
Full of character is a better description IMO. Many more cafes etc nowadays than when I was there.
" Just a few hundred yards down road is the famous Penny Lane "
Yes, me and my friends used to meet at " the shelter in the middle of a roundabout ", as the song goes.
Thanks, Dave S.
Edited: 17 September 2024, 02:56I’m going to carry on the Penny Lane theme.
The 75 to Halewood will take you past some interesting places.
If you take it as far as Woolton Village you will pass very close by Ringo Starr’s childhood home, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields and finally to the lovely village of Woolton. In Woolton you can walk up Church Road to St Peter’s Church and visit the gravesite of Eleanor Rigby. Paul McCartney’s and George Harrison’s childhood homes are not too far off the route if you break up the journey and walk a short ways.
You can get an all day bus ticket for not much more than the price of a couple of bus journeys or better still a SaveAway ticket that includes the bus, train and ferry for just a little more. You can use the SaveAway ticket on the ferry across the Mersey but you have to break the journey, get off on the other side of the river and travel back by a later ferry or bus.
My favourite (and most scenic) Merseyside bus is the 487 to Ness Gardens which on a Sunday also goes to Parkgate. It goes through some pretty villages (see Thornton Hough) and lovely farmland but takes around an hour. Unfortunately Saveaways can only be used as far as the Red Fox soon after Thornton Hough but passes for older people can be used throughout the journey.
By the way all Wirral buses stop in Sir Thomas Street off Whitechapel and the 433 also goes to New Brighton. If you buy a Saveaway and use it on the ferry to Seacombe, you can get a bus outside the terminal straight to New Brighton.
Edited: 17 September 2024, 16:40Thanks again for the info that will be extremely helpful in plotting my itinerary!!
the bus routes 10A and 82a are both diverse and in some cases full of wildlife,
You being funny Gaz?
At times the 10A buses have to travel in twos LOL
Two separate cultures and language differences at either end of the route!
Edited: 25 September 2024, 03:08
