and another place on the Wirral I'd never been to in my life before!
The priory grounds have been restored recently and you can read more about the history in this great blog - Birkenhead Priory
natually we climbed the tower . . .
and peeked over to Cammel Laird's on this side of the mighty Mersey and the Pier Head on t'other
and in the Priory museum, we remembered about the Wirral Hundred where I was born!
We were just about to leave when one of the curators invited us up some old stone steps to the HMS Conway Chapel - a real gem and just fascinating!
especially as Mike so vividly remembered as a child when the Conway was grounded, and then in later years caught fire, in the Menai Straits - read the story here
And to our amazement there was a massive link with the once Poet Laureate - John Betjeman - who served on the HMS Conway for serveral years after leaving school. This is one of his poems, lesser known than 'Sea Fever' but all about the Conway tradition that seagulls are the returning spirits of cadets who have crossed the bar.
Such an interesting day!!
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