Old Dock Tour

If you have ever been shopping at Liverpool One, you may have noticed that in between the Starbucks and John Lewis is a viewpoint down into the old dock that the entire shopping centre is built on. But did you know that you can go on a full tour of the remaining dock with Liverpool Maritime Museum?

The tour tells the story of the world’s first commercial enclosed wet dock, and the impact that this had on the development of the city of Liverpool. Starting at the Maritime Museum with a brief history of Liverpool and what an enclosed wet dock is, the majority of the tour is spent under Liverpool One in the remains of the old dock which are accessed via the Liverpool One car park.

From the surface, looking down into the old dock, you’d be forgiven for thinking that very little remains. The reality is, there is a huge amount of the dock surviving. You can get an up close to view how the entire dock was made and see all the different layers of construction thanks to a series of walkways that go across the Old Dock. These also have the added bonus of protecting the remaining structure for future generations.

The Old Dock Tour begins at the Liverpool Maritime Museum where tour guides provide a fascinating insight into the history of the docks, including why The Strand is called The Strand. The knowledge and enthusiasm of the guides was fantastic. Whilst there is time to explore the dock on your own, this is very much a guided tour that goes into an impressive level of detail given the duration of the tour.

One element that the guides explain in detail is the archaeology work which was carried out to “find the lost dock”. This archaeology work formed part of a television series, but as the guides explained the docks were never actually lost. Arguably there’s a bit of bias in this review as Jo was previously employed as a forensic archaeologist, so there’s a natural interest in anything archaeology already, but the stories shared by the guides all rang true (archaeologist’s really do get excited about sewers, cesspits and latrines!). If you have even a passing interest in archaeology, this is a great insight into the work that was completed to preserve the Old Dock.

Within the Old Dock itself, there are informative boards which highlight specific elements to look at, such as the wall construction technique which used Flemish or English Bond in order to increase the strength. Much of the information is imparted by the guides who use the boards to illustrate their points, but they aren’t just reading out from the boards. There is opportunity for visitors to read the boards at their own pace.

We found one of the most fascinating parts of the tour was in the detail of the street names of Liverpool, and how these had all been influenced by the dock. The map displays with colour coding for the different types of businesses found in the areas around the dock were particularly interesting, as was the detail of how the stone from Liverpool castle was re-used.

The tour lasted around an hour which felt like the perfect amount of time to fully explore the dock. The guides remained available to answer any questions, but there was adequate time to explore the dock and information boards on your own after the guided element had been completed.

Combined with exploring the rest of the Liverpool Maritime Museum, this is a must do Liverpool attraction, and one that we very much enjoyed.

The tour is priced at £8.50 per adult which felt very fair for the tour. If you’re a member of National Museums Liverpool you can book tickets for the tour for free via the membership screens.

Originally posted: September 3, 2023