Erasmus take a weekend trip up North

From the 23rd to the 25th of January, the Erasmus Society spread their wings and flew the Imperial nest to visit Liverpool and Manchester! After some good old FiveSixEight grub (and ale) following Friday lectures, the multilingual-chatter-filled five hour coach journey to Liverpool commenced.

Some of the students hadn’t met previously and this was the perfect icebreaker. After a very quick turnaround at the Liverpool YHA, that evening the society President, Lauren Anders, a Liverpudlian herself, introduced the society members to the nightlife of this fantastic city. They headed to Fleet Street, first to Krazyhouse, then to Baa Bar.

Students experienced the wonder that is a night out that doesn’t drain your overdraft! Relative to London, the prices were nearly as cut down as the average mini-skirt (despite the very chilly breeze!), and there was much more of a student feel to the place. The Erasmus group definitely made the most of it.

Blessed with sunny skies not common in Northern climes, and armed with stomachs stuffed with a full English breakfast, the group spent the next day exploring Liverpool. Following a walk along the Albert docks, the students visited The Royal Liver building (the ‘i’ as in ‘alive’, not as in ‘Liverpool’), one of the first buildings ever made from reinforced concrete. On its two clock towers sit the Liver birds, and legend has it that, should they fly away, the city of Liverpool would cease to exist. During their Saturday stroll, the group also came across a Superlambanana sculpture, a cross between a lamb and a banana, of which 125 were designed by the Japanese artist Taiso Chiezo to celebrate Liverpool’s status as the European Capital City of Culture in 2008. Other pit stops for the day included (of course) the Cavern Club, St. George’s Gardens, the Eleanor Rigby statue, the Museum of Liverpool, the International Slavery Museum and the Walker Art Gallery.

The group travelled to Manchester by train on Saturday evening then, after checking in at their next YHA, hit Deansgate Locks for some well-earned beverages. Almost all bars required an entrance fee, which rendered the bar crawl plan pretty expensive. But luckily they had Fabian on board, who managed to blag the group of 20 into a bar for free. Even more impressively, all group members made it to the hostel breakfast the next morning!

And Sunday was reserved for culture vulture-ing. First stop was Manchester Cathedral, where they were given a tour by an expert retired literature professor. He first showed the students, in a style not unlike that of an academic tutorial, the Angel Stone discovered in the wall of the cathedral’s south porch, evidence for the presence of an early Saxon church built in 700AD. He then explained that the flat wooden ceiling distinguishes this Cathedral from most other European varieties.

A visit to the stunning gothic John Ryland Library, first opened to the public on 1st January 1900 after ten years of construction (the final results were just a little more impressive than our own Central Library), was followed by an essential recce of the Old Trafford stadium. The students explored the players’ changing rooms and the VIP lounge, before walking out onto the pitch in double file. It was especially impressive to hear how much effort goes into maintenance of the grass.

The Addison-Lee coach returning to London on Sunday evening was full of very tired, but very content Erasmus Society members, following a weekend full of British culture and socialising with other students from all over the world.

Erasmus Society holds social events every week and the committee are currently organising a tour like this one, but to Dublin, for the end of June. Any students, Erasmus or non-Erasmus are welcome.

We are also holding an event on the 10th of March for any Imperial students interested in doing a Year Abroad to talk to both Imperial students who have done a Year Abroad, and students from abroad who are studying at Imperial this year. So if you fall into one of these three groups, please keep an eye on our Facebook page for details.