ess096 cuppa with peter and gaby
everysinglestreet milestone

#everysinglestreet [04/04/21] The Esplanade and a cuppa with Peter and Gaby

Graham Holland     

It’s Easter morning and I couldn’t have picked a more gorgeous morning to visit The Esplanade! This is somewhere I’ve only recently discovered on a walk with Richard.

The Esplanade is in two sections – Cressington Esplanade and Grassendale Esplanade. These were private, riverside promenades for the residents of Cressington Park and Grassendale Park, gated private estates founded in the 1800s. Cressington Park was established in 1851. There’s a plaque on the gatepost for Grassendale Park but I didn’t get a photo of it. Both parks have roads that run down to the river. There’s a low wall separating the two esplanades, just so you know when you’re leaving one park and entering another (there’s a gap).

Both parks also have lodges at the entrance. Property owners pay an annual fee to pay for upkeep and parking. Cressington Park has its own tennis club.

Cressington Park also has a red letter box without a royal cypher. Letter boxes were first introduced in the UK in 1850, the year before Cressington Park was established. There was only a short period of time before new letter boxes started having a royal cypher placed on the front, making these quite rare.

Over the years some of the old houses have been demolished and replaced by houses that were modern when they were built. The contrast between the different styles of architecture is really interesting.

I took a photo of 22 North Road. My mum and dad moved into the top floor flat for a couple of months after they married and before they moved to Nottingham.

I ran along a footpath alongside the railway and came out at the other end next to Garston Animal Rescue!

St Austin’s church on Aigburth Road is currently being converted into flats. Just along the road there’s a street called The Serpentine. I don’t know why.

I stopped for a cup of tea with Peter and Gaby. They perform as Americana group The Good Intentions.

Peter is one of the children that appeared in the 7 Up documentary series that followed 14 boys and girls across the UK, catching up with them every 7 years. The first edition directed by Paul Almond was supposed to have been a one-off. It was Michael Apted who came up with the idea of revisiting every 7 years. The most recent one was 63 Up in 2019. Despite wanting to film them through to 84 Up, Apted died this year.

Peter missed three of the nine editions (35, 42, and 49). Charles only did the first three and never returned. Eight have done them all. One of them – Lynn – died in 2013.

Here’s Peter’s segment from 56 Up in 2012.

Stats

  • Friday 2nd April 2021
  • 18 streets
    Beech Court, Sycamore Park, Ambleside Road, Chalfont Road, Clandon Road, Cleveley Park, Cleveley Road, Fawley Road, Glenathol Road, Glendyke Road, Glanside, Keswick Road, Maryton Grange, Moorcroft Road, The Calders, The Glen, Verdala Park, Wheatcroft RoadStreet
  • Total: 3,104 (54.78%)
  • Remaining: 2,562
  • Milestone: 55%

Photos on Facebook

All of the photos from this run are in a publically viewable Facebook album.

To view them click here.

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