Garage ghost sign

Two lovely ghost signs in Kelvin Grove, Liverpool. They're in the Welsh Streets area, the subject of controversial plans for demolition and development for over 10 years. I visited on a peaceful summer day. The rows of empty terraced houses stood proudly erect in a salute to past lives, and the signs were a gentle reminder of the everyday business once conducted there. Oh, and if you're a Peaky Blinders fan, there's a treat of a street there for you.

Nice day for a nuclear bunker

We visited Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker last weekend, and it's surprisingly interesting. Offering a careful mix of the chilling and cheerful, this ugly bunker nestles in the Cheshire countryside and is now a successful tourist attraction.

Hack Green was a radar station in World War two, and went on to play a key role in the Cold War, its long-range radar designed to detect hostile Russian bombers.



With nuclear weapons still in the news, it's a sobering visit. The usual Protect and Survive leaflet is there (hide under the table, built a shelter out of your house doors), which would be funny if it wasn't serious government advice to its citizens.

A huge amount of memorabilia and equipment has been gathered together and displayed in a thoughtful way, with a great soundscape and a smell of damp which I don't think had to be artificially created. There are lots of great signs for the sign enthusiast - my favourites feature here - and best of all there are three bunker cats.

It's worth a visit, even on a sunny day.

In at the deep end

This sign is at the luscious Victoria Baths in Hathersage Road, Manchester. Opened in 1906, the baths are a sumptuous celebration of public bathing. With three swimming pools, a Turkish bath, slipper baths and a laundry, the facilities were described at the time as the most splendid in the country.

Victoria Baths closed in 1993, and a gutsy restoration campaign has worked hard to get the building open and to restore the glory of the stained glass, mosaic floors, terracotta and tiles that make it so gorgeous.

If you’ve not yet visited, you’ve probably seen it without realising, as the Baths have often starred as a TV location (Life on Mars,  Floggit, Antiques Roadshow and Peaky Blinders to name a few). They run an imaginative programme of arts events, open days and vintage fairs – but it’s worth a visit for the tiles alone. Find out more here.