CILT MARITIME
21
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growing. Last year there were more than 700,000
passenger journeys, an increase of almost 20% on the
previous year. The Mersey Ferries brand is world
renowned and now has world-class visitor attractions.'
There has been an investment of around �60 million
over the past decade, which began with a refurbishment
of the ferry fleet and culminated this year with the
opening of the new �10.5 million Pier Head ferry
terminal and The U-Boat Story attraction at the
Woodside ferry terminal. Together with Spaceport, an
attraction housed in a listed building at the Seacombe
ferry terminal, the three terminals now constitute a
tourism triangle across the river to attract the increasing
number of visitors.
The Pier Head terminal was designed to be one of
the most environmentally friendly buildings of its type,
complementing the surrounding buildings on the World
Heritage site.There is a coffee shop, souvenir shop and a
unique exhibition called Beatles Story Pier Head,
currently showing the world premier of White Feather:
The Spirit of Lennon exhibition, by Julian and Cynthia
Lennon, as well as another unique experience, a 4D
cinema, together with memorabilia of the world's most
popular group.
The U-Boat Story
Woodside's unique �4.2 million attraction, The U-Boat
Story, features U-534, one of only four remaining
U-boats in the world.The U-boat was rescued from an
uncertain future by Merseytravel after the Historic
Warship Museum in Birkenhead went into voluntary
liquidation. Moving it to the new berth was a major feat
of engineering, since because of her size and the limited
space available at the Woodside Terminal, it was
necessary to cut it into four sections. These were
transported for more than two miles on the huge
Mersey Mammoth floating crane, with each move
planned to coincide with high tide on the river.
Each of these sections is now illuminated from the
inside and glazed panels have been installed over the end
of each section, and a specially built viewing platform
allows visitors to see inside.Alongside the U-boat is one
of the three T11 Zaukonig advanced homing torpedoes
found on board. These were the most advanced
torpedoes in the world at the end of the Second
World War.
An adjoining newly built exhibition centre contains
artefacts from U-534, including an Enigma coding
machine, interactive displays, filmed interviews with
survivors, a pictorial history of life on board, and
personal effects of the crew, including clothing, cigars and
playing cards.
The restaurant facilities at Woodside have also been
upgraded and the attraction welcomed 28,000 within six
months of opening, the target figure for the first year.
Seacombe ferry terminal is home to Spaceport, a
space-themed visitor attraction that includes space pod,
simulator and planetarium. It is designed to be
educational and entertaining, is particularly popular with
school parties. This year Spaceport is hosting One
Small Step, an exhibition celebrating 40 years since the
original lunar landings and including pieces of genuine
moon rock.
The six-hour Manchester Ship Canal Cruises that
travel the length of the canal in each direction are
proving more popular than ever, with passenger numbers
exceeding 20,000 for the first time in 2008.This is a 30%
increase on the previous year and double the number of
passengers of five years ago.
The leisure and tourism industry is now estimated to
be worth �1.3 billion to the Liverpool City Region
economy, sustaining 23,000 jobs. Merseytravel's objective
is to provide an integrated public transport system
accessible to all � and this includes the growing number
of visitors to Merseyside.
Mersey Ferries has firmly
reinforced its position as the
region's most popular paid-for
attraction, a tribute to the
success of the policy adopted
by Merseytravel Chief Executive
Neil Scales a decade ago
Each of these sections is now illuminated from the inside and
glazed panels have been installed over the end of each section,
and a specially built viewing platform allows visitors to see inside

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