An ENGAGEMENT
After a barmy spring, followed by storms and seeming endless rain Marta and James picked the perfect weekend for their shoot. We decided to meet up late afternoon on Saturday to take full advantage of the slowly softening light as we explored the park's beautiful trails and hidden locations.
liverpool festival gardens
Despite living in Liverpool for over 20 years and visiting frequently for many years prior, I didn't actually know that the gardens were open until recently. If you are old enough (I actually am) you may remember the original gardens. Long before its Capital of Culture status, the 1984 International Garden Festival was the first of its kind in the UK and a springboard to revitalising Liverpools tourism industry. Originally spanning 950,000 square meters, the site housed sixty individual gardens, a Festival dome, a yellow submarine, a Blue Peter ship and even its own miniature railway. Yet despite its huge success in attracting nearly 3.5 million visitors, the festival ran for a single summer only, before closing its doors in October 1984. Over the next 20 years the land passed back and forth through a series of developers. While much of the site to the West has now become housing, the park to the East including the Festival dome remains largely undeveloped. The festival dome itself, once home to the Pleasure Island amusement park until 1996, finally fell in 2006. In 2009 further development work was agreed, under the condition that Chinese and Japanese gardens were restored, along with the lakes and associated watercourse and trails. In 2012 the park was reopened, and today offers a tranquil, uncrowded and largely unknown space, close to the heart of Liverpool
marta & james
After a barmy spring, followed by storms and seeming endless rain Marta and James picked the perfect weekend for their shoot. We decided to meet up late afternoon on the Saturday to take full advantage of the slowly softening light as we explored the parks beautiful trails and hidden locations.
