A sculpture scavenger hunt of Liverpool's waterfront
Follow the self-guided trail, find the sculptures, answer the questions
Here’s little treat if you’re looking for something to do over the summer holidays - or any time if you’re reading this at a time other than when it was first published. It’s a self-guided Liverpool Sculpture Scavenger Hunt - where you gather facts about public art works along and close to the city centre waterfront. Unlike most extra Stored Honey content, I haven’t put this behind a paywall, but the more of you who sign up as paid subscribers the more time I can spend putting together things like this.
Over the years I’ve put together treasure hunts, scavenger hunts and walking trails for kids’ parties, family and friends. I think it started with a group of school friends after we left university - we’d go away for the weekend and a few of us would plan a challenge for the rest of the group. For my hen weekend years ago, we went to Portmeirion in North Wales and one of my friends ran an Apprentice-themed scavenger hunt complete with pre-recorded videos of her partner pretending to be Alan Sugar. My team won but only because my Mum put herself in the mind of a squirrel and found the acorn we needed for the final task buried in a plant pot. Stories like this are why my pre-teen daughter tells me I’m weird, and why I feel lucky that I have friends who will go to such bananas-level efforts for a bit of Enid Blyton-style fun (without the casual racism, sexism and classism).
I promise there will be no Alan Sugaralikes popping up in video or any other form during this Liverpool Sculpture Scavenger Hunt. It’s a fairly straightforward activity - find each sculpture, read a bit about its history, answer a question. There are 10 sculptures on the trail, which starts and finishes at the Albert Dock/Pier Head. I’ve picked them by their location and also because they are some of the ones I find the most interesting. I love discovering the hidden meanings - decoding the symbols contained in these memorials and statues - so I’ve shared some of that with you as you go along.
For more information about the older works, I would recommend Terry Cavanagh’s book Public Sculpture of Liverpool, which I have used for research so often over the years. It’s out of print but I’ve spotted copies in secondhand bookshops and I’m sure you could find it online.
I hope you enjoy the trail - if you complete it please let me know how it went.
Click here to get started - and if you have trouble finding any of the sculptures I’ve plotted them on a Google Map (link below).
Click here to open the map
If you’re an artist, actor, theatre maker, curator, director or producer who would like to take part in Stored Honey’s regular Meet the Creator feature, please answer the questions in this Q&A or if you don’t like filling in forms I can send you the questions via email.
Stored Honey is a member of the Independent Media Association, and adheres to its Code of Conduct.
