Offering a chance to see beautifully designed scale models of the planets of the solar system, Our Place in Space is in the city until November 6.
The sculptures have been designed by artist Oliver Jeffers, astrophysicist Professor Stephen Smartt and a creative team led by Nerve Centre and are located on a trail from Church Street in the city centre all the way to Otterspool. Having admired the sculptures in town, I decided to give the whole trail a go and see what it would be like to follow it from start to finish.
At 8.1km, the trail is definitely not the shortest walk, with the full route being estimated to take up to three hours at an average walking speed. Luckily for me, the day I chose to walk the trail was one with lovely weather - it was not too cold and was even quite sunny, with not a drop of rain in sight.
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I started the trail on Church Street, where you can find quite a few of the sculptures. I especially loved the large models of the Sun and the Earth that are located at the very start before you begin following the route and get to the scale models. I'd walked past them multiple times, but not really stopped to take in how impressive they really are.
Now, it was time to embark on the rest of the trail. It doesn't take too long to walk from the Sun to Mars, and in the city centre I was able to take in models of Mercury, Venus, the Moon, Earth and Mars. All of the models are found inside large, colourful arches with the planet's name clearly written on the top.
Next up was Jupiter, which I found after a nice walk over to the Royal Albert Dock. I was amazed at the detail on the model, which was made up of stunning orange hues and set against a backdrop of the night sky.
To get to Saturn and Uranus, I followed the trans Pennine trail along the waterfront. This was a lovely walk and I enjoyed taking in plenty of stunning views across the water as I made my way along the trail.
There were also a collection of large arrows along the way, with the helpful signs decorated with stars, to guide you to the next planet. This was especially helpful in the latter stages of the trail, where the models are further away from each other.
The last two models, Neptune and Pluto, can be found on Otterspool Promenade. Again, this was a beautiful walk and it was genuinely enjoyable to complete. Once I'd got to the end, I felt a sense of accomplishment and it was rewarding to know I'd followed it all the way.
It is quite a long walk and, admittedly, my legs were rather tired at the end of it. To my delight, I noticed a sign for Aigburth train station near the end of the trail, so it was really convenient to get back after finishing it.
Overall, I spent a lovely morning completing the trail and I would highly recommend checking it out before it leaves. Not only do you get to marvel at some impressive artwork and gain a deeper understanding of the solar system, but you can also enjoy a nice walk with plenty of scenic views to take in.
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