June – Liverpool Garden Festival
There were five UK National Garden Festivals between 1984 and 1992, part of the cultural regeneration of large areas of derelict land in Britain’s industrial districts, also to revitalise tourism. We attended the first four, the first being in Liverpool from May to October. Leisurely drive down the Lancashire Coast and a few days in the Wirral – new country for us. Photograph of the Japanese Garden (main image).
July – Bergen and sail up Norwegian fjords
Overnight sail from Newcastle to Bergen, then transferred to a mail-boat, with accommodation for a dozen passengers, which sailed northwards up the west coast of Norway, entering fjords and stopping at local communities to drop off and collect all manner of goods.
