Roy McFarland

Explorer Tom The British Music Experience occupies Liverpool's Cunard Building on the Pier Head, where the waterfront already looks ready for an encore. Inside, stage clothes, instruments and recordings chart British popular music; try walking past the interactive drums without appointing yourself headliner. This is a museum with a fine sense of timing. The galleries follow sounds and scenes from post-war years to today, so a trip through the rooms can take you from early rock and roll to pop styles your younger relatives insist are ancient history. The building was once part of Cunard's shipping headquarters, giving the music a grand entrance without a fog machine. Look closely at the clothes and instruments, then head for where spectators can make a racket. In the Interactive Studio you can try guitar, drums and keyboards with guides; the Vocal Booth offers a microphone, while Dance The Decades invites you onto the floor. There is even a Boy George hologram. Your own performance may never reach the charts, but the exhibition makes a good case that music is something people do, not merely something they collect. The museum's main entrance faces Canada Boulevard, on the river side of the Cunard Building opposite the Mersey Ferry terminal. Tickets admit you to the galleries; the café and shop can be entered without a museum ticket. Published hours and ticket availability can change for events, so check the museum's booking page before setting off. James Street is a nearby railway station, and step-free entry is available via the side entrance. Leave with one song stuck in your head, preferably one you know the words to.

Explorer Tom The Royal Liver Building watches Liverpool's Pier Head from beneath two great Liver Birds, one looking towards the city and one towards the Mersey. Tom reckons they take turns checking whether the ferries have behaved. The birds are a playful emblem; the building beneath them tells a serious story about Liverpool's commercial confidence. Designed by Walter Aubrey Thomas, the building opened in 1911 for Royal Liver Assurance. Together with the Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building, it forms the waterfront group known as the Three Graces. Its clock towers and birds make it easy to recognise from across the river. A local legend says the city would cease to exist if the birds flew away; enjoy that as a legend, not a warning. The structure remains in use as an office building, so the public tour is a specific experience rather than permission to roam every floor. Start at Pier Head where you can see all three neighbouring buildings and the river that gave them their setting. The Royal Liver Building tour offers a guided route, an exhibition and high views, but ticket choices and access can change. Check its current visitor details before booking, particularly if stairs or height are a concern. You can also appreciate the exterior from the public waterfront without a tour. Move along the quay and see how the paired birds change their poses against the skyline. Tom will keep watch for any bird taking flight. You can leave the legend in its proper place and look at the real landmark: a building that still makes Liverpool's waterfront unmistakably its own.