Looking across the Mersey to Birkenhead you can see the Bidston Observatory on the horizon. The British Oceanographic Data Centre was located in the building and it was the location for one of our inhouse web writing courses.
Many years before, when I worked in the construction industry, I used to make an annual phone call to the Observatory to buy a copy of their tide tables, so trusted by mariners around the world. We then incorporated the data into a wall chart and gave them out to corporate clients.
Demand always outstripped supply - they were highly prized by sailors and fishermen.
The imposing Bidston building dates back to 1866, with its distinctive white observation domes each formerly housing a telescope (these are now in Liverpool Museum).
The web writing course I was running was immediately under one of these domes. It was a great privilege to be in a room that was for so long at the very heart groundbreaking research of international importance.
BODC (part of the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory) is now located on the Liverpool University campus.