GB Olympic Star, Bianca Walkden visits the Royal Liver Building

Bianca Walkden was stunned after joining the Royal Liver Building 360 tour and taking up an exciting chance to explore the world-famous building.

The three-time taekwondo world champion and world No.1 marvelled at the history and architecture on display inside the iconic landmark while going behind-the-scenes and learning about the Royal Liver Building clocks.

Alongside the clocks, which Walkden viewed as part of the RLB360 attraction, she was also provided with a guided tour. The tour opened in 2018 and has since welcomed more than 35,000 visitors from across the world.

Walkden, who suffered an agonising defeat in the last second of her semi-final in Tokyo this summer before rousing herself just hours later to win bronze in the repechage just as in Rio 2015, also watched a thrilling digital projection show at RLB360.

The light, sound and digital effect display has been installed inside the historic clock tower, set to the backdrop of the ticking of the original mechanisms, bringing the history of the Royal Liver Building to life with a captivating tale of Liverpool’s past and how a city full of culture, sport, history and music has made its mark on the world and evolved into the place you see today.

Walkden said:

“The tour was unbelievable and more than I even expected, honestly.

“The display, the building and being able to go up onto the roof to see the whole city was amazing. All those little touches they have kept from the original documents and architecture, it’s brilliant.

“I’d definitely recommend coming down if you haven’t already seen it, you’ve been stuck in for so long and this is the best way to come back out and enjoy the city to see what it’s all about!”

The Royal Liver Building clocks are the largest electronically driven clocks in the UK and were started on June 22, 1911 at 1.40pm to coincide with the exact moment of the coronation of King George V and were therefore proclaimed to be called the Great George Liver Clocks.

They were designed by Gent & Co, a company who concepted and created a ‘waiting train movement’ mechanism for these clocks.

In November 1910 the clock face was used as the table for a banquet to celebrate British Engineering and the achievement of the construction.

In total, there are four clock faces on the two towers – three on the west tower and one on the east.

The RLB360 visitor centre is free to enter, regardless of whether people tour the building, and Walkden spent time learning about the history of the Royal Liver Building while viewing historic displays and an archive gallery here too.

For tickets and special October half-term offers, click here.