A homeless tour of Liverpool: 'We need to talk about people, real and raw. Everyone's got a story'

My name is Danielle and I am the newest tour guide with Invisible Cities, leading the first tour of Liverpool! 

I started training in 2025 and thought this would be a perfect project for me as I wanted to tell my story of recovery, of the city changing over time – just like I changed over time. This is what my tour is all about.  

The training inspired me because I’d never seen things explained that way before. I was fresh into recovery myself then, so it was like seeing new things, and it inspired me. 

My tour is about telling a different story of Liverpool. People talk about The Beatles and stuff like that. And those tours are brilliant. But I think we need to talk more about people who are not celebrities. You know, people that are people, real and raw. I wanted to share that everyone’s got a story, whether you’re a celebrity or not. 

My tour is called Liverpool: A City in Recovery. It’s about my life being in and out of recovery. I started in the city of Birkenhead where I was born originally, and I travelled to Liverpool. I spent many years in Liverpool, in addiction and trouble and trauma and stuff. Then I left the city, but came back.  

I share this chapter of my life so it can help others dealing with theirs too! 

We start at Lime Street Station as it is where I entered the city for the first time. But it is also a way to leave. I also talk about the Mersey Tunnel as it symbolises a journey and connection between different points: coming and going. 

Over the years the city keeps growing and evolving, but then I’ve grown up in that city as well, so I’ve changed through the city and the times. 

Read more:

• The fight to keep two libraries in two of Liverpool’s most deprived areas: ‘It would be a grievous blow’
• Jodie Comer: ‘I really want women to see themselves depicted in a truthful light’
• Can Eurovision 2023 help Liverpool fight for a better future?

My favourite stop is Mathew Street. I’ve spent many years drinking there, always in a celebratory way. So it was a happy place. But I stopped drinking and now I use it as a place to reflect on the past.  

I finish the tour on the Waterfront. I find it very calm and peaceful, and you just see with every wave there’s a story and there’s a journey in the waves. 

My tour is really like a book where you can’t just skip to the end – every single chapter holds its own weight and builds the whole story. 

If there’s one major thing that surprises people about Liverpool, it’s just how much it isn’t just one thing; not just a museum, or one celebrity or one song. It is everything. 

Other interesting things about Liverpool: it is called the Hollywood of the North and it is one of the most filmed cities in the UK! 

In Liverpool you can eat more than just fish and chips. Because of its port history we have food from all over the world, sometimes on the same street. 

Find out more about the work of Invisible Cities

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. 

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