Morl Vammer

No, not an obscure sidekick of Darth Vader, in case you were wondering.

I think Liverpool can safely make the claim that of England’s six big conurbations, it is the closest to a border with another country, and one that feels different and even speaks another language.

On a clear day, the Clwydian range of mountains on the border of Flintshire and Denbighshire are easily seen across the Mersey, and from a very young age I’m sure most Liverpudlian children with Welsh heritage will have had them pointed out. The highest peak in the range (though admittedly small by Welsh standards) is easily identifiable by what looks like a pimple on its summit. Moel Famau, the “Mother Mountain” is rendered into scouse dialect as Morl Vammer, and pretty much everyone of my youthful acquaintance will have made the trip to climb it at least once in their childhood.

The ”pimple” is not a natural feature but the remains of the Jubilee Tower, a huge Egyptian-style folly built to celebrate George III’s jubilee in 1810. More on this later.