The back row of seats on an open top bus with shops and buidings to either side

One of the reasons I avoid travelling to foreign holiday destinations is that there’s so much of the UK that I haven’t seen.

Of the places I have seen - or even visited - there are even fewer that I’ve explored.

Of those, the number that I’ve explored and experienced thorough is essentially zero.

That includes the area that I think of as my home town - Wallasey, and the northern part of the Wirral peninsula.

I’m constantly finding new places to explore and new footpaths to tread, and I doubt I’ll ever run out of hidden locations, trails, alleys, museums (did you know there’s a shop till museum in an ordinary house on Withens Lane?) and other, as-yet-unthought-of surprises.

That goes for the attractions of the insular penisula, too. New Brighton is a minor tourist destination. It has brilliant beaches, arcades, a well-maintained promenade, shopping streets, cafes, restaurants, and far too much to mention.

And during the summer holidays, you can take it all in on the Route 400 Coastal Breezer - a hop-on hop-off open bus tour than runs, I think, between the Floral Pavilion and Seacombe Ferry.

It’s £1 - which is cheaper than the standard MerseyTravel £2 fare, and you can sit on the top deck of an open-top bus, being a tourist and taking in the sites.

It’s a fun and cheap family excusion, and allows you to see the sprawling conurbation from a different viewpoint. You can hop on at Fort Perch rock, alight on Seabank road for some shopping, then jum aboard the next one which will take you to the ferry terminal for a hop over to Liverpool.

Or you can walk down to any point along New Brighton shore, then catch the bus home.

Of course, I vaguely knew all of this, as I’ve seen the bus coasting around the place, bewigged with crowds of tourists, and have had indefinite plans to take a ride for some time.

We sat on the top deck, and watched the beachgoers run for cover as the black clouds made swift headway across Liverpool Bay towards us.

Then it lashed down. But it was still great fun - especially when followed by a pint in The Mags.