Apparently there’s a time slip on Bold Street and every Liverpool student knows about it

It’s safe to say that any student at university in Liverpool is probably pretty familiar with our beloved Bold Street, and the treasure troves of trinkets and independent restaurants it has to offer. You’ve spent countless hours walking from top to bottom window shopping or drunkenly stumbling up past Rudy’s to grab a Gourmet Grill – with no idea how spooky it can actually be.

Bold Street’s lore definitely seems to be a bit paranormal. Since 1996, visitors have reported allegedly experiencing time slips at certain points along the road, suddenly finding they have been transported into a completely different time period.

The urban legend suggests that these peculiar time portals can change the surroundings and architecture of Bold Street. People have claimed to have seen vintage cars and retro storefronts popping up out of nowhere, as if they’ve entered the Victorian Era at the blink of an eye.

Ranked as one of the most supernatural streets in the UK, these records of historical tales and spooky first-hand accounts are part of local lore. Whether you believe in the supernatural or not, these spooky stories will definitely give you something to think about next time you’re venturing out of Concert Square.

What was the first time slip experience like?

The first account of someone experiencing a time slip was in July 1996. An off-duty police officer was taking a shopping trip with his wife down Bold Street, and just as he was about to cross the road into his favourite book shop, an old van with the name Caplans emblazoned upon it sped past him, beeping an old fashioned horn as it went.

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Not thinking anything of it at the time, he made to cross the road again, but stopped in his tracks when he looked up at the store he thought was Dillons, and found it was instead called Cripps. He looked up and down Bold Street just to see old fashioned cars surrounding him, and people wearing clothes straight out of the 1950s and 60s.

A woman wearing modern clothes was also stood by the shop window. He crossed the street to speak to her and noticed the shoes, handbags, and umbrellas in the store window of what he thought had been a bookshop. The pair entered the shop together, and as they did so, it turned back into a bookshop before their eyes as soon as they stepped over the threshold. Spooky, right?

Turns out a paranormal expert confirmed that the clothing shop did in fact stand in the same spot Dillons Bookshop did back in the day. The van company Caplans was popular in the 1950s, and based in Liverpool – the very same one that he spotted on his Bold Street trip, and this is where the urban legend began.

Is the urban legend still a thing today?

The legend of the Bold Street time slip still seems to be hanging around today, with one account being as recent as this decade. On Friday, December the 13th (already an auspicious date), two young girls headed down to Bold Street to do their Christmas shopping. They came across a shop they’d never heard of before called Ritzy Sports. After going inside to look around, they noticed all of the clothes cost far less than they expected, and everyone inside dressed extremely differently to them.

The two girls picked up what they thought looked like a vintage trainer, and suddenly found they were no longer in Ritzy Sports, but inside of the restaurant AKA Sushi.

They ran out of the restaurant, still holding the shoe, and when other people became more widely aware of their story, they discovered that the style of trainer was one popular around 1998. We’ve still not manage to see the CCTV footage of the incident, so we will never know whether the girls were telling the truth or not. Nevertheless, it’s sent a shiver down our spines.

What about the tunnels under Bold Street?

Most Liverpool students have heard the local lore about the mysterious abandoned tunnels underneath Bold Street, found by two restaurant workers. When restocking a cellar, they noticed a locked door and in classic horror film fashion, kicked the door until it opened. They discovered several chambers and workstations connected by a series of tunnels.

They soon understood that these tunnels lead directly under Bold Street.

The history of the road doesn’t give us any idea what these underground corridors could be used for. Before Bold Street existed, fields and farmland made up most of the local area, so this begs the question: Where did the tunnels come from? And are they related to the time slips?

Even if you haven’t found these stories convincing, they make a good story to tell freshers, or your parents visiting the city for the first time. There are countless more accounts of similar time slips both on Bold Street and around Liverpool City Centre, ranging from 1970s hotels to abandoned baby clothes stores.

While these stories only have urban legend and personal anecdotes to prove them to be true, stories like these are all over Liverpool, from the docks to the university campuses. It is now up to you whether you believe them or not, and if you’re going to go to Bold Street and investigate for yourself. What decade might you end up in? Who knows.