Liverpool's Iron Men

It's not all beer and sandwiches on the docks at this year's TUC in Liverpool. A few of us made it out to Crosby beach, north of the city, last night to wander along the sand through Antony Gormley's Another Place.

The 100 iron casts of the artist's own body, staggered along 3km of the beach, some of them half covered by the tide or caked in barnacles, is the eeriest and most strangely moving pieces of public art I've ever come across.

The rejuvenation of Liverpool as cultural city has been quite incredible - there's a Tate gallery here on the docks and the Museum of Liverpool going up next to the Liver Building is going to be a cracker.

But the journey here is worth it just to walk among the iron men in Crosby as the sun goes down and the tide runs out. Every Atlantic beach should have at least one iron man.