THOUSANDS of girl guides, including several units from Cheshire, descended on Liverpool to explore other cultures.

Six thousand rainbows, brownies and guides between the ages of five and 25 invaded the Capital of Culture to attend music, dance, song and film workshops in some of the city's iconic landmarks such as St George's Hall and the Albert Dock.

Sue Clough, of Girlguiding Cheshire Forest, said: "Everywhere you looked there were girls having fun, learning new skills and making new friends from around the UK.

"The highlight of the day was to see the girls perform the routines and songs they had learned from scratch only a few hours earlier in front of a packed Echo Arena crowd of their peers."

Sarah Brown, 11 and from Northwich, said: "It has been great to learn about the different cultures in a fun environment and it was great for it to be so local. The finale was great especially the fireworks and the tiger."