We decide to go to Alcatraz first because it's such a popular attraction and if we don't get tickets today, there is no guarantee we will get them tomorrow. As it is we only get standby tickets and have to queue for an hour (so I advise you to book online in advance) but we get on the ferry. Reminds me of Liverpool ;o).

From the bay side Alcatraz looks completely isolated and almost serene looking, but I know it's a hive of activity and every boat that goes there is full. We are not brave enough to do the night tour of Alcatraz and are sticking to the day tour. It's a surprisingly short distance between the bay and Alcatraz, makes you realise how quite torturous it must have been for the prisoners to see it so near and yet so far. No wonder they thought they could make it through the water if they escaped, but the water is perilously cold. The grim cloudy and sunless weather matches the moody attraction

As the ferry docks I get to see the prison for the first time. It is extremely ugly, barren and has words scrawled in red paint all over it, almost defiantly. Despite the number of visitors there is a strange sort of silence and a hopeless feeling here. But maybe my mind is playing tricks on my and I am only 'aware' of this feeling because I know the history of the island.

The initial guide tells us a brief history about the island and the things of note to see here. I laugh when she tells us there is a former prisoner here today who spent 25 years here and is signing copies of his autobiography; but she is not joking…..she makes him sound like Tom Cruise (trust the Yanks or as they say here 'go figure'). How bizarre to think that a former prisoner is now here signing copies of his autobiography, being welcomed with open arms - I think this is pushing the 'celebrity' factor just a little bit too far. I can't believe he can set foot on the place again when 25 years of his life were wasted here.

In the prison itself we go on the guided tour and there is a commentary available in every language via headphones and we can wander round at our own pace or follow the instructions on the headphones to take us to specific areas. I take mine off halfway round for a few seconds and watch - the whole place is full of silent people walking around staring here and there, obviously all listening to the tape, but it's a weird sight nonetheless and adds to the eerie atmosphere that pervades here anyway.

The prison cells are so tiny. I don't know how men could have 'lived' in them. Most have been left in the same state as the day the prison closed with beds and metal cups and toothbrushes and things strewn around. You can barely move inside and when I put both my arms out they touched the walls. I'm 5,7 and found it difficult to move around. Imagine a 6ft bloke. It's so claustrophobic, cold and creepy to know that prisoners were here that I have to get out into the open prison area and follow the notorious yellow line to…...freedom? Nope, the infamous Hole…

I am not brave enough to go inside 'The Hole'. It's literally as black as night in there (although even the night sky has stars and moonlight). I peep inside but I couldn't even see my hand in front of me. Most of the visitors don't want to go in there and just peep like me. How inhumane to leave people here, prisoners or not, for weeks on end. No wonder prisoners went mad.

Have you seen that film Escape From Alcatraz? Well, those fake heads covered in paper mache and real hair are really there tucked up in bed!! Extremely freaky to see. The heads look fake up close, but in the dark I can imagine them to be very plausible.

I also get the chance to see the kitchen and dining area where all the utensils still lay untouched and hear about the riots described here…and how the spoons from here aided the above escape.From the windows you can see the Bay and again, can imagine how the proximity and the incredible light of the bay and its buildings at night must have played on the prisoners minds.

We walk to the top of the island (very steep and made me realise I'd been eating to many Cold Stone ice creams) in order to go to see the Warden's house. It's surreal to think of someone living a normal life here and just going down the road to his job were hundreds of prisoners were kept. The house is derelict and more of a haven to the wildlife here. Again, like lots of things here it is quite creepy.

There amount of birds on Alcatraz makes it feel distinctly Hitchcock-esque but then this is a nature reserve now and this is definitely their territory - they are protected by law. The irony being this would have made the infamous Birdman of Alcatraz happy.

The gift shop is pretty good with some fun gifts which were obviously designed tongue in cheek and I am seriously amused by the duplicate spoon you can buy which the prisoners used to escape.

All in all a surreal and somewhat unsettling experience.Glad to have seen the island, but equally glad to get back to the civilisation of San Francisco mainland.