Stand on Scotland Road in Liverpool - "Scotty Road" to the locals - or the East Lancs' Road. Preferably, a stretch where all the buildings around you are grey, as is the tarmac / pavement, the bus shelters, and the other people. It needs to be almost dusk, so that the sky, too, is grey. Preferably on a Sunday, so there's no welcoming light coming from the (closed) shops. Also preferably, raining, with a light wind, so that the rain goes down the back of your neck and up your trouser leg at the same time. Stand by one of the vandalized bus shelters, waiting for a bus that will likely never come. And if you were born in Liverpool (like me), and rarely get back there, that experience - the view, the greyness and the rain - will be the most beautiful you've ever had.
