I’ll be turning 70 next year and my family want to treat me to something special. Initially they suggested a trip to Japan, where I’ve never been, and had occasionally expressed an interested in visiting.
But then I thought what I’d really like to do is a Beatle nerd’s trip to Liverpool – you know, visit Penny Lane and S Fields etc. And the new Pete Best Beatles museum.
Has any done this recently? Are there guided tours worth doing or is it best to do your own research and do it by yourself? Has the whole place been taken over by tacky touristy stuff?
For me National Trust trip to John and Paul’s houses is essential. Have also heard that a Casbah visit should be done, haven’t managed that myself yet. Beatles Story at Albert Dock is not too inspiring.
I was going to jump in with the very same thing! Totally agree the National Trust trip to the houses is the one absolutely essential thing to do.
Do they still do Casbah tours? I did it about ten years ago and absolutely loved it.
And yes the Albert Dock one is not too brilliant. Very broad, for tourists and beginners really. But having said that I’ve been twice now. It’s quite pleasant to walk through the Beatles story and things like the recreation of the Cavern and the Sgt Pepper costumes are quite good.
The newer Pete Best museum is not bad, some nice little curios and artifacts. But when I went a couple of years ago it still felt a bit cobbled together, as if it was still trying to find its feet.
But honestly they are all worth visiting over the course of a day, and the National Trust houses are the absolutely essential ones I would say.
Have a look at tripadvisor for ideas. Lots of Beatles stuff but I can heartedly recommend Hatchet Harry.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attractions-g186337-Activities-c42-a_attractionType.SUPPLIERS-Liverpool_Merseyside_England.html
We did this a few years ago.
We stayed at the Hard Days Night Hotel which I thought was terrific. From there we did the taxi tour, which is so much better than the bus as it goes to places the bus can’t go, and you get out to wander around much more. Our driver knew the remaining Quarrymen, and when he knew I was a Beatle nerd he included stuff like taking me around the back of Menlove Avenue to see where John had carved his name in a tree and where he used to bunk into Strawberry Fields, and he took us into the church in Wooton to see where John sat in the choir ( he knew the churchwardens and got permission), and I sat on the wall where John used to have a ciggie and Eleanor Rigby’s grave was right behind us…stuff like that. He had also met Bob Dylan outside Forthlin Road and told a hilarious story about that! An absolute bargain.
There is also a self guided walking tour – just buy the book and follow it around at your own pace. Takes you to all the old clubs and pubs they played and sites like the Liverpool Institute and the Art college where John went.
Agree totally about the Beatles Story – it’s OK and there are some interesting artifacts, and it didn’t seem expensive, but I was disappointed on the whole. One for the tourists!
The Cavern is free and it is well worth a visit of course. There is also a great little shop in Penny Lane in a community centre with some non tat souvenirs which benefit the local community. The taxi driver took us there when we stopped in PL at the barber shop and the roundabout and so on.
My abiding impression was the realisation that it was essentially the story up until 1963 that is the exciting experience, and you realise that then they were gone. The rest of the Beatles career is celebrated, but might as well be anywhere.
Enjoy!
Yeah the church in Woolton is also worth visiting, nice area too
I work for St Peter’s in Woolton and would be made up to open the doors of the Church and Hall for visiting AWs for a private mooch if we can possibly make it work with other stuff we have going on.
Contact details on our website.
“My abiding impression was the realisation that it was essentially the story up until 1963 that is the exciting experience, and you realise that then they were gone. The rest of the Beatles career is celebrated, but might as well be anywhere.”
Totally agree – I remember thinking a very similar thing when I first did the big Beatles thing in Liverpool a few years ago. For all that their connection with Liverpool is celebrated, once they were on their way they got right out of there and never really looked back (obviously I’m not talking about Paul’s connections with Liverpool years later, the fame school and all that). They were very forward looking and didn’t stop for a minute to get nostalgic, apart from maybe a couple of brief moments in Get Back when they start playing their old tunes! Nostalgia is for the fans really, isn’t it? Not the artists.
Agree with everything thats been said. You must do the childhood homes – make sure you book it well in advance as it gets booked up. Ive heard from friends what Nigel says about the taxi tours. If you have your own transport then it’s easy enough to take yourself around, and the Ron Jones book The Beatles’ Liverpool is an excellent guide to all the key sites.
But also – enjoy the city as a whole. It’s a wonderful place for break
We had a weekend in Liverpool recently and can recommend the Duke St Food Hall: a dozen street food providers all in a huge covered warehouse. Long queues at peak times but definitely worth it. The Ship and Mitre is an very good trad pub with a vast range of real ales. Maray is a great restaurant right on the Albert Dock. Sadly the awesome Yellow Duckmarine tour, which we did a decade ago, has been decomissioned. (WW2 DUKW landing craft, so a half-boat half-bus tour). Other than that we did Tate Liverpool, Crosby Beach for the Gormleys and so on.
One sank in the dock. Hence, the decommissioning.
The Hard Day’s Night Hotel is a good shout, myself and the Baroness have stayed there a few times. The taxi tour and the N.T. Trip is also seconded by us. Then explore the city yourselves it’s great.
I’m seeing a lot of love for the taxi tour here. I’ll need to try that next time I am down.
I always balked at the Hard Day’s Night Hotel, assuming it was just an overpriced tourist trap, and not a place for serious Beatle nerds like me. Am I wrong?
Can I say Ms Moles and I got ‘Beatleageddoned’ in the Tate cafe, having avoided wall to wall background Beatle music all weekend, only to get whacked at the temple of high culture.
We’ve spent many a happy hour or 4 in the HDNH bar and I can assure you there was plenty non-Beatlesque music playing.
The Grapes on Mathew St is also a must. Avoid the other crappy pubs there though.
And Ye Cracke just off Hope Street near what was the art school that Lennon attended and Macca and George’s high school, and is now LIPA. The Beatles frequented it (although it has to be said that half the pubs in Liverpool make that claim).
Oh yeah, its also worth a visit.
Is that the one with the grade 2 listed urinals?
No, that’s the Philharmonic on Hope Street, opposite Philharmonic Hall, the city’s main concert hall. It’s a fine old Victorian boozer, but arguably even more worth visiting is the grand old city pub The Vines on Lime Street. It was in a shocking state but has recently been revamped and spruced up. Which reminds me – in terms of accommodation there are plenty of decent hotels but whatever you do don’t stay at the Adelphi. It’s a wonderful old building that was once the smart hotel for people about to embark on the transatlantic crossings, but is now run down and managed appallingly by Britannia hotels, consistently voted the worst hotel group in the land.
I’m glad to learn The Vines is open again. The last time we were in town it was looking very, very closed and it’s where I used to stop for a pint before the train home when I lived n Preston and Lancaster.
I spent my teens in Wrexham, so Liverpool was the nearest big city and I’ve always liked it very much, perhaps because it has a lot in common with Glasgow where I lived as a boy. In the 80s Beatles nostalgia wasn’t a thing yet, and on trips to Liverpool with mates we would go into Probe Records without it ever occurring to us to pop round the corner to Mathew Street (although I don’t think The Cavern existed in its original or rebuilt form at the time). Now that whole area is ‘Cavern Quarter’.
Premier Inn at Albert Dock is great. I have found the Hard Day’s Night hotel to be ludicrously expensive and it is in an extremely noisy part of town.
Thanks everyone! So much useful info there. What a luvverly place this here blog is.
Liverpool is a great city…made even better by how cheap a pint is. The Cavern is a major tourist attraction, but the beer is still good value.
In the same way that every pub in Stratford-upon-Avon claims that Shakespeare supped there, a lot of pubs in Liverpool claim a Beatle or two quaffed a light ale in their establishment. This guy has done the hard yards for you, though:
https://theguideliverpool.com/your-guide-to-a-beatles-pub-crawl/
Strange to be choosing between Japan and Liverpool. Food is probably better in the former and you can maybe do a Yoko Ono tour!
In my first year at Liverpool Uni in 1980 I lived in Rathbone Hall of Residence on Penny Lane. At the time the Beatles seemed to be at the nadir of their popularity – despite John Lennon just having being shot in NYC, I wondered why nobody ever visited the obvious Liverpool Beatle locations right outside my window. I used to get my hair cut at the barbers on Penny Lane but never thought to ask about the song … at the time I was more interested in getting a Ian McCulloch hairstyle than a McCartney one. In my final year I got a job on a van delivery service servicing areas such as Woolton, Speke and the Dingle. My scouse driver was always pointing out where John, Paul etc used to live and work (and play) and now I wished I’d paid more attention!
I was in Carnatic
Maybe we bumped into each other at the Roscoe and Gladstone disco, I was very very drunk
Greenbank Lane though surely?
Quite possibly. Although my diaries for 1980 are now a weird mix of cringe material and archaic content. “Saturday: got the 82 bus into Liverpool to buy a stylus. Saw that bird Margie who I bagged off with at the State ..”