Day-Trippers Guide to Liverpool

By Tom Frangione

“I spent my early life in Liverpool
Something I’m not likely to forget
People blend with places
And faces that I know but never met”
Paul McCartney, “In Liverpool”

What a difference a quarter century makes ….

The first time I visited Liverpool in the summer of 1983, the city was all the things we’d read about in Beatles books up to that point – dark, depressed, underdeveloped, and virtually barren in terms of celebrating its four most famous sons. Just three years removed from John Lennon’s passing, the city had not yet properly embraced the Beatles as “history” nor recognized the value of the pop-culture tourism goldmine they were sitting on.

Fast forward to summer of 2009, just a year removed from the city being celebrated as the European Capital of Culture. The Beatles are now the rightful centerpiece of the city’s history & culture – past and present. Indeed, what was once a cottage industry – taking Beatlemaniacs on guided tours of the city – has become a thriving part of the local economy.

And while many fans visiting the city will opt for an overnight stay at the newly opened Hard Day’s Night Hotel, many remain “day trippers” making the journey as part of a London vacation, as Liverpool’s Lime Street (where “Maggie Mae” once strolled, apparently) station is just a little over a 2-hour trip by rail from London’s Euston Station. While there are books and DVD’s detailing virtually every hometown nook and cranny the boys once graced, there are also the standard 90 minute “Magical Mystery Tours” which give a cursory overview of the city’s famous Beatle landmarks. But the best way to minimize hassle and get the most from a day in Liverpool is to hire a tour guide in advance. They can book all your tickets (more on that later) and pick you up & drop you off at your hotel or train station. In between, there’s no waiting for buses, getting lost or (most importantly) wasting time. When booking in advance, you can customize your itinerary, adding some places that might not be part of the standard day tour. That personalization can make the difference between a great day out & about, and a truly once-in-a-lifetime unforgettable experience, as it did on our recent trip.

To give you an idea on how to make the most of an excursion to the Beatles hometown, we present the BeatleBrunch Day-Trippers Guide to Liverpool.

PRE-PLANNING:
Obviously, the first thing that you need to do is pick the day you will be visiting. When doing so, consult www.virgintrains.com to check the schedule of trains running from London to Liverpool and back. There are different schedules and fare structures for weekdays vs. weekends, and you’ll definitely want to review any changes in service due to scheduled repair work. A current sample weekday fare was 28 pounds, or $46 each way, which allowed for a 9:15am arrival into, and 7:45pm departure out of, Liverpool.

Once you’ve identified that, there are a number of services you can contact to help plan your visit. Check out www.visitliverpool.com which will have lots of useful information, including how to request a free visitor guide as well as general information on Beatles sites and tours for hire. The service we selected, Pool of Life Tours (www.pooloflifetours.com) is highly recommended. They are friendly, accommodating, responsive, and very knowledgeable. Along the way, their narration, accompanied by music and interview tapes, helped color-in the picture considerably and complemented the worry-free pace of the day quite nicely.

GETTING STARTED:
Now the fun part begins! What are the “places you’ll (want to) remember all your life”? Some are “givens” (Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, etc) and will be part of any general package tour. But is there something you want check out that might be off the beaten path? Here are some ideas to get you started:

THEIR HOMES:
While a visit to George’s boyhood home at 12 Arnold Grove will make for a brief stop, a trip to Ringo’s neighborhood would include stops at both Madryn Street and Arnold Grove (both mentioned in his most recent single “Liverpool 8”). In between is the Empress Pub, as seen on the cover of his first solo album “Sentimental Journey”. (George's home "Friar Park" can be found on the banks of the Thames River in London. The Dakota is in NYC.)

Both John and Paul’s homes are the property of the National Trust. You can tour these homes, but need to purchase tickets in advance, as these are in residential neighborhoods which are accessible by tours only during certain times of day.

Mendips (located at 251 Menlove Ave.) is a must-see. It is here that John lived for more years than any other place during his life, and where he wrote some of his earliest songs. The property caretaker will take you through a narrated tour of the home’s history, and several of the original artifacts on display, including photographs, drawings, and even some of John’s report cards.

Likewise, Paul’s home at 20 Forthlin Road is another must. It is here that John and Paul would write and rehearse in the earliest years of their partnership. Strategically placed photographs shot in the home (mostly taken by Paul’s brother Mike) are on display, affording the proper vantage point and perspective. For example, a famous photo of John and Paul circa 1962, acoustic guitars in hand, and with a notebook open to an early working draft of “I Saw Her Standing There”, hangs in the front parlor near the fireplace. Upon careful examination, you can see the fireplace and brickwork to decipher that it was on that spot, the first song on the first album, was written. A piano sits at the other end of the parlor, where I was privileged to pluck out the melody line of “When I’m 64”, one of many Paul wrote during the time he lived in the home.

Joint tickets for the two homes currently cost 16 pounds (about $27), and while photography is prohibited inside the homes, very reasonably priced souvenir booklets are available for purchase.

THE CLUBS:
While the band likely played every corner dive and dancehall in the area in their formative years, three clubs proved pivotal in their development.

The Jacaranda, operated by one-time Beatles booking agent Allan Williams, is open and once again a local favorite. The upstairs is decorated with photos and posters from the early Beatle days, while the downstairs houses the bandstand where they used to play, as well as a mural painted by John and Stu Sutcliffe.

The recently reopened Casbah Club, located at 8 Haymans Green proves to be a highlight of any Beatles day tour. The clubs history is well-chronicled in the excellent book “The Beatles – The True Beginnings” written by former drummer Pete Best with his brothers, Roag and Rory. Located in the cellar of the Best family home, one of the brothers will generally be your tour guide, regaling you with a firsthand account of the early Beatle years. Besides the plethora of handbills and photos on display, the bandstand and coffee bar virtually come to life during the excellent accompanying live narrative.

As with the National Trust homes of Lennon and McCartney, access to the Casbah requires booking in advance, with tickets costing 15 pounds (about $25). Unlike the National Trust homes, photography is permitted inside the Casbah.

The Cavern Club is a lynchpin in the Beatles story. It is here that they played several hundred shows, cultivated their local following, developed their stage chops, and where Brian Epstein first saw the band. The arched brickwork will be instantly recognizable to any Beatles fan upon entry, and while the club had been closed, it was rebuilt (or more accurately, excavated and repositioned) largely on the same site underneath Mathew Street where it is once again a vital part of the local music scene.

THE SCHOOLS:
While quick stops at Dovedale Primary and Quarry Bank High will be of interest, a stop at Liverpool Institute proves special. Reconstituted as “LIPA”, the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts under the auspices of Sir Paul McCartney, a stone sculpture outside the entrance hall includes a guitar case bearing his name.

BEATLE HISTORY 101:
One of the more fun stops on the tour would be St. Peter’s Church, where on July 6, 1957, John’s band “The Quarrymen” performed for an audience including a young Paul McCartney. Besides the site of the bandstand (forensically deciphered via photographs of the boys performing), be sure to visit the adjacent Church Hall where the two were famously introduced backstage, which is duly commemorated with photos, programs, news clippings and other mementos of that fateful day. On the church grounds one can also find the grave of one Eleanor Rigby.

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