Liverpool day trip?
 

Hello,
We will be base in London and wondering if Liverpool can be done with a day trip? Companions are big Beatles fans. We are car-less so how easy is it to go around Liverpool and Beatles sites? Thank you!!

Well once there - by train a fairly long ride each way - you can join the various Beatle tours and see all the main Fab Four related sites. Go to National Rail Enquiries - Official source for UK train times and timetables for schedules and booking own tickets - at varying fares - book early - save lots over walk-up fares. But a long day trip with several hours on train.

It is about a 2.5 hour train ride each direction (some direct some with one change but all about the same length). Trains Leave from Euston station. So unless you are staying right there near Euston/St Pancras/Kings Cross there will probably be 30 - 45 mins add'l total travel time to/from Euston. You are talking 6 to 6.5 hours just transit time. Doable - yes. Reasonable -- not really IMO.

There are lots of Beatles tours offered in Liverpool - just depends if you want to spend more time traveling than IN Liverpool.

The Beatles wrote a song about this issue:


I’m in London next week and have decided the Liverpool trip is about an hour too long.

>>Companions are big Beatles fans<<

In London be sure to 'do' the Abbey Rd zebra crossing and see the wonderful items in the Treasures Gallery at the British Library.

Thank you for all the replies and tips. We will probably do this as we really don't have any "long" day plan while in London. Companions are willing to sit through 6 hours of travel just to visit this place even for a "few" hours! ;) :)

I do similar trip on Virgin every week (Chester, sometimes Liverpool). Suggest you take the direct train. Book well in advance, as you will be travelling up at peak hours, and book seats - get the ones with a table. Advance tickets can only be used on the train booked, so don't miss it, or you will be in for a nasty surprise if you have to buy the ticket on the day (£150 each way!!!). You can book on-line and pick the tickets up at Euston from the ticket machines.

There is an M&S food shop at Euston where you can pick up food for the journey, and one in Liverpool station where you can pick up food/wine/beer for return journey. There are also several sandwich shops at both, and a Starbucks in Euston and a Costa in Liverpool station.

https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/

too bad you can't stay overnight - Liverpool has some neat attractions besides Beatles stuff - really nice renewed port area - Tate Gallery annex (I think Tate) - old and new cathedrals, etc. Probably Beatles re-enacters in some pub?

Thanks @OReilly64. Good to know about the food shops around the station as we'll probably end up doing that.
@PalenQ - I also wished we can stay overnight. The more I read about Liverpool, the more there seems more to see there than just "Beatles" stuff.

Well take an early train (though weekdays I think the cheaper tickets may have no leaving London until 9-9:20am and do the Beatles Tour and then spend a few hours in restored Docklands and check out the cathedrals, all in town center and book late train to London

And check out Beatles tours in London:

https://freetoursbyfoot.com/tour-of-the-beatles-london/

The Beatles: London tour of Abbey Road and other Fab Four locations

Two of several such tours I presume.

Maybe these could salve your friends' Beatles fix though Liverpool is much more the real Beatles thing from formulative age - years ago I did a Magic Mystery Tour by bus in Liverpuddle - at that time a crude bus with a tape player - assume modern tours are much better.

We went to The Cavern Club and actually had fun. It was a little hokey but we bought things and had a good time.

You may want to invest in first class on way back as long-distance trains tend to have complimentary food and drink in first class - not sure how you can check on that on that train as depends who is running the train I think. Folks have said Virgin Trains do. Or you can always bring your own food and drink aboard. In any case first class in U.K. has much bigger seats some with tables in between and lots of solo seats - both aisle and window seat to boot - these can face each other with table in between.

1st class: https://www.google.com/search?q=1st+...w=1280&bih=625

Standard class images - some can look pretty nice too but most are the old rigid two x two seating with noticeably smaller seats than first class.