You can also get flights to Paris from Liverpool.

Wow, the Globespan flight to Liverpool from NYC is SO much cheaper than what we booked to London. Having to get to NY would add hours to the trip though. Next time... I'll be so much better informed...
Our latest idea is to take the train to Liverpool and spend 2 nights, then fly to Paris and spend 2 nights, then fly to London and spend the last 6 nights there.

With 2 nights in Liverpool we can follow merseyheart's itinerary and have an extra night to check out the pubs-hopefully after a good night's sleep!

I am so delighted to know you'll see Liverpool. If you've been a Beatles fan all your life, it won't disappoint you. When you take the train into the city from the south, keep an eye out for the cathedrals, both the Anglican and the Roman Catholic. Say hello to the Mersey for me! :)

The Mersey ferry landing stage sank last year & hasn't been refloated yet. The ferry now departs from the temporary Isle of Man landing stage after that ferry crashed into its berth. The ferry tickets are purchased at the old terminal building in front of the Liver Building & then you have a 10 minute walk to find the temporary berth. The ferry trip itself is still a good trip although sailings are less frequent out of rush hour times.
Roads are currently up the wall as roadworks are springing up everywhere for Liverpools Big Dig - straight off the M62, Edge Lane has been under construction for over a year & is getting worse - nearly as bad as I95 through New York.
You might combine your trip out to Speke, sorry, John Lennon airport with a drive by the Beatles landmarks - Penny Lane & Lennons house - if you are going to Paris from there. This would give you more time at the city locations.

johngerard, thanks for information from a local. You're right about the ferry dock. I was there last fall when they readjusted and created temporary departures from the Isle of Man landing stage. saysull55, note that the Mersey ferry has two types of routes: a one hour "cruise" that leaves middays, and a half hour commute route that leaves early morning and late afternoon. It depends on how much time you have, which one you'll want to take. But I do recommend a view of Liverpool from the river!

I've been looking online for trains to Liverpool from Heathrow. It appears that taking the bus to Watford and then getting on a Virgin train is the only option. The fares vary throughout the day and there are not many direct trips. Three hours and 38 minutes is the fastest. Does anyone know if this is the only train? They weren't booking reservations for June yet. I gather the bus is a lot cheaper but takes hours longer.

You can bus from LHR to Watford, as you say. Or you can take the tube or the Heathrow Express (H/EX is quicker, but more expensive) into London (Paddington), then tube or taxi across to Euston station and pick up the Virgin train at the start of its journey, out of London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street. Journey time to Liverpool from London is 2.5 hours; there's an hourly direct service on weekdays.

You're right. It used to be that all London-Liverpool trains (and they've been hourly since 1967) stopped at Watford. Checking, only one in two now stops there, so you often have to get a train then change.

Problem is, it's at least an hour by tube (change at Kings Cross, as the apparently faster connection at Green Park involves a long walk) to Euston for the hourly trains.

But don't worry. Changing trains at Milton Keynes or Stafford is practically painless: you just get off the train and usually wait on the same platform for 20 mins or so till the Liverpool-bound train turns up. My 85 year old MIL does it all the time, by herself, with luggage.

Might be quicker to fly to Manchester then get the train: only you can do the sums. But the Watford journey really isn't difficult, and there's no semsibke alternative except flying

I didn't see any flights to Liverpool from London though. Is this true?

No it's not true.

There are a few flights from London City airport (go to its website for details) to Liverpool: there are no flights from Heathrow or Gatwick.

Some Liverpudlians have been whingeing about air connections for decades, and there's a long history of airlines running flights to Heathrow and losing a fortune: the truth is the tiny amount of potential Liverpool-Heathrow air traffic just doesn't support the costs of slots at the world's major airport.

If you do go into the men's lavvies at the Phil, take a deep breath first. Even by the usual standards of men's pub loos, they are indescribably smelly.

"Even by the standards..."

Now there's the best one-liner ever on this (or any other) board.

How DID Caroline get to be an expert?

:-)

Sometimes needs must, flanner !

Although I regretted using the men's loo one time after lunch in an Italian restaurant (when someone seemed to have died or at least to be having a long nap in the women's), as I promptly brought my lunch up.

My most recent trip to the gents' in the Phil was in the company of friends who hadn't been there before, so of course we had to give them the tour. It was a Saturday night but the bar staff were totally laid back about letting DH escort a group of fascinated and appalled women into the gents', once the coast was clear.

Okay, experienced Heathrow travellers: If my flight from Boston is scheduled to arrive at 7:30, is a 9:15 train departure to Liverpool doable? (The bus to Watford from terminal 4) The next one is at 11:10

Hi there! Here is my long-winded trip report from Liverpool. It was a blast.Liverpool Trip Report

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Journey
Our American Airlines flight took off about one hour late, at 8PM, due to bad weather north of Boston. The flight was uneventful, and thanks to some wine and the white noise of the engine, we both slept. We landed at about 7:30AM London time, 2:30AM our time. Took about a half hour to get through baggage and customs. Wandered around Heathrow until we found the Central Bus Station (terminal 2). We purchased train tickets to Liverpool via a bus to Watford as planned. Tickets cost 76 pounds each as opposed to 45 if we had prebooked. We couldn't prebook because they wouldn't send tix to US and there is no eticket station at Heathrow. Because the flight landed late we would have missed the one I was going to book anyway, so I guess it worked out for the best. People at the ticket booth were very nice and everything went smoothly.

Got on the bus and then the train at 10:30aM, slept some more, and arrived in Liverpool Lime Station sometime after noon. Weather was in the 60's, hazy skies. We took a cab (6 pounds) to the Premier Travel Inn at Albert Dock. It's a cool old brick building in a Fanueil Hall Market type of setting. Narrow corridors, nice room, exposed brick walls, king size bed, windows overlooking the new stadium construction... It was 116 pounds for 2 nights. Right next to the Beatles Story Museum.

We actually felt great, not exhausted or crabby or jetlagged at all! We walked around the dock and ate lunch outside at Blue. Our first of many experiences ordering at the bar, pub style. I had soup and a crab sandwich, fresh and light.

Beatles Story
Then it was on to the Beatles Story Museum. A bit of a disappointment for the true Beatles fan I thought. Modest exhibits, bare bones information, the audio tour conflicted with the other music and voices at each display. Maybe it was just a case of inflated expectations, because I've known all these details and stories my whole life. There wasn't anything new. Also, there was nothing at all on the solo careers of George or Ringo. Not sure if this connects, but after talking extensively to our tour guide the next day, it seems there is no love lost for those two in Liverpool, because the feeling is that they haven't given back to the city the way John (and Yoko) and Paul have. I thought that a tribute to George, especially, was conspicuous by its absence though.

That said, the replica of the Cavern Club was kind of cool, especially after I visited the "new" Cavern Club on Mathew Street and saw how authentic it was. I got a little teary looking at the February 7, 1964 portion of the exhibit, and the Ed Sullivan displays. Those days are so sacred in my memory. Seeing John Lennon's white piano was chilling too. Just realizing how much time has passed, not just since 1964, but since John died in 1980. Twenty-seven years ago. He was only 40.

The gift shop was ho hum, most of the merchandise pretty tacky, even as souvenir shops go.

Evening
That night we walked around Albert Dock and up to Mathew Street. Most of the Beatles stuff was closed. We had a drink at the White Star Pub and ate at Edwards, another pub. Very mediocre--we got the feeling we were the only people who had ordered food in weeks! We headed back to the room, fell asleep before dark (it stays dark until 10PM!), woke up at 7AM refreshed and seemingly back on schedule.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007


Beatles Tour
After a nice English breakfast buffet and a very friendly Liverpudlian hostess, we met Ian Crabtree, our guide from Liverpool Beatles Tours. We had booked online the full day tour, Story of the Beatles. It was a private tour in a minivan, not cheap (90 pounds per person), but it included the Beatles Story, which they had sent us vouchers for since we wanted to visit it the day before, a visit to the Casbah Club, and it incorporated the National Trust tour into the itinerary. It was fabulous, worth every penny in my opinion. Seeing the Beatles' Liverpool was the whole reason for our visit, and this tour met our expectations and then some.

Ian was very nice, friendly, easygoing and knowledgeable. It was fun listening to his Liverpool accent (he pronounced Paul "Pearl") and watching his wry, quick sense of humor emerge as the day went on. So many of the people we met in Liverpool that day were very friendly, genuine, cheerful, and above all, funny- shades of the Beatles' madcap humor all around.

Our first stop was Ringo's childhood home in the Dingle, still a rough area. We were welcomed into the house by Margaret Crose, the little old lady who lives there. The tiny living room was very tidy and decorted all over with Beatles photos and memorabilia. There were family photos of Ringo in that very room, and one of Ringo's father, rarely seen, who lived on the same street but never saw Ringo. What an unexpected thrill it was to be in that house! It set the tone for the whole day. We also saw the Empress, a nearby pub featured on one of Ringo's album covers.

Throughout the day Ian took us by many of the homes the Beatles lived in and by their schools, the streets named after them, etc. Also Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, Brian Epstein's house. I was amazed at how sprawling the city is, the different neighborhoods, the narrow streets, the roundabouts. It seems old fashioned, unchanged in a lot of ways. All the rows and rows of council estates, some shabby, some respectable. The thing I didn't expect was all the green space, the dark, leafy winding roads, the gardens.

Ian dropped us off at Mendips, John's and Aunt Mimi's home on Menlove Ave., purchased by Yoko Ono and donated to the National Trust. (sounds like a song!) Beautifully "appointed," nice garden, 50's furnishings and accoutrements. Beautiful stained glass, a front vestibule with black and white tiles where "the boys" supposedly practiced singing because of the cool echo. Lots of windows in the kitchen overlooking the back garden. All very proper. So much like what I'd imagined it to be.

National Trust Tour
Then we got in the National Trust minivan to Forthlin Road, Paul's home. The tour guide (who also lives in the house) is a Paul McCartney look-alike, John, a real character. The tour there revolved around lush black and white family photographs actually taken by Michael McCartney, Paul's brother. Because of his photos, they were able to restore the house to its original condition using fixtures from other houses in the same estate. We saw the drainpipe where the boys used to climb up and into the bathroom window when they were locked out. The place was worn and shabby, in keeping with the lack of attention to housekeeping that was the norm after Paul's mother died of cancer when he was 14. I was just looking at two books of Michael McCartney's photos and memories, and it was all documented there.

Of course the highlight was the picture of John and Paul in that very living room playing guitars by the fireplace and writing "I Saw Her Standing There." You can read the lyrics on a little pad in the picture! So thrilling. Paul's bedroom was tiny, just fit a twin bed, a dresser and a chair, not even a closet. Throughout the day I was struck by their "humble origins" and what a different place the world was when they were young.

Then it was on to St. Peter's Church in Woolton where John and Paul met at the fete on July 6, 1957. Another friendly Liverpudlian, Graham Pailsey, the verger, gave us a replica of the programme. He said he was there that day. He showed us the church yard where the stage was, where the Quarrymen skiffle group played. Totally thrilling. The village seems pretty isolated, very green, lots of trees and flowers and dark, windy roads. It was like going back in time. We saw the grave of Eleanor Rigby and one of "Mr. McKenzie."

Casbah Club
Then we went to the Casbah, out on the edge of town. It's the coffee club run by Mona Best, Pete Best's mother, where the early incarnations of the Beatles and others played. Rory Best, Pete's brother, was our guide. Dark little rooms with low ceilings in the basement, preserved intact, complete with painted walls decorated by John and Paul. The place wasn't even completely cleaned up, a little unfinished as a tour exhibit, but that somehow gave it an authenticity that was titillating.... To imagine a few hundred kids in there drinking coke and sweating to the music in 1962... Apparently the Pete Best Band still rehearses there. They had just left for an American tour that morning.

Cavern Club
Next it was back to Mathew Street, touristy shops and the Cavern. The Cavern was unbelievable, even though it is not the original, it is a sacred place in my memory. It's a fantastic atmospheric bar, long narrow area leading up to the stage, stones painted different colors behind the stage. Rough wooden tables, chairs and benches. Dark and smoky with archways of brick all around. We had a drink, took pictures, and left, but we came back that night after dinner, and this was the high point of my trip. It was about 9:30 and now the place was hopping, with a happy crowd full of tourists, young people and locals, all happy and having fun. The band came on at 10:30, didn't catch their name, young, energetic guys who played a fantastic set of early Beatles songs. We got up and joined the crowd dancing in front of the stage. I was practically in tears just being there. It was totally thrilling, I was transported back in time to a scene I had imagined many times throughout my life. I felt like if I had died then I would be dying happy. Frank loed it too, the band was good, everyone was singing along, everything about it was PERFECT. It was on of those ultimate moments in time.

Wrap up
Back to the afternoon: All in all I was totally satisfied with the Liverpool Beatles Tour. It was relaxing yet stimulating. Not only did we see all those places but we really got a feel for the city of Liverpool. The little private extras, like meeting Margaret in Ringo's house and Graham at St. Peter's were priceless.

That evening, before going back to the Cavern we took a nap, then a cab up to Hope Street to Puschka, 16 Rodney St., a place I had read about online doing my research. It's a small artsy place, a little pretentious, but reasonable prices with excellent food. I had cod wrapped in priscuitto with delicious risotto and a goat cheese appetizer. Frank had duck. We had a rhubarb pannacotta for dessert. Not sure what it was, like cheesecake, covered with almonds. Very good. We left there and walked back down through the club scene to Mathew Street and the Cavern.

Got up at 5:30 the next morning, took a cab to Lennon Airport (another friendly and funny driver) and flew off to Paris. We had such a great experience in Liverpool, everything was as perfect as it could be, well worth it. We'd love to come back for Beatles week sometime!

Hi there!

This is a lovely trip report but I'm afraid it may have been missed by some since you put it with your original post.

I am a long-time Beatles fan also (George especially) and I enjoyed your expressions of how it felt to be in Liverpool.

Where should I have posted it?

It may be OK just where it is - but it would have been much better to post it as its own thread w/ a title something like "Liverpool trip report, Beatle tours"

The problem here is that some won't read through the whole thread because it is long and old.

Great report BTW . . . . .

It's worth re-posting with a new title.

Thanks, LC, I just did, under Liverpool Trip Report.