The Magical Mystery Tour - Liverpool

 

Albert Dock on a damp evening

My friend and I arrived in Liverpool on a rainy day and decided to get a taxi to our hotel as it was a bit of a walk. Our hotel, Travelodge in Brunswick Dock, was new. I don't remember it being there last time I visited Liverpool. Though this one didn't have a restaurant or bar, there was a restaurant in the same carpark. I loved this little hotel. It was quiet and, unlike the old style Travelodges, it had open drawers to store things and a rather swisher bathroom than usual. I also liked the fact that it had an opening window (a feature some modern hotels don't). Nice to get away from the air-conditioning for a change.

Travelodge, Brunswick Dock

By the time we went out for a walk (about 5pm), the rain had stopped. We set off to Albert Dock (where I stayed last time I was here). We were told it was about a thirty minute walk along the main road. Coming back, we used the riverside path to see how far it went. All the way, in fact, and was a much nicer walk, and the one we used daily.

Lovely vegan food at What's Cooking?

We had a wander around Albert Dock and then settled on a restaurant for our evening meal. The food was delicious in What's Cooking? 

The next morning, we set off to pick up the Magical Mystery Tour coach to enjoy everything Beatles in Liverpool. My friend had been given a Virgin Experience by her son for her and a friend. I was honoured she chose me. The experience also included a free meal at the Cavern Restaurant and free entry to The Cavern Club.

Our coach

We set off promptly and our guide spoke about the docks as we drove out of the main city. Our first stop was Penny Lane. There was a heavy shower, but we  braved it to take photos of the road sign. We had already learned about some of the places mentioned in the song, and they are still there - the barbers shop and 'behind the shelter in the middle of the roundabout'. We passed a mural of Ringo Starr on the wall of a pub where he recorded an album, and a studio The Beatles used. It was on the 86 bus that went through Penny Lane (it still runs) that Paul McCartney met George Harrison and they discovered they both attended the same college.

The barbers shop

The shelter in the middle of the roundabout

We set off to Strawberry Field where John Lennon spent time in the trees enjoying the peace, though he was banned because it was a girls school! He lived nearby with his aunt, having been taken away from his mother aged five because she was living with a man not her husband. The sister pressurised his mum into giving him up or she would report her to social services. The aunt didn't approve of John's music, or the playing of his guitar (bought for him by his mother), so he would go to Paul's house where music was a big thing. Paul's father was a musician and his brother Mike later played with The Scaffold (remember Lily The Pink?).

George Harrison's house

Strawberry Field

The best one can get as we stop and take photos of John Lennon's home from the coach.

Paul McCartney's house

It was interesting that the only house we couldn't take photos of (we were not allowed to get off the coach) was John Lennon's aunt's house. This one and Paul McCartney's house are now operated by The National Trust.

Everyone has their favourite Beatle. My friend and I were both fans of Paul McCartney. My favourite Beatles songs are Paperback Writer, Eleanor Rigby, Michelle and Get Back. But all the boys went on to have solo albums. I have several Wings albums and John Lennon's Greatest Hits. Later George Harrison went on to form the band The Travelling Wilbury's with Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Geoff Lynne (from ELO), and I just adore their song You Got It. Ringo Starr went on to narrate Thomas the Tank Engine and I like some of his solo albums.

When our guide wasn't chatting, he was playing Beatles songs, including the very first recording the Quarrymen ever made (the band John Lennon formed before The Beatles). It had got lost for years, but suddenly turned up. It sounded like a home made demo, with scratches, but this was history in the making.

After two hours we were dropped close to The Cavern Club. We headed for our three course meal in The Cavern Restaurant before popping over to the Cavern Club. Down and down the steps you go. You begin to wonder if you will ever reach the bottom. Live music plays all day and night, and there are displays of guitars, photos, drums and other memorabilia. The music was good, and though this isn't the original Cavern Club, which was demolished for the railway in 1973, a new one was built on the same site. You'd think it was the same one. Our tour included a souvenir, which was a postcard, from The Cavern Club.

The Cavern Restaurant

Blind Scouse (vegan)

The road is chock-a-block with Beatles related restaurants and bars and outside the Cavern Club is the Wall of Fame with a list of artists and groups who played The Cavern Club.

The Carvern Club

Cilla Black

By the time we left the street behind it was hot and sunny. We headed to St Luke's, known locally as 'the bombed out church'. My son told me about this place as he was in Liverpool last year. The church was bombed in the second world war and these days is used for weddings and other events. There had been a wedding that morning, and I think we passed the newly married couple as we walked through the city towards the church.

Radio Tower

Street art - Elvis Costello

The bombed out church

This commemorates the Christmas cease-fire on the front during the war when the English & Germans played football.

The Fab Four

River Mersey

Cruise ship leaving. Every day there was a new one!

Anglican Cathedral across the dock

By that time we were desperate for a cuppa (we run on tea!) and found a nice little cafe opposite Lime Street Station. Afterwards, we headed back to Albert Dock and visited the statue of the Fab Four close to the Mersey ferry. We took a slow walk back to our hotel, stopping a couple of times to sit and enjoy the view over the Mersey River.

We were heading home the next day, but we had a few hours to spare. After buying a few bits and bobs in the shops in Albert Dock, we decided to visit the Western Approaches HQ Museum in the City. What a great place. It reminded me of Churchill's War Cabinet Rooms in London. Everything is underground, and this was formed to protect convoy ships. We were pleasantly surprised by this museum, the operation rooms and the objects they had on display. By the time we left there, it was time for lunch. We went back to the cafe opposite the station and had a nice meal there before boarding our train home.

Liverpool has so much to offer. Previously, I had visited the many museums by the Mersey, as well as The Beatles Story, The Walker Gallery, Radio Tower, library and two cathedrals. Last time I also crossed the Mersey to visit the UBoat museum. This museum is now closed as they are linking it to the Atlantic Approaches HQ and I think it should be open later this year.

Western Approaches HQ

Enigma machine rescued from the UBoat over the Mersey