LIVERPOOL

Liverpool is a city by the sea, a few hours by train from London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street (just a few blocks away from the city center) - the people there are very nice and very proud of their city, not only for the Beatles, but for its history, the docks where many immigrants left Europe during the World Wars, the largest Catholic Cathedral in Britain, football team, famous movies locations and the musical tradition too (Gerry and the Pacemakers, Echo and the Bunnymen etc). It takes more than just one day to visit everything, even for Beatlemaniacs! A weekend would be a good start and it's extremely easy too book hotels, tours and trains, even on the net.

Please note that the pics are not of excellent quality, most of them were take inside the moving bus, during the tour. There's still A LOT more too see, I was there just for an afternoon, but this should give an idea and a feeling of Liverpool.

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Places of interest
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64 Mount Pleasant , a former Registrar's Office where John and Cynthia got married in 62. Also Julia and Alfred Lennon
got married here.
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Liverpool John Moores University Faculty of Art and Design, former Liverpool Art School , where John and Stu first met.
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high school
 
marriage
institute of arts
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Liverpool Institute High School for Boys , where Paul and George met in 54. The school was closed in 85, but thanks to Paul's efforts it reopened in 96 as Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
Song Related
strawberry filedsstrawberry fields
Strawberry Fields gate, inside the gates is now the Salvation Army Children's home. And another view of the gates, with a sign left probably by some fan: "sitting on a cornflake". Wrong song, at least right band!
penny lane
Penny Lane sign, these days painted on the wall to avoid souvenir collectors who stole the sign every week!
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Penny Lane , Smithdown Place way, which is the actual place the song refers to .
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Penny Lane
This is Smithdown Place's departure/arrival Liverpool buses "shelter in the middle of the roundabout", now a bistro called Sgt. Peppers. The "bank" and the "barbershop" are still there, just opposite the bistro.
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shelter
cavern club
10 Mathew Street , The Cavern Club , "where it all began". It first opens in January 57 and in July the Quarrymen first played here. According to some researchers, The Beatles performed here over 250 times during 61 and 63! The actual club was filled out by the house above demolition in 73 and rebuilt in 50% of its original site and to the same size using the original bricks in the 80s.
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197 Queens Drive , the Epstein family home, who were wealthy compared to the other Beatles lifestyle. Brian's mother was not very pleased when he brought home the four leather-jacket-attitude guys to discuss their future as a band. Þ
paulpaul
9 Madryn Street , where Ringo was born, it's the 5th house on the left. After his parents divorced, he and his mother moved to 10 Admiral Grove (just a few blocks away) until he moved to London.
20 Forthlin Road , where the McCartneys lived from 55 to 64. It was the last Paul's house in Liverpool before he moved to London. The McCartneys house was bought in 95 by the National Trust and now it's a museum, with original furniture. Tours to visit the house are available from the Albert Docks and Speke Hall.
john
george
251 Menlove Avenue , where John lived between 46 and 63 with Aunt Mimi and Uncle George. His room is the one over the front door. In 2002 Yoko Ono bought the house when it went for sale and donate it to the National Trust, it's expected to be open for the public in April 2003!
12 Arnold Grove , where George was born and lived until 1950. I met a very nice lady there who's been living in the neighborhood since ever and she actually met the Harrisons! She refers to George as a sweet and happy young man.
 
epsteins
 
   
  The weather in Liverpool now:  

 

For more info, contact Cavern City Tours Limited
This is NOT a paid advertisement, just thought it'd be useful.

©Beatriz Bellintani