The View From My Beer
Today I decided to have a pint of Cavern Lager at the Cavern Pub, right next door to the famous Cavern Club where the Beatles regularly performed in the early stages of their career.
Liverpool
Stop number four on my 14-day cruise around Britain. Liverpool is a port city that first came to prominence as a port for the slave trade in the 17th century. It was also a major departure point for British and Irish immigrants to Australia. Liverpool has the largest number of art galleries, national museums, listed buildings, and parks in England – outside of London.
My Morning Walk
I had decided that my walk today would focus on The Beatles, being the one thing that was distinctly different about Liverpool. I had a bus tour booked for noon that would allow me to visit the areas of Liverpool in which the Beatles grew up.
Arrival At Liverpool
Our cruise ship docked close to the city making it possible to simply get off and walk. For the morning my goal was to visit as many Beatles-related sites in the central area of Liverpool as I could, allowing me time in the afternoon to take a casual stroll around the city. While my focus was going to be on the Beatles, I was expecting to see a lot of presence of the Liverpool FC. I was surprised how little presence I could find, especially with the recent death of start player, Diogo Jota. Perhaps I needed to ventured to Anfield for that.
I headed towards the Cavern Club which was about a 10-minute walk from where the ship was docked. I soon found a strong evidence of the Beatles in/on many of the buildings.
The Cavern Club was located in a small side-street that was pretty much dedicated to all things Beatles. The club itself had been extensively remodeled, with a new entrance. There were two pubs, including the Cavern Pub which I visited later in the day. There was a museum and lot of music and tourist stores.
Beatles Bus Tour
My research establish that some of the interesting ‘Beatles’ sites were not within walking distance of the city. I decided to take a 90-minute bus tour that focused on visiting sites. The bust started off with a 20-minute tour of central Liverpool, but these were largely sites I had already visited ion my morning walk or would visit later in y afternoon walk.
Back in 1956, John gave his first live performance in Rosebery Street, Toxteth on the back of a lorry with his first band – The Quarry Men.
We passed by Ringo’s first home in Madryn Street, Princes Park. He lived there for three years until his parents separated. We also drove past St Silas Primary School where Ringo attended.
When John & Paul first started writing songs together they would often have to stop at Penny Lane to change buses getting between their two homes. We also stopped in our bus to take some photos of the well known street sign. If you look closely, you can see Paul’s signature that he added during an episode of Carpool Karoake with James Corden. Also on Penny Lane was Dovedale Towers, a pub where John and Paul played with their original band – The Quarry Men.
Our second stop was Strawberry Fields. Behind the gate is a Salvation Army centre supporting vulnerable young people. As kids John and Paul played with the kids.
I was surprised how much graffiti existed on and around various Beatles attractions such as the gates to Strawberry Field. I would have thought the locals would have taken a little more pride as a community and protected these iconic artifacts.
Be drove passed Menlove Street in Woolton, where John Lennon lived as a teenager. John and Paul wrote many of their songs from John’s bedroom.
Out third, and final, stop was Forthlin Street , Paul’s home as a teenager.
My Afternoon Walk
Because my Beatles bus tour started with a quick tour of the city, it allowed me the chance to identify a few sites I wanted to return to on foot. That, in turn, provided me with the chance to make a few late discoveries before I headed back to the ship.
The longer my day went, the more Liverpool appealed to me. There were lots of interesting things to see.
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