Beatles Pilgrimages
In August 2007 we went to London and Liverpool to see many of the Beatle places. It was a
wonderful experience and we can't wait to go back. We took Richard Porter's guided walking tours through London and
saw places where the movies were filmed, Abbey Road, where the Beatles lived, worked, played. It
was great. We also caught a couple of shows, We Will Rock You (a tribute to Queen) and Chicago as well as saw sights such as the Tower of London, The British Museum and a few art museums. If you like impressionism, I highly recommend visiting the Courtauld Gallery.
After our whirlwind trip through London we took a train to Lime Street in Liverpool. We didn't see Dirty Maggie May, but we sure found some more Beatle stuff to see. It was Beatleweek 2007 and although the outdoor Mathew Street festival supposedly was cancelled this year, the bands were playing inside all the clubs on Mathew Street and there were some street musicians outside, too. There are Beatle themed stores and even a small Beatle shopping mall called Cavern Walks where they sell all kinds of Beatle stuff. They have a Beatle suit/boot store and a great Beatled merchandise store called From Me to You. Gotta warn you, the food in the mall restaurant is awful. Tina had the worst hamburger of her life there. Luckily we survived.
We went to the Cavern Club on Mathew Street and saw a few bands and went on the Magical Mystery Tour and saw numerous Beatles historic places such as Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields and the Beatles childhood homes. We also checked out the Liverpool Beatles convention at the Adelphi as well as a smaller con called Beatles Days at the Marriott where we were staying. We also checked out the art and photography exhibits going on at the time, visited the awesome Beatles Story Museum at Albert Dock and saw the Rain show at the Empire Theatre. There was so much to see, do and spend money on. Too bad the exchange rate was over two dollars to the pound.
The highlight of our visit was touring the houses John and Paul lived in when they were young. We went south to a place called Speke Hall near John Lennon airport to catch a cute little yellow van that took us to John and Paul's childhood homes, Mendips (Aunt Mimi's house) and 20 Forthlin Road where Paul grew up. If you are ever in Liverpool, do not miss these tours. It was like the houses were frozen in time. The tour guides are wonderful. They actually live in the houses and take care of them. The guy who lives at Paul's house could definitely pass for a McCartney. If you want to go on the house tours you need to buy tickets in advance from the National Trust. They sell out quickly for Beatleweek.
We did not go to England with an organized tour, we were on our own because I had won part of my trip - two nights at the Savoy, a fancy hotel in downtown London. There are, however, a couple of groups that do Beatle themed tours that are supposed to be quite good. Check out Beatle Tour and Magical History Tours for more information. We'd love to post other people's stories and pictures of close encounters with Beatle people and places. Drop me a line at katdaddy(a)comcast.net and you may get your own pilgrimage page at www.beatle-fans.com where you can share your adventures.
Take a virtual visit to Abbey Road and Mathew Street via the webcams.
Here are a few photos from our trip to England. There are several more photos up on our Flickr page. Enjoy!
After our whirlwind trip through London we took a train to Lime Street in Liverpool. We didn't see Dirty Maggie May, but we sure found some more Beatle stuff to see. It was Beatleweek 2007 and although the outdoor Mathew Street festival supposedly was cancelled this year, the bands were playing inside all the clubs on Mathew Street and there were some street musicians outside, too. There are Beatle themed stores and even a small Beatle shopping mall called Cavern Walks where they sell all kinds of Beatle stuff. They have a Beatle suit/boot store and a great Beatled merchandise store called From Me to You. Gotta warn you, the food in the mall restaurant is awful. Tina had the worst hamburger of her life there. Luckily we survived.
We went to the Cavern Club on Mathew Street and saw a few bands and went on the Magical Mystery Tour and saw numerous Beatles historic places such as Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields and the Beatles childhood homes. We also checked out the Liverpool Beatles convention at the Adelphi as well as a smaller con called Beatles Days at the Marriott where we were staying. We also checked out the art and photography exhibits going on at the time, visited the awesome Beatles Story Museum at Albert Dock and saw the Rain show at the Empire Theatre. There was so much to see, do and spend money on. Too bad the exchange rate was over two dollars to the pound.
The highlight of our visit was touring the houses John and Paul lived in when they were young. We went south to a place called Speke Hall near John Lennon airport to catch a cute little yellow van that took us to John and Paul's childhood homes, Mendips (Aunt Mimi's house) and 20 Forthlin Road where Paul grew up. If you are ever in Liverpool, do not miss these tours. It was like the houses were frozen in time. The tour guides are wonderful. They actually live in the houses and take care of them. The guy who lives at Paul's house could definitely pass for a McCartney. If you want to go on the house tours you need to buy tickets in advance from the National Trust. They sell out quickly for Beatleweek.
We did not go to England with an organized tour, we were on our own because I had won part of my trip - two nights at the Savoy, a fancy hotel in downtown London. There are, however, a couple of groups that do Beatle themed tours that are supposed to be quite good. Check out Beatle Tour and Magical History Tours for more information. We'd love to post other people's stories and pictures of close encounters with Beatle people and places. Drop me a line at katdaddy(a)comcast.net and you may get your own pilgrimage page at www.beatle-fans.com where you can share your adventures.
Take a virtual visit to Abbey Road and Mathew Street via the webcams.
Here are a few photos from our trip to England. There are several more photos up on our Flickr page. Enjoy!
London Beatle places
 Tina at Abbey Road Studios |  Kat crossing Abbey Road in the rain |
 Ringo's place on Montague Square. Jimi Hendrix lived here! |  The Apple Offices - The Beatles played on the rooftop during Let it Be |
Liverpool Beatle places
 The Beatles Story museum. Great guided exhibit of Beatles history |  These adorable red double-decker buses are all over Liverpool |
 Paul's childhood home. We took the tour |  George's childhood home. Not landmarked, no tours, but the door was open...shhhhhh |
 Inside the famous Cavern Club on Mathew Street |  Fan friendly bobbies on Penny Lane. A couple of them also walked us to a bus stop |
 Outside the famous Cavern Club at night |  The shuttered shelter in the middle of the roundabout at Penny Lane. It is named Sgt. Peppers Bistro, but it is closed |
Travel information and resources for your Beatles pilgrimage
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