From Bath, we took the train to Liverpool for a one-night stay at The Crowne Plaza Hotel in the city center. We arrived early in the day, dropped our bags and went exploring on foot. The main draw for visitors is the large sculpture of The Beatles. You can’t miss it! The Albert Dock area is attractive and there are plenty of establishments for grabbing food and drink on your way to The Maritime Museum or The Beatle‘s Story. We went to the Beatles Story on our first afternoon and found it to be a fun walk through Beatle’s history with replicas of The Casbah, The Cavern Club, Abbey Road Studios, The Magical Mystery Tour Bus, Eleanor Rigby’s grave, the plane that brought The Beatles to New York…… and enough memorabilia to please the avid Beatle’s fan.
We happened to be in Liverpool on our 45th wedding anniversary. It seemed pretty significant to celebrate in the birthplace of the Beatles. We splurged on an elegant dinner at Gaucho Argentine Steakhouse.
The next morning, we took The Magical Mystery Tour. It is popular, so get your tickets early. The tour bus was decked out to fit the theme. Beatles music played throughout the tour often with the visitors singing along. Our guide was friendly and informative. He is a musician himself and while younger than Paul McCartney, he grew up near him and knew the family. The tour took us to all of the sites mentioned in Beatle’s songs and past their childhood homes. In some places, we had to stay on the bus, while at other places we could stop for photo ops. It was a tour well-worth taking, because we never could have found all those places on our own. Liverpool is a large city. It is a thriving business center with more to offer than Beatle’s memories, but we were there for the Beatle’s and we were not disappointed.
After our tour, we went back to the hotel to pick up our bags and get a taxi to the station for our train to York. The hotel staff was wonderful and the hotel had a nice indoor swimming pool. Unfortunately, we had not packed suits for this trip.
York, England
It was a pleasant two hour train ride from Liverpool to York. We spent two nights in York at the York Hilton, directly across the street from Clifford’s Tower. The surrounding neighborhood is a little quieter than the city center, but it is only a ten minute walk to the center. A walk in York is a walk through medieval and Georgian England. Cozy tea rooms and historic pubs are steps from contemporary wine bars and bustling restaurants. We enjoyed Pairings Wine Bar, Rustique, and L’Ostria.
We took a morning walking tour which helped orient us to York’s history and attractions. York Minster was built in the 13th century and the Shambles, York’s medieval butcher and market area is remarkably well-preserved. There is a “Harry Potter” feel to the shop district and it is said to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley.
York is definitely worth a stop on your UK tour! There is plenty to do for a couple of days or you can just kick back and enjoy some live music and good food in an historic setting.
Next: Edinburgh
Adventures In The South of Spain 