The Beatles come alive

I’m not a huge Beatles fan, but I do appreciate their music. Since we were in Liverpool, it only made sense to hop on a Beatles tour. Kim found the aptly named “Magical Mystery Tour” which got top ratings, so we bought our tickets for this morning. We caught the tour at the docks. Liverpool’s docklands and buildings are a World Heritage Site. They were bustling with activity, when we arrived at 8:30 in the morning. Restaurants were preparing for visitors, tours were checking in guests, and cafes were dispensing morning coffees. The docklands are on the west (south?) side of Liverpool and provide a view of the old and new architecture of the city. Similar to Cardiff, it has had periods of success and decline, relying on its docks as a gateway to trade and shipping, from slaves (sadly) to cotton.

The tour was a combination of Liverpool history and Beatle sites throughout the city. The first thing I learned is that Liverpool has the largest Anglican Church in all of the UK and the second largest in the world. Close by is Liverpool’s Chinatown, which is the oldest in Europe. Chinatown is marked by a giant gate that is the largest outside of China. It has five swayed roofs, two on each side with the largest on top in the middle. It glistened in the sun with its variety of bright colors on the red base. Mixed in the architecture are 200 dragons. It was quite spectacular.

The Beatles portion of the tour included the homes of the four lads, Penny Lane, and Strawberry Fields. I didn’t realize that Penny Lane was a song about what they saw while they waited at the bus stop. We saw the barbershop, the bank, and the shelter in the round about. Strawberry Fields were a little more depressing. This is were young John would go to take a break from his strict aunt. His aunt was granted custody of Lennon after his mother was unable to raise him in a stable home. Strawberry Fields were on private grounds at the time, so his aunt would admonish him for entering. In response, he said, “It’s not like they’re going to hang me for being there.” I always wondered why the lyrics included, “…nothing to get hung about.”

After the tour, we spent a little time in downtown Liverpool and grabbed some Greek food before driving off to York. We’re staying in a small village outside of the city, so we walked to the local pub for dinner. The Nags Head had delicious food and desserts. I had the bangers and mash with onion gravy, and everyone else had salmon. We learned about Eton Mess, which we will try at our next opportunity - more to come on that dessert.Read more