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Beatles: Day trip to Liverpool from London via rail

Hi,
I am taking my daughter to London for the first time . We will be in London from May 23th - May 29th 2014.
She has never been out of the USA and is a huge Beatle fan.
So I want to surprise her with a day trip to Liverpool.
How easy is this to do on my own?
The tour groups that start in London are expensive and I think I could get a better deal and have more time in Liverpool by just going to Liverpool myself and purchasing tickets to a Liverpool based tour group and the venues on my own...However I am
not sure how to do all this to make it work smoothly.
HELP!!
Questions:
Is the city walkable?
Can anyone advise me how to obtain reasonably priced rail tickets from Euston Station to Liverpool Lime Street, and how and when to get them.
Once in Liverpool, does anyone have a reasonable itinerary I should follow. I have learned that the must see attractions are the Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles Story, The Cavern Club and the National Trust tour of the Beatles homes. anything else?
Any help would be well appreciated.

Pattie

Posted by
16893 posts

Direct trains run hourly from London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street. See www.nationalrail.co.uk to lock in tickets now at the best available rate. Some of the cheaper advance discounts will already be sold out for May travel.

Rick's book map makes Liverpool look walkable; if you don't have that, then see Google maps. The Magical Mystery Tour (www.cavernclub.org) buses depart from Albert dock near the Beatles Story, about a 20-minute walk from the train station, or take bus C5 from Queens Square Center stall 9, or a taxi won't be too expensive.

Posted by
30 posts

Thanks for the advice.
I did get on the website you recommended for rail tickets, However, when I went to purchase tickets , although they were reasonably priced ....it said "no seats reservations" available for this journey. How important is it that I have a seat reservation. I have tickets to the Warner Brother's Harry Potter and they are timed tickets.....for the 11:30 tour...I was afraid to buy the rail tickets in fear there would .be no seats left on the train and we would miss the tour. Which would be so disappointing to miss the tour. What is your experience with purchasing a rail ticket without a seat reservation.
Thanks Pattie

Posted by
30 posts

Oh I guess I should of told you I am trying to get both rail tickets to Liverpool for a day tour and for the harry Potter tour for another day.
The problem I am running up against with Liver pool is the price 200 - 300.GBS
Help!!

Posted by
1160 posts

As a daytrip thats a lot of travel time.
How about travelling up early evening,stay over and get the best part of following day there.
£79. Offpeak returns still seem widely avaliable

Posted by
9 posts

Hello pattie..I went to liverpool two yrs ago and enjoyed it very much. Take the magical mystery tour. The big yellow bus is a great tour and takes you to penny lane, strawberry fields ect. You will drive past lennons house, ringos house and stop at mccartneys for pics. They will drop you off downtown right next to the cavern club which is a must see for any beatles fan. You have to get your tiks ahead of time tho..they are usually booked by the day of. Also stop by the Philharmonic pub..one of lennons favs. It is posh posh posh for a pub..go upstairs and have lunch there.

Posted by
3 posts

Hi Pattie, my husband and I were in Liverpool last Saturday. We took the Magical Mystery Tour at 4:00, and really enjoyed it. I did book these tickets a month in advance, and I was glad I did. Our bus was completely full, and they also took a smaller bus behind ours. One couple showed up on the wrong day, and they managed to get them on the tour because someone didn't show up. This tour was really packed because cruise ships dock there and around 3000 people get off to tour! We also did The Beatle Story (which was also very crowded with cruise people) and enjoyed it also. Magical Mystery Tour takes two hours, The Beatle Story takes about an hour and a half, going to the Cavern Club (and down Mathews Street) can take as long as you want. The Cavern was very hot, so we didn't stay long. We did not do the National Trust Tour. Right next to Mathews Street is the Hard Days Night Hotel. If you have time, go in and look around. We stayed there, and really enjoyed it.