Day Trip - London (Victoria) to Liverpool via Avanti West Coast

This will be quite a long day trip and you should book your trains with reserved seats asap for the best price. Liverpool Lime Street is the best station for direct trains. There are several companies offering tours. It's an easy walk from the station to the museum and where some tours start.

The trains leave from London Euston, not Victoria. Connect from Victoria by tube - the Victoria Line.

Avanti only serve Lime Street in Liverpool. All other stations are served by Merseyrail with very frequent service from Lime Street Low Level.

If you were going to Albert Dock or the Pierhead for the ferries or the 3 graces for instance you might connect to James Street, which is about a 15 to 20 minute walk away.

My cousin is a Beatles fanatic. A few years ago he was visiting London with his wife and daughter. He was determined to get to Liverpool to take a Beatles tour

His day trip to Liverpool was planned while his family would stay in London.

Long story short..his train was delayed and he missed the tour.

If taking a Beatles tour is in your plans, go the night before.

Here are a couple of websites with suggestions for a self-guided Beatles tour of Liverpool.

https://www.gpsmycity.com/tours/beatles-tour-in-liverpool--part-i-4917.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2023/02/26/how-to-plan-a-beatles-tour-of-liverpool-england/

In my view, a day trip to Liverpool from London is doable but it will be a long and tiring day. Staying there the night before would make life a lot easier.

I agree with Bill and Frank. It's at best a 2 1/2 hour train ride each way, plus the time spend getting to Euston and getting to your tour. It would be much much easier if you go up the day before and spend the night, then take your tour the next morning.

There is a Premier Inn near the Lime Street station that would be a good choice, as they are convenient, very clean and comfortable, and generally very reasonably priced. If that doesn't work, there are a large number of hotels in that area.

Thank you, all, for sharing your helpful advice. You've given me much to ponder. Greatly appreciate the links included in your response, Buckinghamshire.

WL

You might find that booking off peak train tickets after the evening rush and a room in a Premier Inn, or similar, in central Liverpool will work out cheaper than the cost of tickets travelling on the day.

There are lots of places at Euston to buy food to have a train picnic for your evening meal. On an evening train lots of people will be doing the same!

Hi Wanderlust,

Buckinghamshire is where I live. It’s the county just to the northwest of London.

No offence taken. This post is just for clarity. Have a good trip.

Bill

D'oh! My apologies, Bill! Thanks, again, for the info.

WL

All intercity trains go into Liverpool Lime Street station. The other stations dotted around the city centre such as Central, Moorfields, St James are served by local trains called Merseyrail, as is Lime St.
There are many hotels in the city, but there is a Premier Inn to the left of Lime St station and The Liner on the other side.

Stay in the Hard Days Night hotel if you're a Fab Four fan

I agree with Emma and others above re the best solution. Take a latish train from Euston to Liverpool Lime Street. Have your evening meal on the train, lots of food outlets at Euston. And if, when booking the train, the 1st class options are a good deal go with that - they often include a decent meal and drinks.

I stayed at the Premier Inn close to Lime Street in July. It was just up the road from the station. I booked a Premier plus room as it was a good price at the time, but their regular rooms are perfectly fine.

Realise that this may mean you have already paid for a London hotel and you feel you lose the cost of the nights stay by taking this solution.. But IMO to get the best out of a trip to Liverpool trying to do it as a day trip is just too hard, and has the potential of train delays.

And if you want to do the National Trust tour of Paul and John's childhood homes you really need to see if you can book now.

If you do a self guided tour there is a fair amount of walking.

So buy a Zone C saveaway ticket for £5 each- all buses and trains after 9.30am weekdays, anytime at weekends, on the Liverpool side of the River Mersey.
Buy it at Lime Street High Level (main line) station as all Merseyrail stations (including Lime Street Low Level) charge £1 extra.
You should also be able to buy it, post dated at Euston.

Or buy a Plus Bus ticket with your rail ticket- buses only for £4.20.

Spend the night in Liverpool. The train station is Liverpool Lime Street. It goes to/from Euston Station in London.

If you are a life-long Beatles fan, then you will want to go to (and book several months in advance) the Beatles childhood homes run by the National Trust.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/liverpool-lancashire/the-beatles-childhood-homes

It's a guided tour only at either 10 am or 10:45 am, so you will want to be in Liverpool the night before. From Liverpool CBD, you will have to take their city train or a Taxi/Uber to the pickup point

If you are a die hard Beatles fan (as I am) look at staying at the Hard Days Night hotel,

https://www.millenniumhotels.com/en/liverpool/hard-days-night-hotel-liverpool#/

which is around the corner from the Cavern Club and there are two Beatles museums, the Beatles Story and the Beatles Museum.
On Friday nights at the cavern Club, there is a Beatles cover band

There is of course, the Magical Mystery Bus Tour (2 hours) which starts at 10am or 9:30 am in the summer
https://www.cavernclub.com/the-magical-mystery-tour/

To do any of these things, means you need to spend the night in Liverpool the night before.

As you state you are die hard fan, answer this question and I willl give you tips on the Beatles in London:

Q: Without using google, how many One- World title Beatles songs are there? Or can how many can you name?

OK, here's are the tips for London

London Walks has a A Beatles Magical mystery tour on Sundays and Wednesdays that end up at Abbey Road.

https://www.walks.com/popular-walks/beatles/

Have fun!