Liverpool - Beatles Tour

 Sunday, July 13, 2025

We woke up in Liverpool. Yes, after the final Eistedfodd concert last night, we drove to Liverpool. It was a surprisingly short drive and we were well installed in our room before midnight. It was dark and quiet and we slept well. 

After breakfast we spent the morning on correspondence and the next chapter of the blog. It is almost complete and ready to post. But time passes quickly and soon we needed to head outside to await the bus for our very special tour this afternoon. We were going on the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour!!

Of course, the Beatles originated in Liverpool and we were going to see where they grew up and got together as a band. There were 52 people on the bus, some from Liverpool and others from various parts of the world. Most were a bit aged (like us) but there were also some young people among us. Our driver and our guide were seasoned leaders, having done this tour, almost on a daily basis, for several years. They both participated in the dialogue and together were wonderfully knowledgeable and extremely entertaining. 

We gained some deep insight into how the Beatles formed the group and how their varied childhoods impacted their approach to music. It was especially interesting to learn that John Lennon was not allowed to play the guitar in his house. So, once he met Paul McCartney (they lived fairly close together), they would practise at Paul's home where they were encouraged to be creative.

We heard stories about John's childhood loneliness and Paul's more modest upbringing. We heard stories about how they met and how many places from their childhoods influenced the music and lyrics they wrote. Songs like Penny Lane

and Strawberry Fields and Hey Jude were all connected with the neighbourhoods where they grew up. There is a particular bus stop where they each boarded a bus to head out for the day before they even knew one another. 

Eleanor Rigby came to life due to John seeing that name on a grave in a cemetery not far from his home.

John and Paul's childhood homes

                                                    John's childhood home

                                                   Paul's Childhood Home
have both been adopted by the National Trust in England as places of history. Strawberry Fields was an impoverished girls' orphanage behind John's home, now transformed into a Salvation Army support facility. 

It was a very awakening afternoon as the guide, Kyle, kept reminding us of the impact the Beatles had on the music industry and the philosophy of love and peace that permeated much of their music. 

It was a fun, informative and provocative tour. Well done by our guides.

What a great way to spend our last full day in the UK. Tomorrow we fly to Norway.