Another beautiful, if not cold and windy day today. We arrive into port early, but, oh BREXIT. It takes forever to clear the ship and then we have to go through some sort of customs/passport control and we are finally off the ship, later than expected, but we have a private guide booked today, so we are guessing he will wait!

Finally through all the governmental hoo-ha, we wander outside the terminal to find it totally blocked off with only ship tour access. Hmmmm..Oh well, Jack, our guide, will surely figure it out. We do have time to wander over to the Titanic Memorial though. Weird though it is. The Titanic never visited here, but her registry was in Liverpool and there were 32 mechanics from Liverpool aboard when she sank. The memorial is for them, and was then expanded to include all maritime engine room fatalities during the performance of duties. We also get our first look at the Royal Liver building which is a gorgeous and looks like the older art deco type sky scrapers in NYC.

Eventually Jack arrives, pulling into the fenced and guarded parking lot, where, since we are now outside said parking lot, we have get past the guard to flag Jack down. Guess security is a good thing in these days and times. Let the tour begin! Jack is a doll – too young (30’s) to be alive during the Beatles heyday, but as he explains, his dad was a true fan and had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the Beatles – which was passed on to Jack as he grew up listening to all things Beatles. This will be fun.

Our first stop is the Beatles statue on the harbor where we try not to photo bomb other ship passengers, but have to go around behind the statue to see the little personal touches the artist included that are special to each Beatle: Paul has a camera in his hand and a camera bag on his back, symbolizing his first wife Linda who was a photographer; George has an Indian ashram saying on belt, very George-ish; Ringo has the number 8 on the heel of one of his shoes for his postal code (we can’t actually see this unless we lay on the ground, which we are not about to do!); John has acorns in his hand, cast from actual acorns from in front of the Dakota where of course he died, however, at one point he had also sent acorns to world leaders asking for peace. Already we’re so happy we booked this private tour!

Jack also told us a lot about the Royal Liver building which was built in the early 1900’s to be the headquarters of the Royal Liver Assurance group, basically an insurance company that specialized in helping families who lost their wage-earner. It is most famous for the 2 Liver birds perched atop the building. Liver birds are a mythical creatures that somehow came into existence in the early 1200s – the story is a little tortured, so we’ll ignore it. Suffice it to say, they were used as the symbol of Liverpool since the 1300s and have a special meaning to the city. Legend has it that if these 2 birds that are looking away from each other – one female who watches out over the sea keeping seaman safe and bringing them home safely, one male who watches over the city keeping the seaman’s families safe – mate and fly away, the city will cease to exist. Ok. We’re hooked. We’re coming back here after the Beatles tour to actually tour the Liver building. Oh – and we also go back to the Titanic memorial where Jack points out the bullet holes left from WWII. Eek.

Onward we go, with tons and tons of cool background details Jack provides. I’ll never remember them all, but will try to give the highlights. We went past Ye Crack, John Lennon’s favorite pub while in art school and saw the actual art school – high school – which is now a college of arts I think. Then past the town hall where the Beatles stood on the balcony to greet fans at the Northern premier of A Hard Day’s Night in 1964. Fun fact: This is also the place where the USS Shenandoah laid down her arms. It was the last act of the Confederate war here, the ship was out to sea and didn’t know the war was over until it sailed into port. When they got word, they surrendered at town hall. Now that is a really good trivia question!

Next we went to the pub where Ringo Starr’s mother worked as a barmaid, today vibrantly decked out in a Ringo Starr mural, and then around the corner to #10, the house where Ringo lived until he was 21 and went to London. It is owned now by some rich American who keeps it for it’s historical value as a Beatle home.

Then we are onto Penny Lane! Yes! This is the road that Paul McCartney walked down all the time growing up here. He caught the bus from here, went to the shops he sings about. It was his local neighborhood street. He actually wrote the song in response to George Harrison writing Strawberry Fields, about George’s young life. Competition you say? Um, yep. There is a pub called the Dove Dale arms here and Freddy Mercury leased the flat above it when he was in a Liverpool band because he was a huge McCartney fan and wanted to be close to McCartney’s story.   

Next it is the house where John Lennon lived with his mother before he was taken away by his Aunt when his mom had affair and lived with the guy while she was still married (which is now also owned by another American Beatles fan).  He didn’t have a relationship with his mom until he was 15 and sadly, she died 3 years later. Then onto Paul McCartney’s house where he lived with his family before becoming famous. and finally onto Strawberry Fields – the actual Strawberry Fields – with the replica gate (the original was stolen in 2000, sold to an antiques dealer who had no idea what they were, and then returned to the police when he found out. The originals have been placed in the gardens on the Strawberry Fields Grounds) where we get to sign our names. How sweet!

Our final home stop is in front of John’s Aunt Mimi’s home where he lived for 20 years. The contrast in the socio-economic status is pretty stark when you think about it. Ringo in a small attached 2 over 2, Paul in what was essential a council home and John in this palatial house. It is amazing to think that all these guys from all these different backgrounds came together to form such a cohesive (for a while at least) band. And continuing with “meeting” theme, we next stop at St. Peter’s church, where John and Paul first met at concert. This is also where grave of Eleanor Rigby is located. Weirdly enough, the name Eleanor Rigby was actually made up – Paul had no idea there was an actual grave in this church graveyard with that name.

The amount of information Jack keeps in his head – and shares with us – is just incredible. I haven’t even touched the surface with it here. He keeps us totally informed and entertained throughout our entire drive. Plus, it is great to pick his brain on how he actually decided to become a tour guide, how he sets up the route, and how he gets along with all the other tour guides – because everywhere we go there is another Beatles tour guide and tour going on. We even pass the ship’s tour at one point in time – and we are so very glad that we decided to go out on our own today with Jack and not “get on that bus!”

Taking a quick Beatles break, we drive past the Liverpool Metropolitan cathedral, the Roman Catholic church which is very modern and has been nicknamed ‘paddy’s wigwam’ because of its circular shape. It truly does look like a Wigwam, actually!   Then we make a stop at the Liverpool Cathedral, the Anglican church, which is a massive Gothic structure with incredible stained glass windows and all the opulent accoutrements one would expect with this style of church. And some you wouldn’t, like the bizarre representation of Christ above the front doors. A little strange.

We are coming to the end of the tour, sadly enough!  But in some way it is the best – because we are going into the heart of Liverpool to the Cavern Club! But first we detour to the White Star pub where the Beatles used the back room to rehearse and play. Jack’s great aunt was actually Brian Epstein’s (the manager who took the Beatles to fame and fortune) secretary/assistant and was married to Allan Williams who was the Beatles first manager. No wonder he grew up with all things Beatles. He’s got a connection! Walking around the corner and up the crowded cobblestone pedestrian street, we arrive at The Cavern Club – which has an amazing history!  The property was actually bought for railway rights, the plan being to build the tunnel right through the town here. When the building itself was taken down, the bricks were saved for the nostalgia. The government never built the railway tunnel though and the club was rebuilt from the original bricks a few doors down the street from the original location! Crazy! Ok, this was a great way to end the tour – what a totally historic and of course famous place. It’s low ceilings and brick walls and pillars are just what you’d expect from a 60’s jazz club. Plus the memorabilia housed in the adjacent rooms to the stage could make you feel you were really there when it all began.

Jack takes us through the Royal Albert Dock where there are a ton of different restaurants and pubs, as well as a brewery, then drops us off in front of the Museum of Liverpool which he says is a great place to spend an hour or so and only a 5 minute walk back to the ship. Perfect. What a great half day tour. We’re so glad we found Jack.

Unfortunately, the museum is closed today, making us go to Plan B which is to just go back to the ship for lunch – something we’d normally not do, but it is so close and why try to find something else out here? We manage to snap some pictures of us and the Beatles on the way back, and more of the Royal Liver building – then have a lovely lunch aboard the NCL Dawn before heading back out for the Royal Liver building tour.