I was lucky enough to have a few days away, and headed up to Liverpool. I’d visited the city a few times before but this time I wanted to visit some of the Beatles locations.

First stop was Houghton, the resting place of Stuart Sutcliffe, the Beatles first bass player. If you haven’t seen the film Backbeat, I highly recommend it. It follows the life of the early Beatles line up including Stuart Sutcliffe.

Next stop was St Peters Church in Woolton. This was where Lennon first met McCartney. It’s also the location of the graves of Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie.

Just around the corner is Strawberry Field. This used to be a children’s home, but the land has now been sold off. The gates still stand and are popular with fans.

Literally around the corner is Mendips, the childhood home of John Lennon. Another great film I can recommend is Nowhere Boy. Lennon lived at the house with his aunt Mimi. The National Trust now owns the home and admission is only available by one of the Beatles tours. The road outside the house is also the location where Johns mother was killed as she crossed the road.

By now it had gone mid day and with drink and food calling we headed into the city centre. We went to Mathew Street, which is where the Cavern Club once stood. We stopped off at Lucy In The Sky restaurant for some food. It stands on the site of the original stage area of the original Cavern club.

No visit to Mathew Street would be complete without a visit to the Cavern Club. Although it isn’t the original location, it still attracts a lot of visitors. Most of the bricks are from the original club and recreated as accurately as possible. The original club was only a few meters from its current location. During our visit there was some live bands playing. Another location Id highly recommend if you are in the area.

We then stopped in the Hard Days Night hotel to buy some souvenirs. Outside are statues of the four Beatles, perched on ledges along the front of the building.

A short walk down to the dock front is the Beatles exhibition. The museum/exhibition follows the Beatles road to stardom and includes many pieces of memorabilia. The exhibition ends with John Lennons Imagine piano and a pair of his rose tinted glasses.

On route back to the hotel we drove down Penny Lane. Some of the original locations are still in the street.