“There are places I’ll remember all my life . . .” and those places are Liverpool and London. (A 2006 Beatle Pilgrimage Tour Review)
With sites such as Penny Lane, Strawberry Field and Eleanor Rigby’s gravesite, the music and legacy of the Fab Four came to life for my family and me. Nowhere else, but on this tour can Beatles fans get the complete experience with the best tour guides in the business. It was a thrill for us to get tours inside the Casbah Club as well as the childhood homes of John, Paul and yes even Ringo. We will never forget roaming around the Chiswick house where the promo films for Paperback Writer and Rain were filmed, posing on the fire escape from the Can’t Buy Me Love sequence, and walking across Abbey Road . . . barefoot and with a ciggie of course. And what Beatles trip would be complete without the Beatles Ale Trail, where we got to relax in the bars that the lads themselves used to frequent? There was no better way to end the Ale Trail with the Jacaranda Club, where my Dad, my brother and I had the honor of performing at the same place where the Beatles used to play.
Some of the sites that we saw were very emotional. There is an indescribable feeling you get when you stand on the steps of the site where the Beatles performed on the rooftop for a final time as a group, when you pay your respects at the gravesite of Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe, and when you have lunch in the hall at St. Peter’s Church where John and Paul first met. This trip provided us with a flood of memorable moments that none of us will ever forget.
Until I took your tour I never realized just how spectacular the Matthew Street Festival and the annual Beatles convention at the Adelphi Hotel are. One of the nice things about the Beatle Pilgrimage Tour is that it is so well organized that there is plenty of free time to enjoy both of these great Liverpool events as well as all of the historic sites in London. However, as we found out, the this tour is not limited to Liverpool and London in that pilgrims get the chance to explore the peaceful and very scenic Henley – on – Thames where the late George Harrison resided.
Our family felt fortunate to meet so many wonderful people on this trip, especially in Liverpool or what like to call the friendliest place on Earth. In fact I find myself keeping in touch with many of these great people from “the pool”. Additionally, I never imagined that I would meet the Beatles original drummer Pete Best, Quarry Men Len Garry and Ken Brown, the legendary Tony Sheridan and Donovan, John Lennon’s sister Julia Baird, and of course the Beatles original manager Allan Williams …. All in one weekend!
The bottom line is that not only did I have a great time on this dream vacation, but I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the music of the greatest band of all time and anyone who is looking for a family friendly vacation out of the ordinary. I can say that I’m already looking forward to a return visit to Liverpool and London with the Beatle Pilgrimage Tour.
All the best from me to you,
Matt M. from “the family”