Travel
26 January 2010
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| Albert Dock, Liverpool. |
THE children were silent as they stepped into the tiny cellar.
They looked with awestruck eyes towards the stage as the opening chords of A Hard Day's Night belted out around the pillars. This replica of The Cavern Club, and the Abbey Road studio where a certain beat combo recorded their first single, are highlights of The Beatles Story exhibition in Liverpool's resplendent Albert Dock.
Although the home of the world-conquering Merseybeat sound has two magnificent cathedrals on the hill above its windy waterfront, this tribute to the Fab Four is probably the pilgrimage that today's children will recall from a visit to this absorbing city.
A string of new hotels, for all tastes and pockets, lines the waterfront alongside the 'Three Graces' - the Liver, Cunard and Port of Liverpool buildings, all iconic landmarks depicting the city's greatness in the 19th century.
A short walk away from Albert Dock - named a World Heritage site in 2004 for its magnificent Grade 1-listed buildings - is the Liverpool One shopping centre, a £1 billion scheme which has turned five acres of urban dereliction into such a dazzling array of designer names and quality shops that I fear for the rest of the city's traders.
Fortified by sturdy English breakfasts, we emerged from our hotel on the quayside, clutching our plastic Liverpool mini-break cards for free and discounted entry to top attractions, and special offers on travel, dining and leisure across the city.
To pack the key sights into a short stay, get 24-hour tickets for the 'hop on, hop off' sightseeing bus, which takes in The Cavern, cathedrals, Chinatown, Albert Dock, Mersey Ferry terminal, the Walker Art Gallery and the Tate Liverpool. A bargain at £8 for adults and £4 for children.
To explore the Liverpool of the past, we headed for the remarkable Maritime Museum, which has astonishing tales of the bitter struggle between the merchant navy and Nazi subs in the frozen wastes of the Atlantic in the Second World War. Equally moving are the deckchairs and cushions plucked from the sea as hundreds were swept to their death in the notorious sinking of the Lusitania by a German submarine in the First World War.
In the same building, the International Slavery Museum details the role of Liverpool-based merchants among exhibits which include original shackles and chains used for slave punishment.
Outside our hotel in the centre of town, a mini-bus service by the National Trust took visitors to the terraced house in the suburb of Woolton where John Lennon spent his early years, and also to the childhood home of Sir Paul McCartney.
On Friday evening, though, the mood was subdued in the hotel bar - the lull before the storm, they said, of a big clash at Anfield the next day.
Next morning, as a taxi whisked us up Scotland Road, I was suddenly going back to the Liverpool of grim terraces that I recalled from a visit 35 years ago - though I would hardly have dreamed then that a shirt carrying the name of star striker Fernando Torres would sell for £99.50 in the club's souvenir shop.
Premier League match-day breaks arranged by Thomas Cook Sport feature an entertaining build-up to kick-off: a hot or continental breakfast; a gift; and a tour of the ground and its impressive museum before the crowds pour in.
With seats now fitted, I have to say, the stand at the end that they famously call 'The Kop' is a shadow of the place where I stood nervously as Anfield greats such as Ian St John and Ron Yeats hurtled fearsomely towards me all those decades ago.
But when the ground belts out You'll Never Walk Alone, you sense a passion unrivalled on any other ground.
In the evening, of course, it's time to explore Liverpool's numerous pubs, clubs and places to eat. The Monro is a gastropub, while Alma de Cuba is among the most popular bars.
Liverpool nightlife is, and always has been, in a class of its own - which might explain why those early dawn glimpses of Birkenhead across the water often seem so dark and hazy.
Jeremy Gates
TRAVEL TIPS
STAY
Jurys Inn Liverpool, (from £67 per night.) Reservations: 0151 244 3777 and www.jurysinns.com.
TRAVEL
Virgin Trains offers advance fares for Euston-Liverpool from £22 return (standard), and £68 (first). reservations: 08457 222 333; www.virgintrains.com.
CATCH THE GAME Thomas Cook Sport Match Breaks start at £119 per person, including accommodation and ticket. See 0870 752 0924 and www.thomas
cooksport.com.