Let me take you down to Strawberry Field – Walk in the Footsteps of John Lennon
The inspiration for John Lennon’s dreamy song about a place where nothing is real is indeed a real place. It’s one of the best things to do in Liverpool, especially if you’re a Beatles fan.
There are many ways to connect with the Fab Four in Britain’s fifth-largest city, but the strongest sense I had that I was in the birthplace of The Beatles was beyond a pair of ornate red gates in a suburban Liverpool neighbourhood.
It’s where the Strawberry Field Salvation Army children’s home once stood and its gardens were an escape for the young Lennon, who lived nearby.
Lennon added an “s” to the famous location when he wrote the 1967 Beatles’ hit “Strawberry Fields Forever,” based on boyhood memories.
The children’s home is long gone. In 2019, a community-based visitor experience opened on the site that blends tourism with training and employment skills programs for people with learning disabilities. The Salvation Army operates the visitors’ centre, cafe and gift shop. Most of the staff have been trained through the programs.
The $20 CAD admission includes a visit to the gardens and an excellent multi-media Lennon exhibition narrated by his half-sister Julia Baird, honorary president of Strawberry Field. The Steinway piano where Lennon composed and recorded “Imagine” is there and a video of Lennon playing it and singing is a goosebumps moment.
The 100-year-old red gates were stolen in 2000 and sold for scrap. They survived and were returned to the Salvation Army 11 years later and are on view inside the Strawberry Field Garden. A plaque dedicated to Lennon reads: “We are so proud that our gardens inspired you. You went on to inspire the world! The world will live as one.”
“A young John Lennon came to find solace in the gardens because he was playing with children who were in a similar situation to him. So, he never felt alone,” said Sue Harvey, commercial manager of Strawberry Field. Like many of the residents of the children’s home, Lennon’s mother, Julia, was unable to look after him and he lived with his Aunt Mimi.
There’s more to Liverpool than just The Beatles, and although I’m a fan, I didn’t expect to get so caught up in the Fab Four side of this post-industrial city on the River Mersey.
Sue Harvey, commercial manager of Strawberry Field stands in front of the original gates at Strawberry Field. Photo: Linda Barnard©
Imagine Piano in Strawberry Field, Liverpool. Photo: Linda Barnad©
Replica gates outside Strawberry Field fans in Liverpool. Photo: Linda Barnard©
Explore Liverpool’s Iconic Waterfront and Pier Head – Maritime history with a Mersey beat
A global port and famed for shipbuilding, a logical place to start a walking visit around Liverpool is Pier Head on the River Mersey waterfront.
The Three Graces dominate the view, a trio of handsome architectural landmarks, including the Royal Liver Building with its pair of Liver Birds, symbol of the city. The Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building are also here. And there’s a special mention of Canada.
The buildings front onto the block-long Canada Boulevard. It was dedicated in 1995, a gift from Canada to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day and Canada’s role in the Battle of the Atlantic.
There’s often a crowd of Beatles fans across from Canada Boulevard taking photos and videos at The Beatles Statue, where circa-1965 bronze replicas of Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon seem to stride along the sidewalk.
Ride the Mersey Ferries from Liverpool Gerry Marsden Terminal for a “Ferry Cross the Mersey” moment, the 1964 song made famous by composer Marsden and his band Gerry and the Pacemakers. The ferry plays the Merseybeat tune as it makes the 10-minute crossing to Wirral.
The Beatles statue in Liverpool, England. Photo: Linda Barnard©
Ferry crossing the Mersey River. Photo: Liverpool City Region LVEP/Rob Jones©
The Museum of Liverpool
This free Museum of Liverpool tells the story of the city. It’s a two-minute walk from The Beatles Statue. Head to the top floor for the Wondrous Place Gallery for exhibits that showcase Liverpool’s movie, television, music and sports stars. Find a number of Beatles’ treasures, including the mohair suits made for the Fab Four in 1963. There are also some Peaky Blinders items. Much of the show is shot in Liverpool. More on that later.
Discover The Beatles Story at Royal Albert Dock
Located at Royal Albert Dock, near the Museum of Liverpool, The Beatles Story Museum is a self-guided journey through music history. Walk through a series of vignettes, sets and rooms to visit displays like the Cavern Club, the interiors of the cabin of the Pan Am flight that took the band to America and the Yellow Submarine, Eleanor Rigby’s graveside and Abbey Road Studios. There are many Beatles touchstones and treasures here, like George Harrison’s first guitar and John Lennon’s last piano. Plan on a couple of hours here. An audio guide provides music and narration. Admission is $36 CAD for adults.
The Beatles Story entrance. Photo Visit Britain©
The Cavern Club at The Beatles Story. Photo: Linda Barnard©
The Cavern Club at The Beatles Story. Photo: Linda Barnard©
Mathew Street and the Cavern Club – Where the Beatles began
You hear Mathew Street in the Cavern Quarter long before you see it. The music thumps and blares from every restaurant and bar packed along the narrow cobblestone road that was once home to fruit and vegetable markets.
It’s famous as the home of the Cavern Club, the subterranean jazz joint where the Beatles got their start in 1961. The original closed in 1973 for the construction of the Merseyrail system. That never happened and the club was eventually reopened, although the footprint has changed slightly. Musicians start playing just after 11 a.m. daily on the front stage under the brick vaulted ceiling. For about $13 CAD, you can listen to 12 hours of live music.
You’ll need to book in advance to hear the house Beatles band in the Live Lounge main showroom. It was standing room only and I was surrounded by fans of all ages from as far away as Brazil who were singing along, dancing and toasting each other. The musicians played for two hours, covering The Beatles’ career and changing outfits to match each era.
The famous Cavern Club in Liverpool. England. Photo Linda Barnard©
Musician in the Cavern Club, Liverpool. Photo: Visit Britain-Rod Edwards©
Beyond the Beatles: Peaky Blinders
It’s been three years since the hit Netflix show Peaky Blinders ended, and fans are still missing Tommy Shelby.
Luckily, he’s back in a feature film starring Oscar winner Cillian Murphy that’s due out next year.
The series is set in Birmingham and was shot in and around the city, 160 km south of Liverpool. But the producers wanted to film Tommy and his Peaky Blinders crew surrounded by Victorian and Georgian streetscapes and ornate period architecture. Liverpool, with more than 2,000 “listed” heritage buildings, was a natural choice.
BritMovie Tours and the Real Peaky Blinders
As a fan of the show, I signed up for a Peaky Blinders-themed walking tour of Liverpool with BritMovie Tours, which has an “official” stamp from the series.
We met our professional Blue Badge guide on the steps of the first of 10 filming locations on the tour, the 18th-century Liverpool Town Hall.
“Gary Friday, born on a Saturday, Liverpool born and bred,” he said in a thick Scouse accent, the unmistakable Liverpudlian dialect. He was immaculately barbered and dressed in the sharp style adopted by the Shelby gang members with a tailored vest, wool trousers, crisp shirt and flat cap.
“You look at them Peaky Blinders fellas, they took pride in themselves,” Friday said.
Guide Gary Friday on the Peaky Blinders Tour in Liverpool, England. Photo: Linda Barnard©
Friday said Liverpool delivers the goods as a location for the show. While London has 10 times the number of heritage buildings, it costs far less to shoot in Liverpool and there’s less red tape than in the capital.
“Here it costs you a Mars bar and a bag of crisps,” he quipped.
“I’m going to tell you the story about the real Peaky Blinders,” Friday said as we set off on the four-hour tour. “It will be like shining a light on the social history of Britain. That’s what Peaky Blinders does. It’s like holding hands with history.”
He carried a large binder filled with photos and maps. As we stopped at filming locations, Friday showed us how the site appeared onscreen. He knew every installment by season and episode.
He also talked knowledgeably about how plotlines followed post-World War I politics, the advent of women’s rights, upheaval and the rise of British fascism. Turns out, Friday is also a social welfare lawyer.
We walked along the elegant streets in the Georgian Quarter, which stood in for London’s Belgravia. St. George’s Quarter, dominated by the marvelous, neoclassical columned St. George’s Hall, was very impressive. We learned some local slang when Friday took us to a “jigger” (alley) beside the hall, where Tommy faced his mortality.
Inside the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, which was also used for the series, there’s an unusual tribute to cathedral designer Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Scott also designed the red telephone box, which became an enduring symbol of the U.K. There’s one on display.
St. George’s Hall in Liverpool, England. Photo: Linda Barnard©
Guide Gary Friday in the Liverpool Cathedral. Photo: Linda Barnard©
But even a Peaky Blinders tour has something for Beatles fans.
Friday took us down a narrow street in one of Liverpool’s Victorian shopping arcades to a small shop called Craft Tailoring. In 1962, the Beatles’ new manager Brian Epstein wanted the lads to look more polished onstage. He brought them here to be fitted for their first suits. Tailor Walter Smith made their dark-navy, wool-and-silk jackets and drainpipe trousers.
Friday said Smith scolded the lads for cursing, smoking and their filthy boots. The future Fab Four behaved themselves. Like the Peaky Blinders, they soon figured out sharp-dressed fellows got respect and the best kind of attention.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Where to Stay and Eat in Liverpool
The Halyard Liverpool is a Vignette Collection hotel in the city’s historic Ropewalks district and within walking distance of much of the city. Excellent front-desk staff. Pop across the street to the historic The Monro pub for a cask ale in a former Georgian merchant’s mansion. Lively Slater Street is nearby, with a good selection of pubs and restaurants, including The Jacaranda, where the future members of The Beatles rehearsed and performed. It’s still a music venue, bar and record shop.
How to get to Liverpool
Get to Liverpool by train from London in just over two hours. Travel from Belfast, Ireland, to Liverpool by ferry.
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Linda Barnard was hosted by VisitBritain, which did not preview this story.
