Beatles and British music itinerary

No country apart from the United States changed 20th-century music like Britain. From the Beatles to the Rolling Stones, from David Bowie to Pink Floyd, from the Sex Pistols to the Smiths, from Oasis to Amy Winehouse, the soundtrack of whole generations was born in a Liverpool cellar, a London recording studio or a Manchester club. Many of those places still exist and can be visited: John Lennon's childhood home, the Abbey Road zebra crossing, the rooftop where the Beatles played for the last time, the phone box on the cover of Ziggy Stardust, the Smiths' lads' club.

This six-day itinerary crosses the three capitals of British music: London, Liverpool and Manchester. It is done entirely by train, between museums, studios, pubs with live music and streets every fan recognises from an album cover. It is a trip for fans of all ages, and a good chance to catch a gig in one of the legendary venues.

Day 1: rock'n'roll London

Start in St John's Wood, taking the Tube to the station of the same name. Outside Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles recorded almost all their records, is the world's most famous zebra crossing, the one on the cover of the Abbey Road album, photographed on 8 August 1969. Since 2010 it has been a listed structure. The studio is not open to visitors, but the white wall in front is covered with fans' messages, and there is a shop next door. Be careful: it is a busy road, and London drivers have little patience left for people posing.

In the afternoon head to the West End. At 3 Savile Row, the tailors' street, was the headquarters of Apple, the Beatles' company: on the roof, on 30 January 1969, the band played its last live concert, stopped by the police. In Heddon Street, off Regent Street, a plaque marks the spot where the cover of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust was shot. Nearby in Brook Street, Handel & Hendrix House combines two neighbouring houses: the one where composer George Frideric Handel lived and the one where, more than two centuries later, Jimi Hendrix lived. Carnaby Street, heart of 1960s Swinging London, and Denmark Street, the old "Tin Pan Alley" of guitar shops, where the Sex Pistols lived, round off the day.

Where to stay: in London, for two nights.

Day 2: Camden, Battersea and a gig

For decades Camden was the neighbourhood of punk, indie and Britpop. In the Stables Market a bronze statue commemorates Amy Winehouse, who lived here and frequented the local pubs. The Roundhouse, a former circular railway shed, hosted gigs by the Doors, Hendrix and Pink Floyd, and Madness and Blur played early gigs at the Dublin Castle pub. In the afternoon go down to Battersea Power Station, with the four chimneys that appear on the cover of Pink Floyd's Animals with an inflatable pig flying above: today it is a shopping centre, and a glass lift rises to the top of one of the chimneys.

In the evening, a gig: at the Royal Albert Hall, the Roundhouse, the O2 Academy Brixton or one of countless pubs with live music, London has music every night.

Day 3: Liverpool, the Cavern and the Beatles

By train from Euston, Liverpool is just over two hours away. The first stop is The Beatles Story, the Beatles museum on the Albert Dock, with reconstructions of the Cavern, Abbey Road studio and the Yellow Submarine. Nearby, in the Cunard Building on the waterfront, the British Music Experience tells the story of all British music from the 1940s to today, with instruments and stage costumes. On the waterfront a statue shows the four Beatles life-size, walking.

In the evening head to Mathew Street, the warehouse lane where the Cavern Club stood: here the Beatles played almost three hundred times in the early 1960s, and here Brian Epstein discovered them in 1961. The original club was demolished in 1973 and rebuilt in 1984 almost on the same spot, using salvaged bricks: it still has live music every day. Next door, a statue of John Lennon leans against the wall.

Where to stay: in Liverpool, for two nights.

Day 4: the Beatles' homes

In the morning take the National Trust minibus to Mendips, the house where John Lennon grew up with his Aunt Mimi, and to 20 Forthlin Road, the McCartney family's council house, where John and Paul wrote many of their early songs together. The interiors have been carefully recreated and can only be visited on this tour.

In the afternoon tour the places of the songs, on the Magical Mystery Tour coach or on your own by bus and taxi. Strawberry Field, the garden of the Salvation Army children's home where Lennon played as a boy, has a visitor centre with the famous red gates. Penny Lane is a real street, with the bus shelter in the middle of the roundabout and the barber's. In the churchyard of St Peter's in Woolton is the grave of one Eleanor Rigby, and in the church hall opposite, on 6 July 1957, during a summer fête, sixteen-year-old John Lennon met fifteen-year-old Paul McCartney.

Day 5: Manchester

By train from Liverpool, Manchester is under an hour away. On 4 June 1976 the Sex Pistols played the Lesser Free Trade Hall to a few dozen people: in the audience were future members of Joy Division, the Buzzcocks and the Smiths, and that night is considered the start of the city's music scene. From it came Factory Records, the label of Joy Division and New Order, and the Haçienda, the club that in the 1980s and 1990s launched the "Madchester" era and dance music. The Haçienda closed in 1997 and is now a block of flats, but it keeps the name.

In the afternoon go to Salford, where the Salford Lads Club, a boys' club of 1904, is a place of pilgrimage for Smiths fans, since the band was photographed at its entrance for The Queen Is Dead: inside there is a room covered in tributes. In the evening, a gig in one of the venues of the Northern Quarter, the heart of independent music, or at the Albert Hall, a former Methodist hall turned concert venue. Oasis fans can head out to Burnage, the Gallagher brothers' neighbourhood.

Where to stay: in Manchester.

Day 6: back to London

From Manchester the train to London Euston takes just over two hours. If you are flying, you can leave directly from Manchester Airport, linked to the city by train.

How much it costs

To save money: the Abbey Road crossing, Savile Row, Heddon Street, Denmark Street, Mathew Street, Penny Lane and Woolton are free; entry to the Cavern Club costs very little during the day. Train tickets are much cheaper booked weeks ahead.

Practical information

• Booking: the National Trust Beatles' homes tour has few places and must be booked well ahead; the same goes for the Magical Mystery Tour at weekends.
• Gigs: tickets for big concerts sell months ahead; in pubs and small clubs you often pay on the door on the night.
• International Beatleweek: at the end of August Liverpool hosts the largest Beatles festival in the world, with bands from everywhere; hotels fill up early.
• Abbey Road: go early in the morning to be photographed on the crossing with less traffic and fewer fans, and respect the traffic.
• Documents: passport and ETA, see documents and ETA.

Variations

• Bristol: the city of Massive Attack and Portishead's trip-hop, and of Banksy; see Bristol.
• Sheffield: the city of Pulp and the Arctic Monkeys; see Sheffield.
• Festivals: at the end of June, in the years it is held, Glastonbury Festival, near Glastonbury, is the largest greenfield music festival in Europe.

What to read and listen to

Before you go, a good Beatles biography such as those by Philip Norman or Mark Lewisohn, and a history of British rock. The trip's playlist writes itself: Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever in Liverpool, the Kinks' Waterloo Sunset in London, Love Will Tear Us Apart and There Is a Light That Never Goes Out in Manchester.

Final tips

• Pace: keep your evenings free for live music, it is the heart of the trip.
• Combinations: from Liverpool and Manchester it is easy to reach the Lake District and the Peak District; see also the literary itinerary.
• A tip: go to the Cavern Club on a weekday afternoon, when the Beatles tribute bands play and it is less crowded: in that brick-vaulted cellar you understand why it all began right there.

See also our other UK itineraries.

Liverpool on the map

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