Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Direct Liverpool-Southport trains take about 45 minutes, and National Express
buses cover the same route (26 miles) in about 55 minutes.
Direct
National Express
(
&
0871/781-8181;
www.nationalexpress.com) buses
from London's Victoria Coach Station take about 5
1
⁄
4
hours; there are also buses from
Liverpool (about 2
1
⁄
2
hr. or more), from Manchester (about 1
1
⁄
4
hr.), and from Leeds
(about 2
1
⁄
4
hr.).
Liverpool is about 3
3
⁄
4
hours northwest of London by road, mainly on the M1 and M6,
about 1
3
⁄
4
hours northwest of Birmingham, and about 45 minutes west of Manchester.
Liverpool
John Lennon Airport
(
&
0871/521-8484;
www.liverpoolairport.
com), serving mainly European and a few U.K. destinations, is linked by bus to cen-
tral Liverpool and Manchester. There are also direct buses from
Manchester Inter-
national Airport
to central Liverpool.
VISITOR INFORMATION
Liverpool Tourist Information Centre,
Whitechapel
(
&
0151/233-2008;
www.visitliverpool.com), is open Monday to Saturday 10am to
5pm, Sunday 11am to 4pm. There's also an information desk at the airport.
Albert Dock Visitor Centre,
Anchor Courtyard (
&
0151/233-2008;
www.
visitliverpool.com), is open daily 10am to 5pm.
Southport Visitor Information Centre,
112 Lord St. (
&
01704/533333;
www.visitsouthport.com), is open March to October Monday to Saturday 9am to
5:30pm, Sunday 10am to 4pm; November to February daily 10am-4pm.
SPECIAL EVENTS
The Grand National at Sefton's
Aintree Racecourse
(
&
0151/523-2600;
www.aintree.co.uk) in April is said to be the world's greatest
steeplechase. Liverpool's
International Beatles Week
(www.beatlesfestival.co.uk)
attracts about 100,000 fans and bands from more than 20 countries for a 7-day cel-
ebration in various venues each August. There's also a
Beatles Day
(www.beatlesday.
tv) in July, with live music around town, Beatles buskers on the streets, a special
concert at the Echo Arena, and people encouraged to wear moptop wigs, with all
proceeds going to children's charities.
Southport's highlights are its seafront
Air Show
(www.militaryairshows.co.uk) in
July and August
Flower Show
(www.southportflowershow.co.uk).
Exploring the Area
LIVERPOOL
The last decade or so has seen a significant transformation of this once-great merchant
port, partly by virtue of its being awarded UNESCO World Heritage site status in
2004. Though generally best known for producing The Beatles, this 18th- and 19th-
century industrial, maritime, and mercantile hothouse was a leader in both the expan-
sion of the British Empire and the development of modern dock technology and
maritime transport. The UNESCO listing applies to six areas—buildings at Pier Head,
the Albert Dock and Stanley Dock Conservation Area, the Castle Street commercial
center, the William Brown Conservation Area, and Duke Street (“Ropewalks”). But
despite money being pumped into regeneration projects—the most obvious being
Albert Dock and the new Liverpool One shopping center—much of Liverpool's appeal
comes from its continued edginess, seediness, and dereliction coexisting with spar-
kling new shops, hotels, and attractions.
It's strange to think that Liverpool began as a 12th-century fishing village. Granted
a charter as early as 1207 by King John, it grew to prominence in the 18th century
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