Adventures around Liverpoolwith PlusBus
Where the River Mersey meets the Irish Sea, Liverpool has a long maritime and trading history. Twentieth century Liverpool was famous for the local bands, who made musical history. Of course, there's lots more to see here besides the Beatles, but a PlusBus ticket can help you explore the city's musical heritage. Travel by bus to see museums about the fab four and the places they knew as well as art galleries, safari parks and lots more. Just ask for PlusBus when you buy your train ticket for unlimited bus travel all day all over Liverpool.
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1. Can’t buy me love (but can buy me a bus ticket…)
Whether you’re a music fan, an art buff or a sports’ lover, Liverpool has plenty of treats in store. The following suggestions are just a very small selection from the huge number of options the city offers. Liverpool is big, but you’ll get by with a little help from the friendly buses. A Liverpool PlusBus ticket can take you across a wide area, stretching from Prescot to the docks.
- To start with, hop on frequent bus 75 or bus 86 from Newington (near Liverpool Lime Street railway station where trains arrive from Chester, Crewe and London Euston) and ride two stops to Liverpool’s One Bus Station near the docks.
- Here, you’ll find many of Liverpool’s world class museums. Walk straight ahead past Salthouse Dock. You’ll find a Victorian carousel on the corner with the Maritime Museum beyond it beside Albert Dock. A five-minute stroll right, beside the Mersey, brings you to bronze statues of the four Beatles created by sculptor Andy Edwards. You can ride the famous ferry ‘cross the Mersey from near here too.
- Back on the side of Albert Dock, the Beatles Story celebrates Liverpool’s most famous sons. From the summer of 1957 when John Lennon first met Paul McCartney at a garden fete in Woolton this museum recreates the journey to international stardom and beyond. See Bill Harry’s messy Mersey Beat office, walk through the Cavern club and hear the screams of Beatlemania…
- Nearby is the huge Tate Liverpool with changing exhibitions and permanent collections, including one of Naum Gabo’s constructivist steel heads, and stunning views of the city; one side overlooks the docks and cathedral, while other rooms face west across the Mersey.
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2. Knowsley Safari Park
At Knowsley Safari Park, the UK’s longest safari winds through more than 500 acres of grounds, where you can see lions, yaks, antelopes, ostriches, camels and mischievous baboons. The journey explores several different habitats and zones, from African savannah to Eastern Asia, so you really do get to travel round the world in an afternoon at Knowsley.
- Don’t worry about needing a car to access the drive-through safari. Knowsley has a bookable Baboon bus, available at weekends and during school hols, which will take you through the lion enclosures, past rhinos and zebras and right into the heart of the monkey jungle.
- Knowsley’s Foot Safari is included in the same ticket with walking trails through woods and the Amur Tiger Trail. There are cheeky meerkats, towering giraffes, sea lions and a lovely waterfall.
- How do I get to Knowsley Safari Park by bus? Catch bus 10A towards St Helens from the ONE bus station near the docks to Knowsley Park Lane. The trip takes about 45 minutes and it’s then a few minutes’ walk. There is a pedestrian footpath from Knowsley Park Lane through Prescot Town Centre to the safari’s front gates, taking you safely over the A58.
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3. Ticket to Ride: Beatles tour on bus 76
Among the many great bus trips you can take in Liverpool, bus 76 through the suburbs has to be one of the most interesting for a Beatles fan. It runs frequently (regularly on Sundays) past some of the most crucial landmarks in the Fab Four’s early history.
- Hop on the bus at Queen’s Square bus station, close to Lime Street railway station. After about 25 minutes, you’ll pass one end of Penny Lane. If you want to get off and stroll down this famous street to take a selfie with the road sign, the nearest stop is Plattsville Road.
- Seven stops further on, the bus stops at Beaconsfield Road, home of Strawberry Field. There’s a visitor centre with an interactive exhibition, free garden and café.
- Round the corner, is John Lennon’s childhood home at 251 Menlove Avenue. There’s a plaque on the outside and you can book National Trust tours of the house.
- Four stops further on, bus 76 stops in Woolton Village, where John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met. Get off at Church Road South and stroll along Church Road to St Peter’s to see the church. It was here that 15-year-old McCartney first saw Lennon play with his then-band The Quarrymen, at a local community fete in July 1957 and the real Eleanor Rigby is buried in the churchyard.
- If you’ve got more time to spend in the area, you can stroll in Woolton woods and have a cup of coffee at One Percent Forest or one of Woolton’s other great cafes before you get the bus back into the city.
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