Liverpool – more than just football

Date Published: 11-Aug-2011

If you were doing that word association test and someone mentioned the word Liverpool, the immediate response would be football and the Beatles – so why would the city that prides itself on being Ireland’s oasis in the UK try to refashion the wheel when it’s not broken?

The locals joke that Liverpudlians follow Everton and the Reds are supported by Scandanavians, Irish and more recently Malaysians – it’s the same argument in Manchester where they say a home match for the Red Devils is one that takes place in London.

But the problem for tourism chiefs in Liverpool is that people associate the city with football – and little else. The music lovers know it’s the home of the Beatles and the Mersey Beat, but even then it only scratches the surface.

Whereas the reality is that Liverpool has so much more to offer in terms of culture, shopping, history, architecture…. and above all else, a friendliness that you’d be hard-pressed to beat.

I’d been a fan of the city and the football club that carries its name for decades anyway, but a recent trip there to coincide with the opening of a magnificent new museum, coupled with the centenary of the iconic Liver Building opened my eyes to its real potential.

The football is a given – two great clubs within a stone’s throw of each other – and if you’re a fan, you need no other reason to make the pilgrimage.

Even in the off-season, there’s the Anfield museum tour and the new Boot Room restaurant; there’s also a photographic exhibition from the Shankly era in the ironically named Bluecoat in the heart of Liverpool One.

But if you’re not into football – or your other half is and you think you’d be bored there – you should know that there is loads to see and do. And as we found out recently, you’ll never fit it into a weekend.

Start with the music; you can visit the Cavern, and while it’s not the original because that’s now a soulness power substation 50 yards away, it is an authentic recreation of the venue where the Beatles made their name. They still have a reputation for top class music on a nightly basis and it’s all yours for the price of a pint.

But if you want to know a little more of the Beatles – and even if you’re not the biggest fan – you can take a tour that will appeal to anyone who has even the remotest fascination with the Fab Four.

For more of Dave’s report see this week’s Tribunes