Bars, boats and The Beatles on a trip to Liverpool

Looking out of our bedroom window in Liverpool we were faced with a dilapidated abandoned warehouse ... and were delighted.

Staying in the heart of the city’s docklands, it made for atmospheric viewing and brought home the stark contrast of the Titanic Hotel and Rum Warehouse (titanichotelliverpool.com).

A £36 million renovation has seen the once industrious – and then similarly abandoned – warehouse at Stanley Dock transformed into a luxury destination.

It retains many of the building’s original brick and iron features, wide corridors and huge vaulted ceilings – our bedroom and bathroom were massive – but the architecture is now complimented by high quality fittings and eclectic designer furniture. All 153 bedrooms are twice the size of a UK standard hotel room and boast pocket sprung beds, rainforest showers, subtle (some might say gloomy!) lighting, along with views over the Mersey Estuary or, in our case, the Tobacco Warehouse – one of the largest brick buildings in the world.

The public rooms were just as impressive with the super-swish industrial vibe softened with comfy seating and wood and leather in the Rum Bar and Stanley’s Bar & grill restaurant.

The bar has more than 60 different rums to chose from as a fitting tribute to its former use and the restaurant offers a theatre-style view of the kitchen.

The weather was also good enough to sit out on the dockside colonnade as we planned our weekend ahead.

My cousin Tina and I were both visiting the city for the first time.

I’m not sure why it took me so long to visit but not being a particular fan of the Beatles, there didn’t seem a pressing need.

Not yet finding our bearings we took a cab to dinner the first evening. We realised later we could have walked but were glad we hadn’t as our taxi driver told us about a “secret” bar near where we were eating.

But food first: living up to its name, The Yardbird (yardbirdliverpool.com) – a sort of super hip diner – served mainly chicken. Prices were excellent and the food was a mad mix of the excellent and bizarre. The padron peppers were a snip at £4 and the buffalo fried cauliflower florets with blue cheese a tasty bargain at £3. My Machine Gun Funk (£8) featured great salt-and-pepper fried chicken breast fillet fingers, and the speared spiced water melon was interesting but I could have done without the (sweet!) chilli cheesy waffle it came on and Tina’s deep fried egg nacho burger in brioche bun (£6), the only main course vegetarian option, was odd to say the least. However, washed down with some very reasonable (all) £5 cocktails and a hardshake (like a milkshake but with booze, £6 ) we agreed we’d return in a heartbeat.

We left to hunt down the bar the cab driver told us about and approaching a bouncer-type chap standing outside a shop front painted entirely black we were ushered into what we discovered later was Berry & Rye (it’s on Berry Street) a speakeasy-style “dive” bar. Although it’s all legal and above board, it has an illicit feel – with drinks menus “hidden” in the middle of children’s books giving a feel of prohibition times in the US. And the general atmosphere is a lot more friendly than this trendy concept might lead you to expect. Just don’t expect to sit down unless you’re in a party of four or more; it’s tiny, space is limited and you get told where to sit (or stand).

Walking back we passed Albert Dock, the done up bit of the docks and one of Liverpool’s most popular tourist attractions with shops, restaurants, the Merseyside Maritime Museum and the Tate Liverpool.

It’s in strolling distance of the Titanic Hotel (as long as you don’t have heels on!) although it does get a bit desolate in places. Otherwise the centre is about a £5 taxi ride.

The following day we went on a crash course on Mersey life in general and the Fab Four in particular.

• The Yardbird

First off was a ferry ‘cross the Mersey and not just any old ferry but one designed by pop artist Peter Blake, who co-created the sleeve design for the Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The brightly coloured ferry is a form of dazzle camouflage used during wartime to confuse enemy U-boats and aircraft. On board we were treated to snatches of the Gerry and the Pacemakers’ song and a commentary on some of the nautical history of the city. A good way to get an overview. See merseyferries.co.uk.

Back on land we fully embraced Beatlemania with a two-part visit to The Beatles Story (beatlesstory.com), followed by a Magical Mystery Tour (cavernclub.org/the-magical-mystery-tour).

The Beatles Story is housed at the Pier Head, where we got off the ferry, and at Albert Dock. Between them there are exhibits with headphones to guide you round and tell the Mop Tops’ tale; interactive activities to try and a fun 4D cinema experience. It was interesting even if you weren’t a diehard fan.

But you probably did need to be for the two-hour Magical Mystery Tour which took us around landmarks in the city associated with the Beatles. We got fed-up with looking at three-bed semis in the suburbs long before the end. Although the rest of the coach party were happy snapping the gates to Strawberry Field and the Penny Lane road sign, we were all Beatled out.

So we skipped the trip to the Cavern Club and headed back to relax in the Titanic’s swish spa down in the depths of the hotel.

We loved it – yeah, yeah, yeah!