London-Liverpool break: easy, cheap and fun!

Liverpool is synonymous with the Beatles but the city has lots more to offer than it is commonly given credit for (image credit below)

Liverpool initially seems an unpromising destination for a weekend escape.

A cursory glance at the map shows that it’s at the opposite end of the country to London.  Surely there must be more user-friendly short break possibilities like Brighton, Windsor or even Paris?

And at least within the UK, Liverpool historically acquired a slightly unsavoury reputation as one of Britain’s most economically-deprived cities.

This stereotype was demonstrated by London Mayor Boris Johnson‘s spectacular gaffe in his previous life as Editor of the Spectator, when he described people from Liverpool as “wallowing” in their “victim status” – an offensive and completely untrue accusation.  He was later asked to return to the city to apologise but the damage had already been done.

Of course, Liverpool was also named European City of Culture in 2008 and has enjoyed plenty of new investment in recent years.  Nevertheless, like many other naive Londoners, I had pretty low expectations.

My first concern was the distance and whether it was viable as a weekend.  But I was pleasantly surprised by the train times: the trip can be done in just over 2 hours. That’s less than some people’s daily London commute!

This allowed the trip to be an “arrive Saturday morning, leave as late as possible on Sunday” full-on weekend – no need for an extra day off work.

TripAdvisor users currently rank Base2stay Liverpool as the best-value hotel in Liverpool: no wonder since it's spacious, modern and friendly

The next question: where to stay?  Being used to monitoring London hotels, I was aware that the company behind Base2stay Kensington (often featured on this blog as one of London’s best eco-friendly hotels) had opened a new Base2stay in Liverpool.  And the fact it had already zoomed to the number one spot on TripAdvisor for Liverpool hotels after a few short months spoke volumes.  So that took care of accommodation.

Check the best rate for Base2stay Liverpool from 30+ hotel booking sites

Finally, what can you actually do over a weekend in Liverpool?  Is there more to the city than its Beatles heritage?  It certainly turned out that way.  The activities we enjoyed included the following highlights:

• A leisurely walk around the RopeWalks district (a UNESCO Heritage site) in which Base2stay is located.  There are museums, bars and restaurants galore with a  relaxed vibe and eye-catching modern architecture.  There’s even a little ferris wheel (a “mini London Eye“) which was loads of fun and without the queues of the original!

• A visit to the Tate Liverpool gallery.  This was a treat as it’s more manageable in size than the original Tate Modern on the South Bank.  The exhibits are interactive, with children’s break-out zones and little youtube style videos of previous visitors’ comments.  It’s a lot more daring than the original Tate Modern.  And the teasing art really grabs you – in fact, when the fire alarm went off for a drill, we weren’t sure whether it was an exhibit or the real thing!  In this sense, it reminded me more of the Saatchi Gallery than its older brother in London.

Tate Liverpool should not be missed - and is in fact a lot more fun (and much smaller!) than its London counterpart (image credit below)

• The Beatles pub (right opposite the famous Cavern Club) was a real delight.  I was expecting to find a tourist trap but instead it felt just like a local – lots of Liverpudlians were there enjoying live music from a Beatles tribute act with reasonably-priced pints of beer on a Saturday afternoon.  There was some lovely memorabilia on display.

• Restaurants offering good grub and great value.  We went to a brilliant Greek restaurant (Eureka) on Saturday night which was a refreshing change from London in terms of the prices and the staff’s refusal to try and “up sell”.  We ate just what we wanted to and loved the party atmosphere!  On Sunday we had a perfect cooked breakfast in a greasy spoon cafe called Top Chef just 5 minutes walk from Base2stay (the hotel has no full-service restaurant but just like in its London counterpart you are encouraged to enjoy the nearby restaurants) as well as an outstanding Sunday roast – again unbeatable value.

Base2stay Liverpool had the brand’s usual nice touches, with the friendly staff deserving a special mention.  The hotel also benefits from larger rooms than the ones in its Kensington twin inside a modern, warehouse-style building.  It is well-placed by the Albert Dock area as well as on the doorstep of the city’s main shopping centre (Liverpool One).

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Base2stay Liverpool is ideally-located for your Liverpool short break, between the city's main shopping area and docks

Though the above already gives compelling reasons to visit Liverpool, we haven’t yet touched on the main one: the super-friendly people.

Everyone was so kind.  For example, the man who saw us looking at a map in the rain and spontaneously offered to help us find the Greek restaurant.  The taxi driver who saved a wasted trip by personally checking to see that our bar for late drinks was fully booked…taking us instead to a brilliant alternative serving gorgeous cocktails at well below London prices.  The waitress at the full gastro-pub (The Monro) for Sunday lunch who suggested an equally good place down the road (The Shipping Forecast).

All the people we met had an authentic down-to-earth warmth…could Scousers be the friendliest people in the UK?  It was certainly an eye-opener for me, never having previously met anyone from the city.

Liverpool may possibly be one of the country’s most underrated secrets.  Go there before the crowds discover it!

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Photo credits: Base2stay Liverpool, Mihalorel’s photostream, David Poblador i Garcia’s photostream.

Disclosure: Rajul was a guest of Base2stay Liverpool.

Tagged as: Base2stay