A reasonable sleep after an intense day (for some) and relaxation to look forward to. Once again, Paul managed to provide breakfast early and we met Barry and Trish in the foyer at 9:15am, ready for the walk to Blackpool North railway station. By my calculations, or rather, Google maps, it was a walk of about 800m and we arrived OK and this is when the fun started, yet again.
I punched our booking code into the ticket machine and inserted the credit card. A notice on the machine warned the user to ensure you had all your tickets. The tickets were to Liverpool Lime Street, return. Four tickets came out, then a fifth (a receipt?), then just as I was walking away, another ticket, then another. OK, return = two tickets – and another receipt. We approached the manned ticket barrier, to be told that our 9:56am train had been cancelled! 
No worries, we could join the queue for the 9:40am train. (A good job we were early. There are some people we have travelled with who would have been left an hour waiting for a later train…) Then I checked the tickets. Apparently, as we had to change at Preston, in both directions, there was yet another batch of tickets I should have collected! So back to the barrier and the rail employer kindly went over to the machine and returned with them!
Doors to the platform opened only when the train had arrived and we piled on for the trip to Preston where we managed easily enough to transfer to the platform for Liverpool and even had time for a decent coffee.
Once at Liverpool, we grabbed a taxi for the run down to the Albert Dock area and the Beatles Experience. The fare was about £5 plus tip, so between 4 of us, cheap enough, as we didn’t really want to waste time walking. A bright sunny day and down at the entrance to the exhibition, there was no queue at all! When we tried to visit during our round GB cruise in 2014, the queue was along the corridor, up the steps and out to the pavement, but people with tickets were walking straight in. After an hour queuing, we gave up. But, no cruise ship in today.
You are issued with an audio visual machine and you can travel through the exhibition at your own pace. Very impressive. I was so pleased to see the recognition of the Chris Barber and Ken Colyer Jazz bands and the emergence of Skiffle and Lonnie Donegan as the first major musical influence of the Beatles. As my friends all know, Chris Barber is my own musical hero and is still leading his Jazz band at the age of 87.
The exhibition is extremely well done and we came across the recreation of the famous Cavern Club. Just as we reached this point, we were caught up by Sue and Geoff, who had left Blackpool before us. The music being played in this Cavern was enough to get Sue, Trish and Paula dancing… More moving pictures.
Once out of the exhibition, we opted to return to the sunshine and a Costa coffee, rather than stay in the basement café.
Suitably refreshed, we ambled along the excellent Mersey river front towards the cruise terminal. Our destination was the second part of the advertised tour, another exhibition of the Beatles Story. This was included in our ticket and was even on the map, clipped to our receipt and obviously, on the website when we booked. But either we got the wrong building or the exhibition had finished. What we arrived at was the history of British Music Exhibition - and we weren’t paying another £16!
Ho hum. (Examining the map later, we may well have got the wrong building!) We wandered towards the city and enjoyed the traffic free environment - and the Lindt chocolate shop.
A short photo opportunity with a couple of friendly armed policemen before heading back towards the Lime Street station. This was very well signposted with the approximate walking times. As it was only 9 minutes, with time in hand, we walked in the still warm sunshine, in plenty of time for the trip back, with another train change at Preston, getting back about 6:30pm.
The general consensus was to eat at Bella Italia, a short walk from the Boomerang and so we collected Aubry and her mum Ester on the way. Now I can eat, but so can young Aubry! My linguine carbonara was somewhat lacking in sauce, so it wasn’t the best I have ever had, but at least it was a decent sized portion. We didn’t bother with a dessert – but Aubry did!
A bit of a natter back at the hotel with Inge and the others before retiring for the last time in Blackpool. The general consensus was that despite the problems, it had all been well worthwhile especially as the group got on so well together. My task when I get home may well be to try and put a short video together from the photographs - and moving photographs.
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