The Beatles Trip of a Lifetime – A Week with SiriusXM’s Sweepstakes Winners

“If you’ve never had a thought about visiting Liverpool and you’re planning a trip, certainly put this at the top of your itinerary. Liverpool is a really beautiful international city” – The Wagner Family, Easter Sunday on BBC Radio Merseyside.

by:
Caitlin Carter
May 7, 2019

“If you’ve never had a thought about visiting Liverpool and you’re planning a trip, certainly put this at the top of your itinerary. Liverpool is a really beautiful international city” – The Wagner Family, winners of SiriusXM’s ‘Visit The Beatles Liverpool’ Sweepstakes

Easter was an extra special holiday for one family of SiriusXM subscribers from Philadelphia, when Liverpool played host to The Wagners. The family won an unforgettable Beatles trip to Liverpool, the grand prize of the ‘Visit The Beatles Liverpool’ Sweepstakes hosted by SiriusXM’s The Beatles Channel.

The five-day itinerary was carefully planned for the family which featured special guests and visits to iconic places in Liverpool, birthplace of the world’s greatest band, and, as the Wagner’s were to find out, so much more to discover than The Fab Four!

Wednesday

The Wagner Family arrived in the UK and were taken straight away to the world’s only Beatles inspired hotel, The Hard Days Night Hotel, where they were welcomed by the planners of their trip, The Cavern Club, The Beatles Story, The Magical History Museum, Visit Liverpool, and The Hard Day’s Night Hotel.

The hotel would play host to The Wagner Family for their time in the city and a good night’s sleep was needed to shake off their jet lag for what proved to be an extremely packed bank holiday weekend’s itinerary.

Thursday

The first day started off with a tour of The Casbah delivered by none other than Roag Best, owner of The Magical History Museum on Mathew Street and The Casbah, and also the brother of original Beatles drummer Pete Best. The family were given a personal insight into the early years of The Beatles, alongside seeing some famous Liverpool landmarks on route ending on Mathew Street to see a collection of his personal Beatles memorabilia in his museum.

In the afternoon they were met by Cavern Club and Magical Mystery Tour Guide, Dale Roberts, who took them on a tour of Mathew Street and Hope Street before introducing them to Liverpool’s Deputy Lord Mayor in the Town Hall, where they would experience an exclusive tour of one of the city’s oldest buildings.

Relaxing after a busy first day, the family enjoyed a drink in Ye Cracke pub where John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe would often drink while studying in the Liverpool Art College and a visit to the Philharmonic Pub which recently played host to Paul McCartney during his carpool karaoke visit in 2018.

That night would prove to be special when the family were met by John Lennon’s sister, Julia Baird, to enjoy a private meal in the hotel’s restaurant before calling into The Cavern Club to enjoy drinks with her.

Friday

The family were greeted by Neil Brannan of the Magical Mystery Tour at their hotel and were taken on the world-famous Ferry Across the Mersey, immortalized by Gerry and The Pacemakers all those years before.

They would then step off the ferry to take in the city’s world-famous UNESCO waterfront, seeing the Three Graces, Beatles Legacy Statues, and spending time in the British Music Experience before heading over to The Beatles Story’s Fab Four café for lunch.

The family would then be taken on a National Trust tour of the childhood homes of both John Lennon and Paul McCartney before being taken back to The Cavern Club.

Saturday

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Liverpool is the award-winning The Beatles Story, on the Royal Albert Dock. The family were met by their Marketing Manager, Diane Glover, and taken around this fascinating exhibition. More than just a museum, The Beatles Story tells the full story of The Beatles’ rise to fame from The Quarrymen to their historic first US visit and onto their solo years in an immersive experience, all ending in The Beatles Story’s Fab Four café.

Outside The Beatles Story and leaving from The Royal Albert Dock is another world-famous attraction – The Magical Mystery Tour, which the Wagner’s jumped aboard.

The tour visited famous Liverpool locations such as Penny Lane and Strawberry Field and took them through areas where The Beatles grew up, schools they attended, and places where they performed and were shaped as individuals and as a band.

That night the family were once again given VIP tickets to The Cavern Club but this time to see the club’s very own ‘Cavern Club Beatles’ perform their last gig before they traveled back to Beverly Hills.

Sunday

When the Wagner’s won the sweepstakes to come to Liverpool, they told us how jealous their son felt, because he is a huge fan of Football (Soccer). Little did he know that The Hard Day’s Night Hotel would treat the family to something to something very special, and not directly related to The Beatles.

After being guests on BBC Radio Merseyside with Paul Beesley, The Wagner Family were taken to Goodison Park, home of Everton Football Club, to watch the hosts take on Manchester United for what proved to be a very exciting match.

“If their aim was to tire us out, they succeeded!” – said The Wagner Family

That night, in preparation for their flight the following day, they were taken back to the hotel to enjoy cocktails in Bar Four listening to music from one of the Cavern Club’s finest musicians, Clarke Gilmour, before heading back home after an unforgettable trip to the birthplace of the world’s greatest band, The Beatles.

Congratulations again to The Wagner Family, and thanks to all involved with presenting the ultimate Beatles Liverpool experience. Keep listening to SiriusXM’s The Beatles Channel (ch. 18) for the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences like this one, exclusively for SiriusXM subscribers!



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