Lennon and McCartney Childhood Homes Tour

The National Trust owns and operates tours of the childhood homes of both John Lennon (Mendips, 251 Menlove Avenue, Woolton) and Paul McCartney (20 Forthlin Road, Allerton). Both are small, ordinary 1950s semi-detached houses in south Liverpool suburbs that have been restored to their period appearance. Mendips was the home of Lennon's aunt Mimi and uncle George, who raised him: the parlour where he would have practised guitar, the tiny back bedroom where he wrote his earliest songs, and the porch where Mimi reportedly told him "the guitar's all very well John, but you'll never make a living at it." 20 Forthlin Road was the McCartney family home: the front room where Lennon and McCartney wrote together during school holidays, the kitchen, the outside toilet. Tours are small group (maximum 6-8 people per house), 45 minutes each, guided by National Trust volunteers with detailed knowledge of the period. GBP 27 combined for both houses. Tickets must be booked in advance at nationaltrust.org.uk: they sell out weeks ahead in summer. The tour minibus collects from Albert Dock and drops back. Photography is restricted inside the homes.