A Weekend in England: Bury's Pubs and Livin' it up in Liverpool

Jon attended a conference in England mid-March and I joined him there for St. Patrick's Day weekend. We were most excited to spend time with our friend Justin, who is a buddy from the Wiesbaden days. He's currently stationed at Leakenheath and lives in the quaint town of Bury St. Edmunds, near Cambridge. Jon and I had only spent time in London before, so we were thrilled to have the opportunity to see different parts of England away from the capital. We spent our first two nights at Justin's place and enjoyed exploring Bury (as the locals call it) and its thriving pub culture.

Justin and Jon exploring the pubs of Church St.

Bury St. Edmunds' town square

Bury has an adorable downtown and is the idyllic English village I had always imagined, but had never had the opportunity to visit. There is a beautiful abbey in the center of town with gorgeous surrounding gardens and a peaceful stream. Though it was only mid-March, the flowers were already in full bloom. 

Abbey and Gardens in Bury St. Edmunds

In addition to the abbey, this small village also has St. Mary's church, which is where Mary Tudor (Henry VIII's sister) is believed to be buried. We enjoyed visiting the churches and walking around the quaint streets before our highlight of the day......

St. Mary's Cathedral in Bury St. Edmunds

....A visit to the Greene King Brewery! In actuality, we had never heard of this brewery prior to our trip to England, but Justin told us a tour there was a must-do, so we made it happen. 

View of Bury St. Edmunds from Brewery rooftop

The tour was extremely well-run and it was quite interesting to learn about the various ales they make and the history of the brewery, which dates back to 1799. It was incredibly interesting to walk around the various areas of the brewery and actually see the process and impressive machinery. 

The tour ended at the Brewery Tap where we were able to sample the many types of beer they make. Our fave was the Abbot Ale. 

On Saturday morning, we caravan-ed with Justin and his girlfriend, Sara, to Liverpool for the Beatles "Magical Mystery Tour." Justin had already planned to do this with his squadron and we were able to tag along. This was not necessarily something on our bucket-list, but I am so glad we decided to take part in this unique experience. 

After dropping off our bags at the hotel, we met up with the rest of his squadron for our Beatles private tour. The tour guide was fantastic and was a wealth of information about the Beatles and their lives in Liverpool. This tour focused on the childhood of the Fab Four and how they met. We were able to see each of their childhood homes and places of significance such as Penny Lane and the Strawberry Fields. 

"Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes
There beneath the blue suburban skies"

The lyrics go on to talk about a bank, a barber shop, a fire house and a shelter in the middle of the roundabout, all which really exist within the bustling intersection, where five streets come together.

"Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.
Strawberry Fields forever."

Next, we visited the Strawberry Fields, which is more of an overgrown green area behind John Lennon's childhood home. He would come here to play and explore his imagination, and clearly always held a special place in his heart.

The tour ended in the bustling bar district of Liverpool at the Cavern Club. This was hugely significant as the place where the Beatles frequently played and were discovered by Brian Epstein. Today, they still have many big-name performances, but mostly showcase Beatles cover bands.

The underground Cavern Club

Justin and Jon

And of course we had to take a photo in the iconic British phone booth in the club

After the tour, we enjoyed a group dinner before everyone split up to partake in their own Liverpool nightlife. We had a blast exploring the waterfront where we came across these sheep-banana hybrids. And of course we had to strike a pose.

Justin and Sara

In the Albert Dock district we stumbled upon an amazing Circus-theme bar that was quite, well, Eccentrico!

We couldn't resist taking our picture with the dancers on stilts. I'm only sad we didn't think of these costumes for our Carnaval Circus! Talk about "standing" out!

At the end of the night, we made our way back to the bustling Matthews Street bar district and were amazed by the crowds out in full force to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. I always had heard that it's more of an American holiday, but it has clearly caught on in this part of England as people were going nuts in green. We ended the night grabbing some kebabs and hanging with some leprechauns. An incredible end to an incredible Liverpudlian night!