In the footsteps of the Fab Four
Walking tours takes fans over Beatles' old ground
August 27, 1998
Web posted at: 12:22 p.m. EDT (1222 GMT)
LONDON (CNN) -- Like a pop music Pied Piper, Richard Porter leads Beatles fans on his own version of the Magical Mystery Tour.
Porter's tours include stops at the Marylebone railway station where the Beatles filmed the opening scenes of "A Hard Day's Night" and at those most hallowed of Fab Four sites -- the Abbey Road Studios where the music was made and the crosswalk made famous by the cover of "Abbey Road."
Our guide, who is president of the London Beatles Fan Club, shares anecdotes about John, Paul, George and Ringo as he leads fans around the Beatles' old haunts. Some of Porter's tour participants are Beatlemaniacs too young to remember the band's heyday, but the tour brings back memories for others:
"I think they are a touchstone for our generation, for the incredible sea change that came in ... The freedom, the ability to articulate musically what we were thinking and feeling, I think is still with us today," said one fan.
International Correspondent Hilary Bowker contributed to this report.
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For the Beatles "In My Life" Walk:
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Meet Richard Porter at 11 a.m. on Tuesdays and Saturdays outside the Baker Street Underground station (He will be holding up a London Walks leaflet). Make sure to take the Baker Street exit from the station.
This walking tour stops at:
film locations for "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!"
the registry office where two of the Beatles were married
the house where Paul McCartney lived with his glamorous girlfriend, Jane Asher, and where he and John Lennon wrote "I Want To Hold Your Hand."
The tour ends at the Abbey Road studios and crosswalk.
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To take the "Magical Mystery Tour":
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Meet Porter outside the Tottenham Court Road Underground station at 2 p.m. Wednesdays, 11 a.m. Thursdays and 11 a.m. Sundays. (Again, he will be the guy holding up the London Walks leaflet.) Make sure to take the Dominion Theatre exit from the station.
This jaunt:
recaptures the swingin' London of the 1960s, when the Beatles ruled what many considered the world's culture capital
stops at the Fab Four's "Apple" offices, where they played the famous "rooftop session," and at the Abbey Road studios and crosswalk
The trip to Abbey Road requires a short journey on the subway (known in London as the "tube"), so it's a good idea to get a Two Zone Travel Card.
Note: There is no need to book in advance for London Walks tours, which cost about £4.50 (approximately US $7.40)
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