Mendips, Liverpool: ticket prices, hours and tips – plan your visit to John Lennon’s childhood home

Mendips (251 Menlove Avenue, Woolton, Liverpool) is the semi-detached 1930s house where John Lennon lived from the age of five until his late teens, cared for by his aunt, Mimi Smith. It is managed by the National Trust and can only be visited as part of a combined guided minibus tour that also includes 20 Forthlin Road — the childhood home of Sir Paul McCartney in Allerton. This guide covers how to book the tour, ticket prices, departure points, accessibility, and what to expect inside both properties.

Last updated: May 2026. The National Trust now charges National Trust members a contribution of £13 per adult towards the cost of the minibus tour, even though the properties are included in standard membership. This is a change from previous years, when members visited without any additional charge. Older guides describing free access for members are no longer accurate. Non-member prices are set separately and should be confirmed at the booking portal before visiting, as they vary in peak season (July and August).

Quick facts

Mendips opening hours and tour times

Mendips is accessible by pre-booked guided tour only. Visitors who arrive at the house independently will not be admitted. The National Trust runs four tours per day on operating days:

• 10:05am — departs from bus stand 2, Liverpool South Parkway station
• 10:45am — departs from bus stand 2, Liverpool South Parkway station
• 1:30pm — departs from Speke Hall car park
• 2:10pm — departs from Speke Hall car park

On selected dates including bank holidays, all tours depart from Liverpool South Parkway; check the booking portal when selecting your date. Tours do not operate over the Christmas and New Year period. Tours operate year-round on other days, subject to availability. There is no fixed “open season” or “closed season” beyond the Christmas break.

Visitors must be at their departure point 15 minutes before the tour start time. Latecomers will not be permitted access to the properties.

Mendips ticket prices

Tickets cover the combined tour of both Mendips and 20 Forthlin Road — there is no option to visit Mendips alone. National Trust members pay a contribution charge towards the minibus running costs: £13 per adult and £6.50 per child (aged 5–17). Children under 5 are admitted free but bookings including under-5s must be made by phone on 0344 249 1895 rather than online.

Non-member prices are higher and vary between standard and peak season (July and August). Verify the current non-member price directly at nationaltrust-tickets.org.uk before booking, as prices are updated regularly. When I checked in May 2026, adult tickets cost between £37 and £41, with child tickets costing between £18.50 and £20.50.

National Trust membership does not exempt visitors from this charge but does reduce it substantially. Guidebooks (covering both properties) can be added when booking and will be waiting at the start of the tour.

Ticket prices were checked on the National Trust official website and booking portal and last updated in May 2026.

How to get to the Mendips tour departure points

The tour does not originate at Mendips itself. You join the tour at one of two departure points:

Liverpool South Parkway station (morning tours): Accessible by train from Liverpool city centre in approximately 13 minutes on the Merseyrail Hunts Cross line. From the station, wait at bus stand 2 — the National Trust minibus driver will meet you there. There is a limited pay-and-display car park at the station and parking on nearby residential streets; spaces may be limited as it is a busy commuter station.

Speke Hall (afternoon tours): A National Trust property 7 miles south of Liverpool city centre, next to Liverpool Airport. Follow the A561 Speke Boulevard and look for brown tourism signs for Speke Hall, or signs for Liverpool Airport. Free parking is available at Speke Hall for tour visitors. On arrival, ask staff at Speke Hall reception to direct you to the minibus pick-up point. Visiting Speke Hall itself requires a separate ticket.

By bus from Liverpool city centre to South Parkway: Take Merseytravel services towards Hunts Cross or use the Merseyrail train. The X1 bus also connects Liverpool city centre to the South Parkway area. Check current timetables at merseytravel.gov.uk.

Parking at the Mendips tour

For morning tours (South Parkway): Limited paid parking at the station; residential street parking nearby. For afternoon tours (Speke Hall): Free parking is available in the Speke Hall car park for tour visitors. The Speke Hall departure is the most practical option if travelling by car from outside Liverpool.

How long to spend at Mendips and the Beatles’ Childhood Homes tour

The combined tour lasts approximately 2.5 hours from the departure point. The National Trust recommends allowing 3 hours in total to include the 15-minute pre-departure arrival. Time at each property is guided by the tour structure: the group spends time at Mendips first, then transfers to 20 Forthlin Road. There is a short free-exploration period at each property following the guide’s introductory talk. Some visitors report feeling slightly rushed at Mendips; arriving mentally prepared for a guided pace rather than independent exploration will help.

Accessibility at Mendips

The tour minibus is fully accessible. An adapted toilet is available. Braille and large-print guides are available on request. However, the interiors of both properties have significant limitations:

• Mendips: Two steps to the entrance; the ground floor also has internal steps; the first floor is accessible by stairs only and is not wheelchair accessible.
• 20 Forthlin Road: Steps to the entrance; only part of the ground floor is accessible due to narrow doors; the first floor is by stairs with a handrail and is not wheelchair accessible.

Wheelchair users are welcome on the tour and can view the ground-floor rooms and garden at each property. Photographs of the upstairs rooms are provided as part of the tour for those unable to access them. Wheelchair users and those booking for under-5s or carers must book by telephone on 0344 249 1895 rather than online.

A full accessibility guide is published at AccessAble — search for “Beatles Childhood Homes.”

Inside Mendips and 20 Forthlin Road: what to see

Mendips, Woolton (John Lennon’s home): A 1930s pebble-dashed semi-detached house on a quiet residential street in Woolton. John Lennon lived here with his aunt Mimi Smith and uncle George Smith from 1945 until the early 1960s. The house was acquired by the National Trust in 2002 following a donation by Yoko Ono and has been restored to its late-1950s appearance.

Key features of Mendips include: the original black-and-white tiled entrance porch, where Lennon and McCartney were photographed and where the porch’s acoustic properties were used for early musical experimentation; the front parlour, kept for special occasions rather than everyday use; the small back room where the family spent most of their time; the kitchen, which visitors enter via the back door as Mimi preferred; John’s bedroom on the first floor; and the staircase outside John’s bedroom with a famously creaking floorboard that he later described to Yoko Ono. A blue English Heritage plaque marks the house exterior.

20 Forthlin Road, Allerton (Paul McCartney’s home): A post-war council terraced house in Allerton, smaller and plainer than Mendips. The McCartney family moved here in 1955. The house was acquired by the National Trust in 1995. It has been restored to its early-1960s appearance using period-accurate materials — in some cases sourced from neighbouring properties. It does not have a blue plaque, as English Heritage requires the commemorated person to have been deceased for at least 20 years.

Key features of 20 Forthlin Road include: the front parlour where Lennon and McCartney composed and rehearsed many early songs, including ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘I Call Your Name’ and early drafts of ‘She Loves You’; the original Belfast sink, recovered from the garden where it had been used as a plant pot; the front door, rescued from a skip by a neighbour when new owners replaced it; mismatched period wallpaper in the sitting room (the McCartney family used roll ends); the back garden with a replica of the deckchair photographed in Mike McCartney’s images of the family; and audio recordings of Paul and Mike McCartney played as visitors move through the rooms.

The McCartney family’s piano remains at the property and visitors may be invited to play a note or two.

Practical visitor tips

Frequently asked questions about Mendips

Things to do near Mendips and the Beatles’ Childhood Homes

All five of the following are in or near south Liverpool and can be combined on the same day as the tour.

• Strawberry Field, Woolton (~10 min drive from Mendips): The former Salvation Army children’s home whose gates and garden inspired John Lennon’s song. The site reopened to the public in 2019 with an exhibition on Lennon’s life and the property’s history.
• St Peter’s Church and Woolton village (~5 min drive): The churchyard where John Lennon first met Paul McCartney at a garden fete on 6 July 1957. The church hall where the Quarrymen performed is adjacent. The churchyard is freely accessible.
• Speke Hall, Allerton (~15 min drive): A National Trust Tudor timber-framed hall with a walled garden, tea-room, and parkland walks, adjacent to Liverpool Airport. Afternoon tour visitors can combine entry to Speke Hall before or after the tour. Standard NT admission applies.
• The Beatles Story, Albert Dock (~20 min drive from Mendips): An indoor museum on the Albert Dock dedicated to the Beatles’ history from Hamburg to the break-up.
• Penny Lane (~10 min drive): The road in Mossley Hill made famous by the 1967 single, now a neighbourhood street with a handful of businesses that featured in the lyrics. Freely accessible; street signs are a popular photography stop.

What to visit tomorrow: other historic houses and heritage sites within two hours

• Hardman’s House, Liverpool city centre (~30 min drive): A National Trust property in the Georgian Quarter of Liverpool, preserved as the home and studio of 1950s photographer Edward Chambré Hardman.
• Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire (~1 hour by road): A large National Trust estate with a Regency mansion, working historic farm, Japanese garden, and extensive deer park.
• Quarry Bank Mill, Styal, Cheshire (~1 hour by road): A National Trust water-powered Georgian cotton mill with a preserved workers’ village, mill machinery, and interactive demonstrations. One of the best-preserved textile heritage sites in England.
• Jodrell Bank Observatory, Macclesfield (~1 hour by road): A UNESCO World Heritage Site housing the Grade I listed Lovell Telescope. The visitor centre has permanent science and history exhibitions and a arboretum.
• Dunham Massey, Altrincham, Greater Manchester (~45 min by road): A National Trust Georgian mansion and deer park, with one of the largest garden collections of shade-tolerant plants in the North West.

More North-West England travel

Other North-West England travel articles on Planet Whitley include:

• What to expect at the National Football Museum.
• The best free attraction in Manchester.
• Prices, opening hours and visitor tips for Beeston Castle in Cheshire.
• Plan your visit to Chester Zoo.
• Key information for visiting the Museum of Liverpool.