Los Angeles Times, Sunday, March 28, 2004, page L20:
'Readers Recommends
England: Great guide Liverpool tour guide Philip Hughes, 011-44-151-228-4565,
tourliverpool@hotmail.com, www.tourliverpool.co.uk.
"A vivacious official Blue Badge tour guide who loves the people and places of his lifelong home. He showed us Beatles sites, pointing out John's favorite pub, the hospital where Paul's mother worked. He carries refreshments, postcards and the lore and legends of this wonderful city. A lot of fun."
DONNA GAIL SPRINGS
WONDERFUL TOUR OF LIVERPOOL....I WENT IN JULY 2001 AND CAN'T WAIT TO GO AGAIN.
I WANT TO STAY OVERNIGHT THE NEXT TIME I GO.. HOPE YOU ARE WELL..
Dear Phil,
You are simply suberb! Thanks so much for your unbelievable effort to make my recent trip to England a success. You anticipated all the travel needs and
really went the extra mile to make my visit a productive one. I have travelled extensively throughout Europe but I must say that the day you drove me through Lincolnshire will long be one of the most memorable.
Your dedication to providing excellent service will take your company a long way. Best of luck and
thanks again.
J. Lamont, President, Kalos Golf, USA
Hey Phil!
We took your tour last month and had the BEST time! Thanks so much for being the perfect guide, more knowledgeable than me, took me everywhere I wanted to go and fun!
Why don't you come out and we'll give YOU a tour?
Our tour fee is one drink, but dinner's on us.
Take care, hope to hear from you soon.
Wayne and Cheryl Bush
7 business friends from Cologne trying to work out how to spend a weekend in Liverpool, never having been there before. Then we found Phil's web site and
that was it - the best thing that could have happened to us. On the phone we were able to quickly work out what was the best thing to do and we ended up with
a marvellous six hour tour/package ensuring that we saw everything we had to see, including the odd pub or two. It was like having a friend, proud to show
and talk to us, not tell us, about Liverpool.Phil gave us a number of very useful tips including a top restaurant - The Living Room - which seriously
impressed us foodwise and as a great place to spend a Saturday night out.
During the three day visit Phil seemed to be always on hand to help out with our
questions and arranging transport, if and when needed.
Dare I mention our trip to Trafford Centre, Manchester?
Thanks Phil you did a fantatstic job - if you come to Cologne we will be proud to do you the honours here.
Phil,
You made our trip to Liverpool! We had a great time and we are so glad we had you to ourselves. Thanks for the humor and passion for your city. You made the
dreams of two Beatles fans come true. Your knowlege and passion for Liverpool are unmatched, and we had a great time quoting the Rutles and bashing Yoko with
you. Please get in touch if you come to Atlanta and we will try to match your tour!
Fondly,
Sandra & Greg Scott
Atlanta, GA USA
I'm a film writer who was in UK researching a (non-Beatle) movie script. But I took a side trip to Liverpool and I got a private Beatles tour with Phil Hughes in April 2005. This note is long overdue but I think I had one of the best times of my life on that tour.
I am not someone who knows every single micro-fact about the Beatles but they were THE major influence on my life, and the word 'Liverpool' always had a total magic for me -- so to be in Liverpool, to see their homes and the schools they went to, to see Strawberry Fields and stand by Elenaor Rigby's grave, to see that Penny Lane really has all the things
in it that the song says -- it was an amazing experience, and I guarantee you the quality of it is so far above what you'd get from being driven around in some tourist bus.
Phil is a true gentleman and a gem. He loves Liverpool, loves what he does, and the first thing I do when I go back is to take his tour again - not just to see the sights but to spend more time with a great, great guy.
This is not written by a family member or someone who owes Phil money. Take the tour for yourself and I know you'll agree.
Jeff Arch
Santa Barbara, CA
Since 1964, it has been my dream to visit the home of the greatest group the world has ever known (and in my personal opinion, ever WILL know) and to see a city that played such an historical part of WWII.
Grabbing Rick Steve's guide to England, I immediately saw a reference to Phil Hughes' tour and
was lucky enough to catch him on a Sunday when he had nothing else booked. The result was, my wife and I were treated to a personally-guided tour of Liverpool.
It is difficult to imagine a better, more in-depth, or well-rounded tour than what we received. This was more than touring Beatles' homes and hangouts,
though that alone would have been just fine with me. This was seeing everything from the perspective of someone who knows what he shows, and loves it. This was hanging with a drinking buddy - and an acquaintance of The Lads. It just couldn't get better than this. From the Beatles' homes to incredible museums to historical narrative, Phil Hughes is the ultimate guide.
We'll be back in 2007 to do it all again, and we hope, have another unique experience with this gentleman scholar. I hope by that time, the world hasn't discovered him. . .
Cheers,
Kurt Selvig/Eilen Marek
Portland, OR USA
Hallo Phil,
vielen Dank nochmal für die wunderschönen Stunden am Bankholiday. Wir sind alle zu dem Schluß gelangt, daß diese Tour ein Höhepunkt unserer Reise war, besonders Deine fundierten und witzigen Erklärungen hatten es uns angetan. Sicher werden wir in den nächsten Jahren wieder mit Dir in Kontakt treten.
Anbei einige Bilder von diesem Tag.
Klaus
Hi Phil:
We enjoyed our tour of Liverpool and Beatles sites with you a couple of years ago. The video we shot of the tour has been shown to several of our friends.
Later that day, we went north from Liverpool to Formby (Stacy's namesake town) and enjoyed that as well.
We wanted to meet your girlfriend that day, but we ran out of time. But we'll definitley look you guys up the next time we're in town. And if you ever come to Texas- we'll give you a tour of Austin...
I must recommend Phil's tours to everyone. My parents have spent today with him and have had the best time ever. They phoned me tonight and were so enthusiastic
about it all. They had been to places they would never have managed to get to on their own and being allowed in to see the pitch at Goodison Park was a dream come true for Evertonian Dad! Mum was overawed by the RC Cathedral, something she has always wanted to see inside (although not of that faith). It seems that nothign was too much trouble for Phil, he was willing to take them wherever they wanted to go and (they said) he was friendly, knowledgeable, funny, polite and courteous. - what more could you ask for!
So its' a BIG THANK YOU to Phil and a
strong RECOMMENDATION to others to take one of his tours.
Hallo Phil,
vielen Dank nochmals für die tollen Tage in Liverpool.
Wir haben uns sehr wohl gefühlt und unsere Gruppe war von Dir beeindruckt.
Mir persönlich hat Liverpool sehr gut gefallen und ich werde mit Sicherheit "Deine" Stadt mit meiner Frau besuchen und dann hoffe ich, dass Du uns beide Deine Stadt nochmals genauer zeigen kannst. Denn mit dieser "Fussball-Truppe" haben wir mit Sicherheit einige gute Pubs gesehen, aber Liverpool hat sicherlich noch mehr zu bieten.
Temucin Halil
