Liverpool Big Weekend

Your weekend, day by day

1. 1

   Day 1

   

   Go-karting

   From about 14:00 · 2 hours

   Arrival day. Travel in and check in, then go-karting in the afternoon: a briefing, practice laps, qualifying and a scored final, with the times on a board. Trousers and trainers, and every driver must be sober, so the drinking waits until afterwards.

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   The main outdoor circuit used by Liverpool groups is at Ashton-in-Makerfield near Wigan, so plan transport there and back. Its stag formats take about three hours on site: either an hour on track or three eight-minute heats and a final, with food afterwards. It opens 9am to 10pm, takes 12 to 20 drivers, and final numbers are due two weeks before. Indoor alternatives use multi-level tracks of roughly 475 to 900 metres, with sprint, mini grand prix or full grand prix formats over two to three hours.

   You get a briefing, race suit, helmet and gloves, then a session that usually runs about an hour: practice laps, a qualifying run and a scored final. Timing is automatic and the results go on a board, which is where the arguments start.

   Indoor circuits run all year; outdoor ones are longer, faster and at the mercy of the weather. Both put a podium and a bottle of something at the end.

   Wear trousers rather than shorts, and trainers. There are height, weight and footwear limits at most tracks, and you have to be sober.

   

   Club entry, VIP & booths

   From about 23:00 · 2 hours

   Reserved club entry for the group, past the queue on the guest list. Concert Square is a short walk from the city-centre accommodation. Dress codes are enforced on stag groups: no sportswear and no matching shirts.

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   Liverpool's nights split between Concert Square in the Ropewalks, Mathew Street and Hanover Street, with a few party bars on the Albert Dock. Guest-list entry usually has to be used before 11pm, and before 10pm at one Concert Square club and one dock bar. Smart casual is the standard, though the 70s-themed bars on Mathew Street welcome fancy dress. Reserved-area packages cap at six to ten people, so a big group books several. A Mathew Street bar pass covers guest-list entry to six bars.

   Standard entry gets the group past the queue on a guest list, which matters because large male groups are the first ones a door turns away. A booth adds a reserved table, a set number of bottles with mixers and a host who looks after the table.

   Booths are sold on a minimum spend rather than a flat fee at many clubs, so the bottles you order count towards it. Ask what the minimum is and what it includes before you agree to anything.

   Dress code is enforced hard on stag groups. No sportswear, no trainers at some doors, no matching shirts, and nobody visibly drunk gets in regardless of the booking.

2. 2

   Day 2

   

   Football & footgolf

   From about 12:00 · 1.5 hours

   Football on a booked pitch, with bibs and balls provided and the teams up to you; add a referee if the group needs one. Trainers or moulded boots depending on the surface, as studs are refused on most artificial pitches.

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   Most football formats run at a five-a-side centre on Whittle Street, north of the city centre: football darts, electric-shock football for up to 20 and filmed five-a-side with player stats. Each runs about an hour, or two for the filmed match; football darts stretches to 90 minutes for more than 20 players. Footgolf is played at a golf centre in Formby, north of the city, over two to four hours, with the venue confirmed two weeks before. Wear sportswear and trainers; studs are refused. Avoid kick-off times on match weekends.

   A pitch booking gives you the surface, the bibs and the balls for an hour or two, and you sort your own teams. Add a referee if the group needs one, and most do.

   Footgolf is the softer version: a golf course, a football, and you play the holes by kicking. It takes a couple of hours, it is walkable, and it works for a group with a wide spread of fitness.

   Trainers or moulded boots depending on the surface, and check which before you pack. Studs are refused on most artificial pitches.

3. 3

   Day 3

   

   Group dinner & restaurant

   From about 19:30 · 1.5 hours

   The booked group dinner, with one table for the whole group. Confirm final numbers and any dietary needs with the restaurant ahead of the day. If the group is heading out afterwards, dress for the bars rather than the restaurant.

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   Liverpool's group dining is mostly in the centre: Liverpool One, Queen Square, Hardman Street and the Albert Dock. Reserved tables and a set menu are normal, and two courses take about two hours. Watch the day: one popular dockside set menu is not available on Saturdays, and some places want the whole group on the same starter-or-dessert choice. For the morning after, a breakfast-and-drink package on Hardman Street shows live sport on big screens. A burger and a pint at Queen Square works for a quick pre-match meal.

   A restaurant taking a large group will usually want a set menu, a deposit and final numbers a few days ahead. That is normal and it works in your favour: the food comes out together and the bill is per head rather than an hour of arithmetic.

   Tell them about allergies and anyone who does not eat meat when you confirm the numbers, not on the night.

   Dress code is the restaurant's. If you are heading to a club afterwards, dress for the club, because the restaurant is the softer door.