Liverpool Overnight

Your weekend, day by day

1. 1

   Day 1

   

   Add-on

   Bowling, darts & pool

   From about 14:00 · 1.5 hours

   Arrival day. Travel in and check in to the apartment. If the group picks bowling and darts, it runs in the afternoon: lanes or oches reserved for a block of time, with automatic scoring and a bar alongside.

   More about this+

   Bowling and darts are all walkable from the main stations. A boutique bowling alley sits a stone's throw from Liverpool Central, and a lane-and-drink package in Clayton Square gives each player around ten minutes' bowling. Electronic darts run in one-hour blocks near Lime Street and on College Lane and Rainford Square, typically for eight to twenty people with two drinks each; one venue caps each oche at twelve. American pool tables are hired for about 45 minutes. Packages with drinks are over-18s only.

   You book a set number of lanes or oches for an hour or two and play through a scored league or a knockout. Scoring is automatic, shoes are handed over at the desk and the staff will set up a group format if you ask.

   It is low effort, indoors and cheap to add drinks to, which is why it survives on almost every weekend. Nobody needs to be good at it and nobody gets hurt.

   Socks are needed for bowling. Beyond that, wear what you like.

   

   Add-on

   Guided bar crawl

   From about 20:30 · 3.5 hours

   The evening is built around the reserved table. Groups that want the night run for them can add a guided bar crawl, moving through a run of bars and finishing at a club. Dress for the last door: no sportswear.

   More about this+

   A private guided crawl meets on Bold Street at 7pm and finishes at 11pm, with three or four bars and club entry. Around Mathew Street, bar passes cover five bars with a shot in each from 5pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Drag-hosted crawls through the Cavern Quarter and the gay village start at 6pm on Saturdays and are public unless you upgrade. Self-led routes arrive a week before. Bring photo ID, leave fancy dress at home for the guided crawl, and pace it: doors refuse anyone who has had too much.

   You meet the guide at a fixed point and move through a run of bars across the evening, usually four or five, finishing at a club. The guide knows the doors, so you skip the queue and the group is not turned away for being too large.

   Most crawls include a welcome drink or a shot at each stop, and entry to the final venue. The rest is on you. Groups from several bookings are often merged, which some stags like and some do not, so ask whether yours is private.

   Dress code is the club's, not the guide's. No trainers and no sportswear at the last venue, and matching shirts get refused at some doors.

2. 2

   Day 2

   

   Activity bar (games, darts, shuffleboard)

   From about 12:00 · 1.5 hours

   Departure day. If the group picks the activity bar, it is a reserved booth with darts or shuffleboard and the screens keeping score, with food and drinks ordered at the table. A relaxed way to finish before the journey home.

   More about this+

   Liverpool's games bars cluster in the centre: one on St George's Place, about six minutes' walk from Lime Street, another in Clayton Square, plus options on College Lane and Rainford Square. The stag package is two hours with two games, two drinks each and a host, with slots hourly from midday to 6pm. Just off Concert Square, a pool bar offers a private room with pool and footpool for up to 20, or a reserved area for 20 or more. Beer pong on Seel Street runs 90 minutes, Saturdays 3pm to 8pm.

   You get a reserved area for a set block of time, with the games on your table or lane and someone on hand to explain the scoring. Most venues run digital darts, shuffleboard, beer pong or a mix of all three, and the screens keep score so nobody argues.

   Drinks and food are ordered at the table. Some venues include a drink or a platter in the booking, others put it on a tab. Check which you have before you arrive so the money side is settled.

   No kit needed. Wear what you would wear to the pub. Trainers are fine.