Our city is a popular destination for stag and hen parties because of its booming nightlife scene
Emilia Bona joined stag and hen parties in Liverpool city centre
Liverpool is one of the UK’s most popular destinations for stag and hen parties who descend on the city every weekend to enjoy our world-famous nightlife scene. Walking through Liverpool city centre on a Saturday night you’re sure to spot a steady stream of excited brides-to-be wearing makeshift veils and L-plates and sipping cocktails from phallic straws.
Similarly, the city’s bars, pubs and clubs are always a popular destination for stag parties, with Liverpool providing the stage for countless celebrations and memories made by visiting groups of weekend tourists. With Liverpool consistently being ranked among the best cities in the UK for stag and hen parties, I decided to try and join a group in the city centre to find out what makes our city so special.
I decided to head out on a Friday afternoon, as I assumed most stag and hen parties planning a two-night stay in the city would aim to arrive around lunchtime and almost immediately head to the nearest bar.
And where do you head if you’re trying to find a stag or hen do in Liverpool? Concert Square, of course.
The sun was shining on my Friday afternoon visit to the city’s clubland, and while most of the venues were just starting to ease into a big weekend, the huge communal beer garden at the centre of the square was already starting to fill up with customers.
I hadn’t even entered the beer garden before I spotted a table of women in matching blue t-shirts with one member of their party dressed head to toe in white. Bingo.
Where do you head if you’re trying to find a stag or hen do in Liverpool? Concert Square(Image: Liverpool Echo)
As I approached the group, I saw their tops were emblazoned with ‘Ruth’s Hen Weekend’ and seven women were sat around a long table at McCooley’s chatting happily, sipping on gin balloons and tucking into some stomach-lining chicken and chips.
The bride, Ruth Whalley, told me she’s getting married in October and quickly pointed me in the direction of her Maid of Honour and sister, Judith Whalley.
I was informed that Judith was “the one I needed to speak to” because she had planned the whole hen do and kept the entire thing secret from her sister Ruth.
The bride had no idea where she was heading until she arrived at the train station in her home city of Glasgow at 8am on Friday, July 25.
Judith said: “Ruth just said she didn’t want to go on a plane. We are both on our maternity leave at the minute and the wedding isn’t until October but she wanted to do the hen party now, and it’s the summer so we’ve got the nice weather.
“She probably knew we were going to go to Manchester or Newcastle or Liverpool but she had no idea until we got to the train station this morning. We were all wearing the masks with her fiancé’s face on them and then we told her where we were going.”
Asked why she opted for Liverpool out of her shortlist of three popular party cities, Judith said: “It’s just a city that’s got anything and everything you might want to do.”
The group, who would grow from seven to 10 on the Saturday when more friends and family members were set to arrive, had a full itinerary which Maid of Honour Judith had been planning since January.
A chilled start in Concert Square before checking into their city centre apartment would lead the group on to a night at the Bingo with a booking at Liverpool nightlife staple Bongo’s Bingo on the cards for Friday Night.
The plan for Sunday was a Mama Mia! bottomless brunch at Neighbourhood on Castle Street, priced at £45 per person for 90 minutes of bottomless drinks accompanied by a brunch dish, all set to the soundtrack of ABBA sing-a-longs and fun props.
Wishing the group a fun weekend, I headed on in my search to try and find a stag party who had arrived in the city.
As it turned out, my target was easy to find – mainly because the stag was walking down the street wearing a Pokémon bucket hat, flower garland, rainbow sunglasses and two giant foam fingers. You couldn’t miss him.
Emilia Bona joined stag and hen parties in Liverpool city centre
The stag in question was Ryan Cale from Evesham who is getting married in September and chose Liverpool as the destination for his stag along with eight close friends.
Ryan chose Liverpool for his big weekend because “he’s always here”. The groom-to-be told me he visits Liverpool “most weekends”, adding: “I just love the city, the nightlife is so great. I love going to the bars on Mathew Street, especially Rubber Soul”.
And while Ryan had a hand in choosing the destination of his stag, the rest of the weekend was planned by his friends as a total surprise.
Stepping aside to tell me their plans in secret, one of his friends said the best man had booked a night at Hot Water Comedy Club, as well as a session of ‘zorb football’ and an old school “PE day” for the friends to enjoy in between their pub sessions.
We stopped for a quick selfie on Victoria Street before they headed on to their accommodation to check in for the weekend.
Bongo’s Bingo, bottomless brunch and Rubber Soul were all words I had expected to hear when I left the Liverpool ECHO’s city centre office in search of stag and hen parties.
These popular events and venues help draw in a steady stream of tourists every single week, providing tourists with a high-energy party atmosphere that’s perfect for a special occasion.
It’s rare we get the opportunity to see our city from an outsider’s perspective, but I loved seeing how excited both sets of visitors were to spend a weekend drinking, dancing and having a good time in Liverpool.
Their itineraries were packed full of fun activities and silliness, and it was clear to see they were all game for a fun time. Stag and hen groups are a huge part of Liverpool’s nightlife, and I’m always happy to see people coming to our city for a great big party.