A PIECE OF HISTORY: AN ACCOUNT OF THE BEATLES' STAY AT THE FOUR SEASONS

In 1964 the Beatles stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel on the banks of Loch Earn. Now Beatles fans can follow in the footsteps of John, Paul, George and Ringo and experience a memorable stay at the Four Seasons hotel and chalet.

The following article comes from the Strathearn Herald, Crieff, Saturday 24th October 1964.

Late on Monday night [19 October, 1964], with rain dripping off floodlit trees, inverted in a plurality of puddles, four travel weary tourists from Liverpool arrive at the Four Seasons Hotel, St. Fillans.

They were staying for only two nights, but a reception committee waited to usher them and their retinue straight into the dining-room to partake of early morning nourishment.

The Beatles enjoyed four juicy steaks after a hard day's night at their show in Edinburgh [19 October, 1964: ABC Cinema, Edinburgh].

They went to bed early - on Tuesday morning - and slept long after sunrise. John and Paul, who shared a chalet, were out and about first.

They took a short walk on the shores of Loch Earn, whetting their appetite for lunch.

They found the invigorating fresh air a bit chilly, but waited to try to entice a dog into the loch by throwing sticks for it to retrieve. The dog was not playing, however, and refused to do more than paddle.

While John and Paul enjoyed lunch in the hotel dining-room, George and Ringo had breakfast in bed.

John and Paul later tried their hand at boating and went out on Loch Earn. After some confusion at the start, until everyone had learned how to drive their boats, they went off and beat up the loch for half-an-hour or so.

Ringo and George did not appear until it was almost time to leave for the Dundee concert. They were slow to appear in the morning, but were the last to go to bed on their return from Dundee.

Police had to be called to disperse several car loads of teenagers and students who had followed the group back from Dundee on Tuesday night.

Later on Tuesday a party was held for the four Liverpool tourists by the manager of the hotel and his friends.

Paul retired first and John followed. Ringo and George decided to take a boat out early on Wednesday morning and spent some time messing around on the pier.

On Wednesday morning the only Beatle to appear in public was Paul McCartney. The other three preferred the peaceful seclusion of their chalets to the quite bustle of the dining-room.

The handful of fans who had gathered hoping to have autograph books signed were disappointed when the Beatles' limousine collected the famous four from their chalet and drove straight off to Glasgow.

The Beatles like this part of the countryside and found the peace and quiet of St. Fillans a pleasant change. Paul wistfully wished he had a cottage there but realised it was out of the question.

The Beatles need a lot of sleep on their tours and the quiet of St. Fillans is the place to get it.


The original image was titled "Cool Man! Cool!" and captioned "Paul and John Beatle find the fresh air at Loch Earn rather chillier than the reception."