The Open returns to Royal Birkdale from 12 to 19 July 2026, and if you're planning a trip, Southport is the obvious place to base yourself. The town wraps around the course, the trains drop you almost at the gate, and you can be back on Lord Street for dinner within the hour. This guide is about the practical stuff: which part of Southport to stay in, and exactly how you'll get to the course each morning without sitting in tournament traffic. Rooms for Open week go early, so it pays to decide your base sooner rather than later.
Check current Southport availability and rates on Booking.com.
Key Takeaways
- Book early. Southport's rooms sell out for Open week, and the closer you are to Hillside station or the course, the faster they go.
- The nearest station to Royal Birkdale is Hillside on the Merseyrail Northern Line, roughly a five-minute walk from the main spectator entrance.
- There is no public parking at the course. All public parking is at pre-booked Park & Ride sites with shuttle buses, arranged through theopen.com.
- Staying near Hillside or Birkdale means you can walk or take one short train stop to the course; the town centre puts you near Lord Street's restaurants and a direct train to Hillside.
- Southport is a proper Victorian seaside town, so build in time for the pier, the promenade and the Sefton coast around the golf.
Choosing Your Southport Base for The Open 2026
Southport as the host town
Royal Birkdale sits on the coast between Southport and Ainsdale, just off the A565, and the town is effectively The Open's front room for the week. Stay in Southport and you're inside the atmosphere: golf talk in the pubs, the town busier than usual, and the course a short hop away rather than a cross-county drive. It also means you can watch a full day's play and still be somewhere good for dinner without a long journey home.
Why your exact spot matters
The course is a couple of miles south of Southport's town centre, so where you stay changes your daily commute more than you'd expect. The single most useful thing to check before you book is how you'll reach the course each morning. The Merseyrail Northern Line is the answer for most people: Hillside is the closest station, about a five-minute walk from the main public entrance, with Birkdale one stop further back. A base within walking distance of either station takes the daily transport question off the table entirely.
Balancing the golf with the town
Southport is a classic British seaside resort with a wide Victorian boulevard, one of the longest piers in the country, and miles of dunes and sand on its doorstep. Your choice of base sets the tone for the non-golf hours. Town centre puts restaurants and the promenade at your feet; the villages closer to the course trade some of that buzz for a quieter evening. Neither is wrong, so pick for how you want the off-course time to feel.
Getting to Royal Birkdale: the transport that makes Southport work
This is where a Southport base earns its keep. Here's how the links actually work, so you can match your accommodation to the way you plan to travel.
The train: Hillside station on the Merseyrail Northern Line
Hillside is the nearest station to Royal Birkdale, sitting on the Southport branch of the Merseyrail Northern Line, and it's roughly a five-minute walk from the main spectator entrance. For Open week, Merseyrail plans a service every 20 minutes between Southport and Hillside, stepping up to every 10 minutes at the busiest times, with a similar frequency running through to Liverpool Central and Moorfields. Birkdale is the stop before Hillside, adding a slightly longer walk to the course at around a mile. If you can base yourself within walking distance of Hillside or Birkdale, your commute becomes a short stroll or a single stop on the train.
Wider connections
The Northern Line links Hillside with Southport, Ormskirk, Headbolt Lane, Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Central, so most of the region feeds onto one line. Arriving into Liverpool Lime Street on a national service means a roughly 10-minute walk to Liverpool Central to pick up the Merseyrail train north. That reach is why plenty of visitors stay in Southport and let the trains do the daily work.
Driving and Park & Ride
If you're bringing a car, plan around the fact that there is no public parking at the course or in the streets immediately around it. Public parking for The Open is provided through pre-booked Park & Ride sites, with shuttle buses running to the course entrance across the day; passes are arranged in advance through theopen.com, and pre-booked Blue Badge parking is the exception. In practice this means a base near a station is usually simpler than driving, and if you do drive, sort your Park & Ride pass before you travel rather than hoping to park nearby.
The quick rule of thumb: pick your Southport base by which station you can walk to. Near Hillside or Birkdale and you can walk or ride one stop to the course; in the town centre and you take a direct Merseyrail train to Hillside; further out and you're relying on Park & Ride and shuttle buses, which works but needs booking ahead.
Where to Stay in Southport, Area by Area
Southport breaks down into a few distinct areas, and each one suits a different kind of trip. Here's how we'd weigh them up for Open week.
Town centre: Lord Street and the promenade
Basing yourself in the town centre puts Lord Street's restaurants, cafes and bars on your doorstep, along with the promenade and Marine Lake for an evening walk. From here you catch a direct Merseyrail train to Hillside for the course, so you get the best of both worlds: a lively base for the evenings and a simple train commute in the morning. The trade-off is that central Southport hotels are the first to fill for a major event, so this is the option to lock in earliest.
- On your doorstep: Lord Street's shops and restaurants, the pier and the promenade.
- Evenings: the widest choice of places to eat and drink after play.
- Getting to the course: a direct Merseyrail train to Hillside, then a short walk.
Birkdale and Hillside: closest to the course
Birkdale village and the residential streets around Hillside station are the closest bases to Royal Birkdale. Stay here and your morning commute can be a walk or a single train stop, which is hard to beat during a busy tournament week. Birkdale village itself has independent shops, cafes and pubs, so you're not short of somewhere to eat, even if the choice is smaller than in the town centre. This is the area to target if minimising your daily travel is the priority.
- Closest to the golf: walking distance or one stop from the course.
- Local feel: Birkdale village's independent shops and pubs.
- Quieter evenings: more residential than the town centre, so calmer after play.
Ainsdale, Churchtown and the villages
The villages around Southport give you a more laid-back base. Ainsdale sits just south of the course near the dunes and its own Merseyrail station, while Churchtown, to the north, is an old village with a conservation area and traditional pubs. These spots suit visitors who want a quieter, more local stay and don't mind a short train ride or drive to the golf. Check the train frequency from your chosen station before booking, and if you plan to drive, remember the Park & Ride rules apply here too.
- Local flavour: a more residential, village side of the coast.
- Quieter crowds: a step back from the busiest streets.
- Check the line: Ainsdale is on the Merseyrail Northern Line; confirm frequency for your travel days.
Types of stay to consider
Across those areas you'll find the full range: whole-house holiday lets that suit groups who want space and the option to self-cater, boutique and independent hotels that put you close to Lord Street, traditional bed and breakfasts run by locals who know the coast, and serviced apartments with a kitchen for anyone staying the full week. Match the type to your group and your budget, but let the area, and its distance from a station, be the deciding factor for Open week.
For anywhere you're considering, pull up a map and check the walk to the nearest Merseyrail station before you book. That one check tells you more about how smooth your week will be than the star rating does.
Booking Your Southport Stay for The Open 2026
Book early, and be specific
Once you've settled on an area, the booking itself is the urgent part. Accommodation for a major event like The Open goes quickly, and the rooms nearest the course and the stations go first. Booking well ahead gives you the pick of the places that are genuinely convenient rather than whatever's left. If you have flexibility, aim to have your base confirmed months out.
Look beyond the big listing sites
The large booking platforms are a good starting point, but they don't show everything. Southport has letting agents and holiday-let specialists who handle short stays for events, and they sometimes hold properties that never reach the mainstream sites. They also know the town, so they can steer you towards somewhere that's actually close to a station or the course rather than just “in Southport”. It's worth a bit of digging alongside the usual searches.
Plan the daily journey before you commit
If your chosen place isn't within walking distance of the course, decide how you'll travel before you book, not after. Check which station serves your accommodation and how often the trains run on your dates, and if you'll drive, secure a Park & Ride pass in advance through theopen.com. A slightly less central base can be better value, but only if the journey to Royal Birkdale is sorted. Taxis will be in heavy demand all week, so treat them as a backup rather than the plan.
Making the Most of Southport Beyond the Golf
Royal Birkdale is the reason you're here, but Southport and the Sefton coast give you plenty to fill the hours between rounds. A little planning turns a golf trip into a proper few days away.
Southport's Victorian side
Southport's character comes from its Victorian heyday. Lord Street is a wide, tree-lined boulevard of independent shops, cafes and covered verandas, and a pleasant place for an evening stroll. Southport Pier, which opened in 1860, is the oldest iron pier in the country and the second longest in Britain after Southend, so it's worth the walk out over the sands for the views. Hesketh Park, near the north end of Lord Street and opened in 1868, adds a calm green space with gardens and a conservatory if you want a slower morning.
Coast, dunes and fresh air
The Sefton coast is one of the region's real assets. Ainsdale Sand Dunes National Nature Reserve, established in 1965, protects a rare stretch of lime-rich dunes and is one of the last strongholds of the natterjack toad. It's an easy contrast to the manicured lines of the golf course, all open sand and marram grass, and a good place to blow the cobwebs off between days at the tournament.
Eating and drinking
Southport is well set up for eating out, with Lord Street lined by everything from casual spots to more formal dining, plus traditional pubs across the town and in the villages. It's a natural place to unpick the day's play over a pint or a local ale, and being on the coast, the fish and chips are worth seeking out. For a more local feel, head slightly out of the centre into Birkdale or Churchtown.
A few easy additions to a golf trip:
- Lord Street: the main boulevard for restaurants, cafes and independent shops.
- Southport Pier: the country's oldest iron pier, with long views over the sands.
- Hesketh Park: a quiet Victorian park near the top of Lord Street.
- Ainsdale dunes: coastal nature reserve within easy reach of the course.
- Birkdale village: independent shops and pubs a short step from Royal Birkdale.
Stay in Southport and you're not only at The Open; you're in a genuine seaside town with the coast, the pier and the promenade all close by. Leave a little room in the schedule to enjoy it.
Ready for The Open 2026?
The short version: pick your Southport area by which Merseyrail station you can walk to, book early because the good options go first, and sort your journey to the course before you commit. Near Hillside or Birkdale for the shortest commute, the town centre for the liveliest base with a direct train, or a village for a quieter stay with a little more travel. Get those three decisions right and the golf takes care of itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which station is nearest to Royal Birkdale for The Open 2026?
Hillside station, on the Merseyrail Northern Line, is the closest to the course, roughly a five-minute walk from the main spectator entrance. Birkdale is the stop before it, a little further from the course on foot.
Can I park at Royal Birkdale during The Open?
There is no public parking at the course or the streets around it. Public parking is provided at pre-booked Park & Ride sites with shuttle buses to the entrance, arranged in advance through theopen.com, with pre-booked Blue Badge parking the exception.
How early should I book my accommodation in Southport?
As soon as you can. Rooms for Open week sell out well ahead, and the places nearest the course and the stations go first, so aim to confirm your base months in advance for the best choice.
Is it better to stay near the course or in Southport town centre?
Near Hillside or Birkdale gives you the shortest commute, often a walk or one train stop. The town centre puts you close to Lord Street's restaurants with a direct Merseyrail train to Hillside. Both work well; it comes down to whether you value a shorter journey or more on your doorstep in the evenings.
How do I get around Southport during the tournament?
The Merseyrail Northern Line is the backbone, running frequently between Southport, Hillside and Liverpool during Open week. Local buses and taxis fill the gaps, though taxis will be in heavy demand, and roads will be busier than usual, so allow extra time.
What else is there to do in Southport apart from the golf?
Plenty. Walk out along Southport Pier, stroll Lord Street and the promenade, explore the Ainsdale dunes on the Sefton coast, or spend a quiet hour in Hesketh Park, with pubs and restaurants across the town for the evenings.
