southport next week

We stayed on the outskirts of Southport when we watched The Open at Royal Birkdale about 5 years ago. Plenty of B&B's around, think after our recent run we'll defo be going now.

More than likely, but unfortunately can't make Eastleigh due to work, shame as it's localish.

Yes, 4 of us.
2nd longest pier in England I believe.
Looking forward to it.

Yeah it's bound to be

Hello Gasheads,

City fan in Peace 

As a Bristolian who has been living in Southport (missionary work, trying to teach the locals to hold knives & forks etc) for well over 20 years, I thought, in the interests of camaraderie, I would pass on some local knowledge re your trip next Saturday.

Travel
Travelling by train is a bit of a pain.  You would have to change stations at Liverpool Lime St.  The Southport trains run from Liverpool Central, not Lime St.  Its only a couple of hundred yards away and easy to find (almost dead in front) but it will be packed with shoppers and a ball ache.  Southport station is about a mile from Haig Ave, there are usually taxis freely available outside the station and they do not rip off.  Forget buses, town planning in Southport in non existent, to get any kind of bus from the station will require you to walk for a quarter of a mile in the wrong direction.

Car.

If coming up the M6 take Exit 26 (signposted Southport, Skelmersdale (and possibly) Ormskirk.  This will actually be the THIRD motorway exit you will see signposted 'Southport' but the other two bring you out on the wrong side of town, so ignore the first two exits and take J26.  The downside here is that you have to go through Ormskirk, which is a bottleneck at the best of times and Saturday (market day) is definitely NOT the best of times, so allow for delays of, say 10-15 mins.  Once through Ormskirk, the Southport Road brings you to a "Welcome to Southport" sign after about 7 miles and a gert big roundabout.  There is a McDonald's to your left and a B&Q to your right.  T'Other side of this roundabout are playing field and you will see Haig Ave behind them.

At the roundabout, you can take either the 3rd (bear left) or 4th (straight on) exit and Haig Avenue is about half a mile up.  You will have to find 'on street' parking as there is no carpark.  If you take the 5th exit at the roundabout, you get into a retail park (Aldi, PC World, Usual suspects) with loads of parking.  As always, there ware warning signs up but I have never actually seen parking Nazis there so you should be OK.  It is only a short walk to the ground from there.


Pubs

The nearest pubs to the ground are the Richmond (3 rd exit off roundabout/left hand side of the playing fields and the Thatch & Thistle 4th exit and rhs of the playing fields.  Both do food, I do not think people in colours would be welcomed in the Richmond, so if in shirts, try the Thatch & Thistle (has Sky TV so I assume is football friendly).  Both do food and both are fairly close to the ground.  Those not in Colours should do OK at the Richmond, although it does get busy on Saturdays (OK for a pint but you may have to wait on food and it isn't cheap in any event)  For those wanting snack, there is a newsagent on Haig Avenue, just yards from the ground.

I think that's it, if I think of anything else, I'll be back.

Hope you enjoy your trip to the seaside Saturday.

Come on you Yellows 

It is the second longest pier after Southend, my girlfriend is trying to go to every pier in the UK. Apparently it goes over a carpark and starts way in land. She didn't rate it, hadn't made the top ten of the 20 odd she's done.

She said it was odd, big fan if Penarth and Sandowne for all you pier fans.

Southwold my favourite

Suffice to say, Southport used to be the FOURTH longest pier, then numbers two and three burnt down


Now, I ain't saying' muffin'...