There’s a particular point during The Open Championship week where Southport quietly changes and if you haven’t booked chauffeur travel for the Birkdale Open, you’ll start to see it more quickly than others.

It usually starts early in the morning. The roads become busier before breakfast. Coffee shops in Birkdale are suddenly full by 7am. Groups wearing hospitality passes begin appearing outside hotels across Liverpool, Formby and Southport. Then the queues start.

Not just outside Royal Birkdale Golf Club itself, but everywhere around it.

At stations. On roads leading into Southport. Outside restaurants. Along the coastal routes heading through Formby and Ainsdale. For one week this July, the entire region will operate differently and if you haven’t planned your transport properly beforehand, you’ll feel it very quickly.

During The Open, “We’ll Just Get a Taxi” Usually Doesn’t Work

Anyone local to Southport already understands how limited transport availability can become during a normal summer weekend. Now add one of the world’s biggest sporting events into the middle of that.

• Thousands of additional visitors.
• Corporate hospitality groups.
• International guests.
• Sponsors.
• Media teams.
• Private events.
• Golf societies.
• Executive hosting.

Suddenly, every available route into Birkdale becomes heavily pressured. One corporate guest who attended a previous Open Championship described the experience bluntly:

“We came up on the train thinking it would be straightforward. By the time we got to Birkdale station, the queue outside was unbelievable. Then trying to get back afterwards was even worse.”

That’s the part many people underestimate. Getting there is only half the challenge.

Ainsdale and Birkdale Stations Will Be Extremely Busy

Every Open Championship brings a major increase in pressure across the local rail network, particularly around Merseyrail services into Southport. Stations such as Birkdale and Ainsdale become exceptionally busy throughout the day, especially during peak arrival times in the morning and immediately after play finishes in the evening. Platforms become crowded and queues build quickly. Boarding slows down and return journeys become unpredictable.

For visitors unfamiliar with the area, it can come as a shock.

A journey that looked simple when planned weeks earlier suddenly becomes stressful once thousands of people are trying to do exactly the same thing at exactly the same time.

Unlike regular commuting, many guests attending The Open are doing so as part of hospitality experiences, corporate entertainment days, or client hosting arrangements where timing and presentation matter far more.

Hospitality Starts Before You Reach the Course

For businesses entertaining clients at The Open, transport isn’t separate from the experience. It becomes part of it. Imagine collecting an important client from their hotel in Liverpool. Breakfast hospitality opens early. Tee times and schedules are fixed. The day needs to flow properly from the very beginning.

Now compare two versions of that morning

Regular Attendee:

You’re checking train times repeatedly. Platforms are crowded. Guests are carrying travel bags through queues. Taxis around Southport are almost impossible to secure. Everyone arrives slightly stressed before the day has even started.

Pelorus Client:

Your chauffeur arrives early. Routes have already been checked for congestion. Drop-off arrangements are already planned. Guests step into a clean, quiet executive vehicle and arrive calmly at Royal Birkdale with everything running exactly to schedule.

The golf hasn’t even started yet, but the experience already feels completely different.

One events organiser attending a previous Open week explained it perfectly: “The transport side was actually what worried me most beforehand. Once Pelorus handled it, the whole week immediately became easier.”

That’s the real value – Removing friction before it appears.

Roads Around Southport and Birkdale Will Be Under Pressure

It won’t only be trains affected. Road traffic around Southport, Birkdale, Ainsdale and Formby is expected to increase substantially throughout Open week, particularly during hospitality hours and post-play departures.

Parking restrictions will be heavily enforced and traffic wardens will be active throughout the area. Police presence will increase significantly and temporary traffic systems are likely around key routes. If you’ve ever headed to a retail park near Aintree during Grand National weekend, you can double the traffic severity for the Open. 

For anyone planning to simply “drive and park nearby”, the reality is usually far less straightforward than expected. One local business owner who hosted clients during a previous tournament shared:

“We thought driving ourselves would be easier. In the end, finding parking and walking back through crowds completely changed the mood of the day.” – That’s often what gets overlooked.

The issue isn’t simply reaching the course. It’s maintaining the quality of the overall experience once you arrive, because during the Open, timing matters more than usual. The Open isn’t a normal sporting event.

• Hospitality slots are timed carefully.
• Guest arrivals matter.
• Corporate schedules are tight.
• Restaurant bookings continue after play finishes.
• Hotels across Liverpool and Southport operate at full capacity.

Small Delays Quickly Become Much Larger Problems

For those hosting clients, business contacts, or senior guests, running late doesn’t just create inconvenience. It changes the tone of the entire day.

That’s why many businesses now arrange professional chauffeur transport as early as possible, particularly for:

• Corporate hospitality groups
• Airport collections
• Hotel transfers
• Multi-day guest transport
• Evening hospitality travel
• Executive client hosting

Once the tournament week begins, availability across the region becomes increasingly limited. 

The Difference Between “Getting There” and Arriving Properly

Most people remember The Open for the atmosphere, the golf and the experience around the course.

What they rarely remember fondly are the queues, the delays, the parking issues or the stress of trying to coordinate travel in one of the busiest weeks Southport will see all year. That’s why experienced visitors plan this part early.

Not because it feels extravagant or because they want attention. But because they understand something simple: When you’re hosting guests, entertaining clients, or spending thousands on hospitality, the journey should match the standard of the event itself.

Plan Your Open Championship Travel Before Availability Tightens

With The Open Championship 2026 returning to Southport this July, transport across the region will become significantly busier as the tournament approaches.

Pelorus Chauffeurs provide dedicated hospitality and executive transport throughout Open week, helping guests, businesses and corporate groups travel smoothly across Southport, Liverpool, Formby and the wider North West.

Arrange your Open Championship transport early – Plan for Perfection with Pelorus Chauffeurs.