About Town: Southport
By Ceri Mobley, PGATOUR.com Associate Site Producer
The PGA TOUR makes its annual trip across the Atlantic Ocean for the British Open this week at Royal Birkdale in Southport. You'll have to excuse me if I get a little too excited in this installment of About Town; this Brit doesn't get to go home too often, and the seaside town of Southport is just around the corner from Liverpool, where I spent a lot of time in my childhood.
Get ready to let me live vicariously through you if you're headed across the pond for the third major of the year. From comfort foods to insatiable fanhood, I promise I've got some good stuff in store.
SOMEWHERE TO SLEEP
Like many British resort towns, Southport isn't very big. If you don't already have reservations, you're not going to find them here. But don't worry, nothing is too far away from anywhere in England, so I've got a few options that are still available and easily within driving distance -- that is if you're brave enough to drive on the other side of the road in a manual car. Even I get freaked out by that.
• Rule Brittania: If you're willing to spend 45 minutes in the car to get to the course, then the Britannia Adelphi Hotel is your best bet for value at this late notice. The three-star Adelphi, built in 1914, is in the heart of Liverpool and recently refurbished all 402 bedrooms. It has restaurants on site as well as a sauna and heated marble indoor pool. Rates start at $178 a night.
• Liverpool luxury: Maybe you really want to make a vacation to remember out of this trip and are ready to splash out on a fancy room. If so, then the Radisson SAS Hotel is for you. This four-star modern beauty has everything you look for in a big-city hotel and is less than 35 minutes to Royal Birkdale by car. Rates start at, gasp, $494 a night.
• Country comfort: Let me guess, you've always wanted to stay in a quaint English country inn? Well if you don't mind an hour's drive to the tournament, then book a room at the Egerton House Hotel in Bolton, just east of Southport. Set in the Lancashire Hills, the three-star Egerton House Hotel is exactly what you picture when you think of a weekend away in the English countryside. Rates start at $134 a night.
SOMETHING TO SNACK ON
Stop right there if you hate English food. I won't hear any of it. Maybe I'm biased. Maybe I'm brainwashed. Maybe I plain don't know any better. But one of the things I miss the most about home is the grub. I've got my comfort favorites that you probably wouldn't like, but, you know what? I don't really care for grits. Or maple syrup on breakfast sausages for that matter. Or American pancakes. Or collard greens. But I digress. The important thing to know is that despite its rough reputation when it comes to dinner time, England has some fabulous restaurants, and Liverpool is one of the better cities you could opt to dine in. So put your concerns aside and have a little trust in this native. After all, if you don't listen to me, you're on your own, and who knows what will happen then?
• Cloisters Dining Rooms: Located in Southport, this restaurant serves up healthy foods internationally inspired but with a British twist. Most of the menu is char-grilled and cooked over hot coals, and the atmosphere while you eat is reflective of an English farmhouse -- with a little pizzazz.
• FiftyOne The Promenade: Also in Southport, this Italian joint serves fresh local fish, meat and vegetables a la Italia. If you check out the menu online and nothing jumps out at you, you can call ahead and put in a special order to suit your cravings. That'll make you feel important.
• 60 Hope Street: Considered one of the finest places to dine in Liverpool, 60 Hope Street is set in a Georgian-style building with a bistro in the basement. With items such as pan-fried halibut with Southport shrimp and roast loin of Cumbrian venison on the menu, you're sure to get a taste of classy English cuisine elevated to the highest level.
• Fish 'n chips: I don't care where you are. Liverpool, Southport, Manchester ... 100 miles away for all I care, just make sure you find a chip shop and dig in to some beer-battered cod with golden-fried, salt-and-vinegar-slathered (or curry sauce if you prefer) chips bundled all around it. If I can talk you into it, try a battered sausage, too, while you're there. (Looks like PGATOUR.com's T.J. Auclair and Mark Spoor are going to be too scared to try, but we'll see.) They don't make it like this anywhere else in the world. I promise.
SOMETHING TO TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT
The great thing about Southport is how close it is to so many great attractions in the area. If you can drag yourself away from one of golf's biggest stadiums, you won't have any time to be bored, and you won't have any time to think about jet lag.
• As tricky as British summertime can be, when it's nice, it's perfect. And the west coast of England provides nothing but beautiful spots to enjoy it. Close to Southport, you'll find Sefton's Natural coast -- a meld of beaches, dunes and marshes -- that's home to wildlife galore. Comprising 21 miles of beaches, Sefton begs to be explored and to waste away some of your time. One of the unique things about the area is the display of artwork dotted along three kilometers of the shore -- 100 cast-iron, life-size statues that stretch out even beyond the waves.
• Back in the city, a must-do is Albert Dock in Liverpool. Celebrating the city's maritime roots with its location, the dock showcases the Merseyside city with attractions such as the Tate Liverpool art museum, the Merseyside Maritime Museum, the International Slavery Museum, "Yellow Duckmarine" Tours and more. There are also tons of shops and restaurants to provide the material yin to your culture yang.
• Eight Days a Week. Can't Buy Me Love. Penny Lane. Hey Jude. I Want to Hold Your Hand. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. She Loves You. You know them all, right? Everybody does. And you can't come to this part of the country without making a stop at the Beatles Story to learn about how John, Paul, Ringo and George came to be.
• If I say "You'll never walk alone," do you know what I am talking about? Regardless of whether you do or you don't, you need to put a tour of Liverpool FC's Anfield stadium on your list this week (that's the title of the team's anthem, for those of you who didn't know). This football club is one of the premier clubs in the world, and I grew up in love with it. Liverpool is to Manchester United as the Red Sox are to the Yankees (I say it in that order because, well, I don't like the Yankees.) If you've ever been intrigued by football fanaticism, then this is the place to discover it. Tours take place every day -- even on game days. Learn how to chant "Come on you Reds," and head to Anfield.
STICKING AROUND?
I've done it myself before, but a trip across the Atlantic for only a few days is pretty exhausting, so you're crazy if you haven't planned a few days before or after the big event to make the most of your trip. If you do have some spare time to explore, here are a couple of suggestions:
• Blackpool: Forget Paris; this west-coast town has a tower all its own. You might even be able to fool your more gullible friends with a picture in front of this baby. The tower, however, is not all Blackpool has to offer. It's a quintessential beach town with a theme park, beaches, a wildlife park, a mirror-ball dance hall, lively nightlife, a boating lake and so much more -- with adorable trams to cart you around. It's a true English holiday spot.
• Dublin: The ferry to Ireland's capital city leaves out of the port of Liverpool, and there are 12 crossings a week. It's an eight-hour trip, but it's an affordable way to travel -- even cheaper if you go without a car. Dublin's an easy city to get around, so you're probably better off without a car anyway. If you've already been, there's no way you don't want to go back. If you've never been, here's your chance.
So, until next week, I hope you enjoy your stay. Tell Ol' Blighty "hello" from me.
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