Staying in Formby for The Open 2026

I'll tell you where I'd stay for The Open 2026 if I wasn't already local. Not Southport: that's been booked solid since the tournament was confirmed. Not Birkdale itself: there are maybe 200 hotel rooms within walking distance of the course and every one of them was gone before the ink dried on the hosting announcement. Not Ormskirk: fine place, but you're adding a train connection. Formby.

Why Formby works

Formby is about eight miles south of Royal Birkdale. By car on a normal day that's 20 minutes. During Open week with road closures, the sensible move is to drive to Formby station and take Merseyrail directly to Birkdale: one stop, four minutes. From Birkdale station to the course on foot is 12–15 minutes. The total journey is completely manageable and you skip the chaos of Southport town centre entirely.

Formby itself is a proper village: National Trust pinewoods, a genuinely good beach, decent restaurants, a Waitrose. It has the feel of somewhere people actually live rather than a resort that exists purely to service visitors. The accommodation options are a mix of B&Bs, holiday lets, and Airbnbs, and at this point there's still availability at prices that aren't completely unreasonable.

The commute to the course

Merseyrail Northern Line: Formby station direct to Birkdale. No changes. Four minutes. A day ticket allows you to come and go freely: useful if you want to return to your accommodation between morning golf and afternoon spectating, or to avoid the end-of-play crowds at the course.

Formby is worth visiting in its own right

If you're making a multi-day trip to The Open, Formby makes the non-golf days worthwhile. The National Trust red squirrel trail at Formby is one of the most accessible places to see red squirrels in England: there's a population of 1,000–1,500 in the pinewoods and a morning walk the day before the championship would be a genuinely good start to the trip. Formby Beach has wide sands and proper dunes and on a July morning it's a fine place to be.

Practical notes

Airbnb in Formby is the best option at this stage. Search within a mile of Formby station for easy rail access to Birkdale. Check cancellation policies carefully: Open week accommodation is non-refundable in most cases. One more thing: the weather in July on the Sefton Coast is genuinely unpredictable. You might be watching golf in 24-degree sunshine. You might be watching it in a 20mph westerly and driving rain. Open week in Lancashire has seen both within the same afternoon. Pack accordingly.