Journey planning advice for weekend of ‘royal’ events

Journey planning advice for weekend of ‘Royal’ events

Drivers heading to Merseyside and Cheshire on one of the region’s busiest weekends of the year will be helped on their journeys by Highways England.

Wednesday next week (19 July) kicks off a five-day ‘long weekend’ of events starting with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Flower Show at Tatton Park near Knutsford in Cheshire, closely followed on the Thursday (20) by the competition stage of the Open Golf tournament at Royal Birkdale near Southport in Merseyside.

The motorway network around Cheshire and Merseyside, as well as parts of Lancashire, is likely to be particularly busy at key times around the weekend.

Chris Chadwick, Highways England’s events planning manager for the North West, said: “Next week promises to be a very busy one in parts of the region.  Our traffic officers will be working around the clock as usual to help keep drivers on the move – including responding to incidents and setting signs warning drivers of any congestion, incidents or diversion advice.

“All drivers, whether or not they are heading to the golf or horticultural show, can help themselves by planning their routes and checking for traffic and congestion before setting out on journeys.”

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Practice sessions at Royal Birkdale will begin on Sunday (July 16), 4 days before the start of the tournament proper. Between 30,000 and 40,000 people a day are expected to attend the tournament with up to 80,000 visitors over the 5 days of the ever popular RHS Show.

Highways England will be using signs to give journey advice for the events and its traffic officers will be on the look-out for any incidents or congestion on the motorway network.

The Royal Horticultural Society’s website features full information about the show including public transport options and advice for drivers with a dedicated journey planning page here: www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-flower-show-tatton-park/plan-your-visit. The show is open between 10am and 6.30pm each day except on the Sunday when it closes at 5pm.

More information about journey planning for the golf tournament is available at: www.theopen.com/Spectators/GettingThere

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Highways England provides live traffic information via its website at www.trafficengland.com local and national radio travel bulletins, electronic road signs and mobile apps. Local Twitter services are also available at @highwaysNWEST.