AIG Women's Open: Royal Lytham & St Annes

The AIG Women's Open Championship is set to begin at Royal Lytham & St Annes in Lancashire.

Since it first began in 1976, the championship has become one of five majors in professional women's golf and it returns to Royal Lytham and St Annes for its 50th staging from 29 July to 2 August.

Thousands of spectators are expected to attend the championship, where 144 elite golfers will compete alongside the world's leading amateur players for the Smyth Salve cup.

As Royal Lytham & St Annes hosts the tournament for the sixth time, here is all you need to know about the championship.

Lytham St Annes is 5 miles (8km) south of Blackpool, 18 miles (28km) west of Preston.

The AIG Women's Open Championship was last held at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2018.

Lytham has also hosted The Open, 11 times and the Ryder Cup twice. It has also hosted The Amateur Championship, the Senior Open and the Walker Cup.

Public parking for the event is free of charge and is located a short distance from the main entrance of the club, according to organisers.

The car park is located on Preston New Road and drivers are advised to follow black and yellow AA signs.

Event organisers have advised spectators to use public transport or to consider sharing lifts with others. They have also advised people staying in the local area to consider walking, wheeling or cycling to the course.

Bicycle parking will be available near the main entrance for those wishing to cycle to the venue.

For more information on route planning, there is a travel assistant tool on the AIG Women's Open website.

St Annes-on-the-Sea is the closest train station and is around a 20 minute walk from Royal Lytham & St Annes.

More information, including timings can be found on the Northern website.

For those travelling by tram, organisers at AIG have said bus services will be running between Blackpool Town Centre, Lytham, Preston and the surrounding area to the perimeter of the golf course.

Blackpool Transport's Service 11 from Blackpool/Lytham and Stagecoach's Service 68 from Preston stop at Lindsay Avenue bus stop - a five minute walk away from the main entrance.

For more information on specific routes see the Blackpool Transport website and the Stagecoach website.

Visitors arriving into Blackpool North Station are advised to walk to Market Street to access bus and tram services.

Temporary traffic and parking restrictions will be in place on surrounding roads during the course of the Championship week, according to Fylde Council.

Areas of temporary no waiting and no loading zones will be in place from 26 July to 2 August on:

• St Thomas' Road
• Links Gate
• Beauclerk Road
• Lima Road
• Lindsay Avenue
• Haymarket
• Holmefield Road
• Lawrence Avenue
• Banbury Road
• Berwick Road
• St Patrick's Road South
• Church Road
• Greenways
• Albany Road
• South Promenade

There will be temporary one-way traffic measures during the week on:

• Links Gate
• Lindsay Avenue's junction with Haymarket, leading onto Beauclerk Road and Lima Road to its junction with Wentworth Mews

All details of these restrictions can be found on the Lancashire County Council website.

The public right of way that runs across the golf course will be closed to the public for the duration of event week.

Both the green on the South Promenade and the recreational grounds off Lima Road will be closed from Saturday 25 July to Monday 3 August, as they are being used for event parking.

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