Show parking is £10 all day at Princes Park and Birkdale and cannot be pre-booked; Sefton's Esplanade car park is £5.50. The 2027 show runs 19-22 August.
Southport Flower Show ran at Victoria Park from Thursday 20 to Sunday 23 August 2026. Gates opened at 10am each day, closing at 6pm from Thursday to Saturday and 5pm on Sunday, the gate price was £32, and anyone in a PR8 or PR9 postcode paid £20. Show parking was £10 a day; Sefton’s own Esplanade car park, a few minutes further out, charges £5.50 and holds more than a thousand cars. The 2027 dates are now out: Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 August 2027, same park, same 10am to 6pm hours with a 5pm Sunday close, and early bird tickets are already on sale. (Southport Flower Show)
The show, which its organisers bill as the UK’s largest independent flower show, fills the park off the Esplanade with show gardens, the Grand Floral Marquee, a cookery theatre, a garden theatre, a pop-up shopping village and what it describes as the largest amateur growers’ competition in the country. New for 2026 are The Lakeside Reset and a Waterstones pop-up book festival with author appearances. (What’s on)
Southport Flower Show 2027 parking: the short answer
Checked on the show’s own FAQ page on 8 September 2026, and the parking arrangements carried over unchanged into the 2027 listing:
- £10 all day is the official rate, and it is a ceiling, not a starting price. The show’s wording: “if you are paying more than £10 to park, it is not an official Southport Flower Show car park.”
- Two official public car parks. Princes Park, within walking distance of the gates, and Birkdale (PR8 2LX), which runs a park-and-ride shuttle in.
- Blue Badge parking is at the Esplanade Eco Centre, PR8 1RX, also £10 all day.
- You cannot pre-book any of it. There is no advance booking, so Princes Park is first come, first served and fills first.
- The cheap alternative is Sefton Council’s Esplanade pay-and-display: £5.50 for the day, 7am to 7pm, more than a thousand spaces, a walk in along the Marine Lake. That is £4.50 less than the official rate for a car without a Blue Badge.
- Drop-off and pick-up is by Duke Street, at Gate 4. Coach parking is next to the Eco Visitor Centre and has to be arranged by email beforehand.
The 2027 show runs Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 August at Victoria Park.
Southport Flower Show 2026 ticket prices
The show’s own FAQ sets out the structure. On the gate a standard adult ticket is £32, with advance and early-bird discounts still on sale through the show’s website. Children under 16 go free with a paying adult. Local residents in PR8 and PR9 pay £20 for 2026, groups of ten or more pay £20 per ticket plus fees, and on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday anyone arriving after 3pm pays a £20 late-entry price. Carers are admitted free with supporting documentation. (Southport Flower Show FAQs)
| Ticket | 2026 price | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, on the gate | £32 | Any one show day |
| Advance or early bird | Cheaper than the gate, price set at checkout | Flexible, usable on any one show day |
| PR8 or PR9 resident | £20 | Proof of address, sold in person at five Southport outlets |
| Group of 10 or more | £20 plus fees | One complimentary ticket and free coach parking included |
| Late entry, after 3pm Fri to Sun | £20 | Leaves at most three hours before closing |
| Child under 16 | Free | With a paying adult |
| Carer | Free | With a paying adult who needs one, evidence required |
| All-day parking | £10 | Princes Park, Birkdale Common park-and-ride, Esplanade Eco Centre for Blue Badge |
Southport Flower Show 2027 tickets: early bird is £21 plus fees
The show’s ticket agent, Ticket Quarter, is already selling the 2027 any-one-day early bird ticket at £21.00 plus fees, which its listing shows as from £22.57 once fees are added. Checked on 15 September 2026. It covers one day of your choice between Thursday 19 and Sunday 22 August 2027, children under 16 still go free with a paying adult, a personal assistant is admitted free, and PR8 and PR9 residents are told they are entitled to a reduced ticket. Against the £32 paid on the gate in 2026, the early bird saves about £9.40 a head. The 2027 gate price has not been published. (Ticket Quarter, Southport Flower Show 2027)
Where PR8 and PR9 residents buy the £20 ticket
The resident price is not sold online. The show lists five places to buy it in person, with proof of residency: The Atkinson on Lord Street, Waterstones on Chapel Street, Busy Body’s in Birkdale (cash only), Checkers in Churchtown (cash only) and the Lions Charity Shop in Ainsdale. Those tickets are flexible and can be used on any one of the four show days. (Southport Flower Show FAQs)
The £2 train fare that undercuts the £10 car park
Merseyrail is charging £2 for a return to Southport from any other Merseyrail station on the show dates, applied automatically when you tap in and out with the same contactless card, device or MetroCard. Discounted show tickets are also sold at any staffed Merseyrail station. For two people that is £4 against £10 to park, before the walk from Princes Park. (Southport Flower Show FAQs)
Who is appearing
Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke returns to the show, and the guest list also includes Mr Motivator, Rob Rinder, Phil Vickery, Su Pollard, bakers Briony May Williams and Candice Brown, and children’s entertainers Justin Fletcher and Andy Day. (Southport Flower Show)
Some appearances are pinned to days. Thursday 20 August is the strongest day for wildlife and gardening names: BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Adam Frost takes the garden theatre at 11am and 2pm, Springwatch’s Iolo Williams appears at 12pm alongside fellow presenter Megan McCubbin, and Briony May Williams leads the cookery theatre. Gardeners’ World designer Joe Swift is at the show on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 August. Day-by-day times for the remaining guests are on the show’s what’s on page. (What’s on)
Southport Flower Show parking, and the £5.50 alternative
Checked 2 September 2026. Two things the show now states outright in its own FAQ, and both are worth knowing before you set off:
- “If you are paying more than £10 to park, it is not an official Southport Flower Show car park.” That is the organisers’ own wording. £10 is the ceiling on every official car park, so anything charging more on show days is somebody else’s field.
- You cannot pre-book parking. There is no advance booking for any of the show car parks, so arriving early is the only way to secure a space at Princes Park, the closest one.
The drop-off and pick-up point is by Duke Street, at Gate 4. The Birkdale Common park-and-ride site (PR8 2LX) is at Royal Birkdale Golf Club; the car park itself is nearby and signposted rather than at the club. Coach parking sits next to the Eco Visitor Centre and has to be arranged by email in advance.
The show has already confirmed the same £10 all-day rate for 2027, so the arithmetic below still holds for next August. What it has not yet published is the 2027 gate price.
All-day event parking is £10, at Princes Park and at Birkdale Common (PR8 2LX), which runs a park-and-ride shuttle to the showground; Blue Badge parking, also £10, is at the Esplanade Eco Centre (PR8 1RX). Coach parking must be arranged in advance. (Southport Flower Show FAQs)
The show does not own the only car park within walking distance, and that is where the money is. Sefton Council stopped running its Southport Park and Ride on 1 April 2024 and turned the Esplanade site into an ordinary pay-and-display car park: £5.50 for the day, with room for more than a thousand cars. That is the same Esplanade the show uses for its Blue Badge parking at £10, so a car without a Blue Badge parks on the seafront for £4.50 less than it costs on the showground side, and walks in along the Marine Lake. (Sefton Council)
| Where you park | Day rate | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Princes Park, show parking | £10 | Closest to the gates, fills first |
| Birkdale Common, PR8 2LX | £10 | Shuttle bus to the showground, no walk |
| Esplanade Eco Centre, PR8 1RX | £10 | Blue Badge only |
| Esplanade pay and display, Sefton Council, PR8 1RR | £5.50 | 1,000+ spaces, 7am to 7pm, walk in past the Marine Lake |
| Merseyrail return from any station | £2 | No car; £4 for two people against £10 to park |
For two people the £2 Merseyrail return beats every car park on the list, and it is the only option that does not put you in the queue to get out of a field at 6pm.
Dogs are welcome on leads, up to two per booking, though they are kept out of catering areas apart from assistance dogs. The park is level throughout, and mobility scooters and wheelchairs can be booked ahead through Event Mobility. (Southport Flower Show FAQs)
If you are coming by rail, our Southport train times page covers the routes into town, and it is worth checking current roadworks before driving in on show days.
Common questions
Where do you park for Southport Flower Show?
The show sells all-day parking at Princes Park, next to Victoria Park, and at Birkdale Common (PR8 2LX), which runs a shuttle bus to the showground. Sefton Council’s Esplanade pay-and-display car park is the cheaper option within walking distance.
How much is parking at Southport Flower Show?
£10 a day on the show’s own car parks in 2026, including Blue Badge parking at the Esplanade Eco Centre. Sefton Council charges £5.50 a day at its Esplanade car park a short walk away.
Is there disabled parking at Southport Flower Show?
Yes. Blue Badge parking is at the Esplanade Eco Centre, PR8 1RX, at the same £10 all-day rate. The park is level throughout, and mobility scooters and wheelchairs can be booked in advance through Event Mobility.
Is it cheaper to get the train?
For two or more people, yes. Merseyrail charged £2 for a return to Southport from any other Merseyrail station on the 2026 show dates, so £4 for a pair against £10 to park.
When is Southport Flower Show 2027?
Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 August 2027, at Victoria Park, 10am to 6pm and 10am to 5pm on the Sunday. The show has published the dates and put early bird tickets on sale at £21 plus fees (£22.57 with fees) through Ticket Quarter; the 2027 gate price is still to be announced. The 2027 theme is health and wellbeing.
How much will parking cost at Southport Flower Show 2027?
£10 for the day, the same as 2026, confirmed on the show’s own FAQ. The organisers add that if you are being charged more than £10, it is not an official show car park. Parking cannot be pre-booked.
Can you book Southport Flower Show parking in advance?
No. The show states plainly that parking cannot be pre-booked, on any of its car parks. Princes Park is the closest to the gates and fills first, so early arrival is the only way to get a space there.
What it means for you
If you are planning for 2027, put Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 August in the diary now. The £20 PR8 and PR9 resident ticket was the best full-day deal in 2026 and it is sold in person, not online, so it needs a trip to one of five Southport outlets with proof of address before show week.
If you are driving, budget £10 for show parking or £5.50 for Sefton’s Esplanade car park, and note that the council has not run a Southport park and ride since April 2024, so the shuttle bus at the show is the only one operating.
If you are coming by train, the £2 Merseyrail return applied on show dates and undercut every car park. For the rest of the year, our things to do in Southport page covers what is open, and the Southport train times page has the routes in.
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