Hoylake

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Map sources for Hoylake at grid reference SJ216892

Hoylake beach, looking towards Hilbre Island

Arms of the former Hoylake Urban District Council

Hoylake is a seaside town in Merseyside, England, a few miles to the west of Liverpool. It is located on the western corner of the Wirral Peninsula, where the estuary of the River Dee meets the Irish Sea. As of 2001, the population of Hoylake was 5710.

The town grew up in the nineteenth century as a fishing village, though with the silting up of the Dee estuary little fishing is carried out today. However, the town still supports a permanent lifeboat station and a sailing club. The town is a largely residential area and there is an active nightlife in the centre.

Hoylake had its own Urban District Council and Mayor, until 1974 when it was absorbed into the new Wirral Metropolitan Borough, when Merseyside County was newly created. At that point, Hoylake ceased to be in Cheshire, and became part of the new Merseyside. This did not please some Wirral residents who have since campaigned unsuccessfully for a return to Cheshire.

Hoylake is the home of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, which has hosted many major tournaments such as The Open Championship and the Walker Cup. The club is often referred to as "Hoylake". It hosted the Open again in July 2006, after a gap of almost 40 years, with Tiger Woods earning the Claret Jug for the second year in a row. The town also has an active rugby club.

Hoylake has one of the premier sites for Sand Yachting in Britain, on the banks around a quarter of a mile offshore. Hoylake is to be the site of the week-long European Championships in September 2007 for the first time.

It has two railway stations: Hoylake and Manor Road.

The former actress and Labour MP Glenda Jackson and the James Bond actor Daniel Craig grew up in the town. John Lennon's first wife Cynthia lived in Hoylake for many years. Julian Lennon grew up there. Bill Ryder-Jones, Nick Power, Lee Southall, Paul Duffy, and John Duffy, from the band The Coral, grew up there as well. The cyclist Chris Boardman was born in Hoylake.