Meols Cop is not an area of Southport

Southport

Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...

, but simply a railway station located within Blowick, Southport Merseyside

Merseyside

Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...

 in north-western England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is not to be confused with Meols

Meols

Meols is a village on the northern coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is contiguous with the larger town of Hoylake, situated immediately to the west. Formerly, Meols was in the county of Cheshire, although since 1 April 1974 it has been a part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in the...

 on the Wirral Peninsula

Wirral Peninsula

Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...

. The two can be differentiated by pronunciation — Meols Cop is pronounced Meels, but Meols, Wirral is pronounced Mells.

The station is served by trains to Southport railway station

Southport railway station

Southport railway station serves the town of Southport, Merseyside, England. It is at the end of one of the branches of the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network, and at the end of the Manchester-Southport Line which runs via Wigan...

 or Wigan Wallgate railway station and beyond. Meols Cop railway station

Meols Cop railway station

Meols Cop railway station serves the Blowick suburb of the coastal town of Southport, Merseyside, England. The station has an island platform and is served by Northern Rail's - via branch services, on which it is the last stop before the terminus...

opened on 2 September 1887, and served both lines. The line from Butts Lane Junction to Altcar & Hillhouse closed on 26 September 1938, but the line through Meols Cop is still open today. As in 1965, the direct line from Pool Hey Junction to St. Luke's closed and trains to and from Wigan were diverted to run via the former Altcar line and a section of the former Southport to Preston line. Meols Cop railway station remained open and is served by Wigan and Southport trains today; goods train services were however withdrawn on 27 November 1967.