Starr Gate is in the South Shore

South Shore, Blackpool

South Shore is the southern coastal area of Blackpool, an English seaside resort in the county of Lancashire. It has a large local community and a number of tourist attractions....

 district of Blackpool

Blackpool

Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...

 in the county of Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

, England. It is located at the south-western end of Blackpool on the Fylde coast

The Fylde

The Fylde ; Scandinavian: "field") is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a 13-mile square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the Bowland hills to the east...

 and is adjacent to the Squires Gate district of Blackpool.

The place is named after the spiky "Starr" grass which grows on the local sand hills which are located to the south of Starr Gate. "Gate" ("Geat" in Old English language

Old English language

Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...

) simply means "Way" from Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 "Gat" - an opening or passage.

Transport

Starr Gate is served by Squires Gate railway station

Squires Gate railway station

Squires Gate railway station is on the Blackpool South to Preston branch line, in Lancashire, England. It is the nearest station to Blackpool International Airport...

 on the Blackpool to Preston line. The southern terminal loop of the Blackpool Tramway

Blackpool tramway

The Blackpool tramway runs from Blackpool to Fleetwood on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire, England, and is the only surviving first-generation tramway in the United Kingdom. The tramway dates back to 1885 and is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world. It is run by Blackpool Transport as...

 is located at Starr Gate, with trams running up the coast into central Blackpool.

Starr Gate is also immediately adjacent to Blackpool International Airport.

In the late 1970s for a short period, a hovercraft

Hovercraft

A hovercraft is a craft capable of traveling over surfaces while supported by a cushion of slow moving, high-pressure air which is ejected against the surface below and contained within a "skirt." Although supported by air, a hovercraft is not considered an aircraft.Hovercraft are used throughout...

 provided a transport service to 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...

.