Away Day Planner: September & October 2019

Three northern away day matches at Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke and Middlesborough await Fulham in the upcoming months. Dom Betts is here to give you the lowdown on how to get there, and more importantly, where to drink.

Sheffield Wednesday

Trains

• Adult – £51.91 (if you split your tickets). Otherwise direct trains will be in excess of £70-80
• Adult with railcard – £34.23 or £51.45 (direct)
• Child – £26.29 or £44.50 (Direct)

Where to park

1. There is a car park directly behind the Kop and the Wednesday Club shop. It is called the Wednesdayite car park and is open to fans of both teams. It costs £7 for visitors and its post code is S6 1QE.
2. You may find it easier to park at Meadowhall Railway Station, near to the Shopping Centre, just by Junction 34 of the M1, where you can park for free and then take a yellow tram to Leppings lane, which costs £3 return and takes about 35 minutes.

Where to drink

1. The Howard, Howard St, S1 2LW – This is the pub directly opposite the crossing up from the fountains by the station. This pub does some nice pub food along with a good selection of beers. It also has TVs showing live sport as well as a pool table.
2. The Rawson Spring, 501 Langsett Road, S6 2LN – A standard Wetherspoons outlet serving standard pub food and cheap beer only a 10-15 minute walk from the ground. You’ll have a good mix of home and away fans in here
3. The Devonshire Cat, 49 Wellington St, S1 4HG –  This pub has around 12 hand pulled beers on offer, serves food, has a large screen tv, welcomes families (until 7pm) and is listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.

Stoke City

Trains

• Adult – £32.00
• Adult with railcard – £22.45
• Child – £17.00

Where To Park

1. Screwfix Direct Warehouse, Stanley Matthews Way, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 8GR: There are 300 parking spaces available (weekend matches only) at the Screwfix direct site on Stanley Matthews Way. The site is based one mile from the ground and allows quicker access back onto the A50 after the game has ended. The cost for parking is £4 per car (no mini buses). 
2. Herons Cross, ST4 3AY: Just to the North Stadium, in an area called Herons Cross, just off the A50, we found some street parking available on Grove Road (ST4 3AY). It is then around a 15 minute walk to the Bet365 Stadium. There is a footpath leading to the stadium – just follow the other fans on their way to the match’.
3. South Stadium parking ST4 8GR: There is also car parking south of the stadium on Stanley Matthews Way between Screwfix and the Stadium opposite Pets at Home (Sat Nav ST4 8GR ). It costs £5 and you can get to this car park via Stanley Mathews Way from the A50 or Trentham Road. After the match all traffic goes south which means you avoid all the congestion by the stadium.

Where To Drink

1. HARVESTER, Stanley Matthews Way, Trentham Lakes, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 4TL: Next to the stadium is a Holiday Inn and a Harvester Pub/Restaurant that do allow in away fans and has Sky Sports. So if you want somewhere in the vicinity of the ground this is probably your best choice
2. TERRACE BAR, 185 Leek Rd, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 2BW – The Terrace Bar is only five minutes walk from the railway station (turn right out of the station entrance, left at the crossroads and the pub is down on the left) and also shows Sky Sports and offers food too. You can then get the shuttle bus to the stadium for £4 from the town centre.
3. THE WHEATSHEAF, 84-92 Church St, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1BU – This is the wetherspoon outlet in the town centre is an option for you.

Middlesborough

Trains

Trains to Middlesborough are pricey as ever. Your cheapest way at the moment is to catch the 07:05 direct to Middlesbrough from Kings Cross. On the way back, consider taking the train back via Manchester. It’s under £50 (standard fare) if you take the 17:55 back to Manchester Victoria and then do the quick walk over to Manchester Piccadilly for a train back down to London.

• Adult – £97.00
• With Railcard – £64.50

Where To Park

1. There is a small amount of parking available at the stadium itself (in Car Park E). It costs £6 per car and spaces can be booked through the ticket office.
2. Also when you reach the turn off the A66 (as signposted) for the stadium, then rather than at the top of the slip road turning left towards the stadium, then instead if your turn right to go back across the A66, then there is plenty of street parking available in this area. It is then about a 15-20 minute walk to the away turnstiles.

Where To Drink

1. Doctor Browns, 135 Corporation Rd, TS1 2RR – The main pub for away fans is Doctor Browns, which a ten minute walk away from the ground at the bottom of Corporation Road, in the town centre. This pub serves real ale, has SKY TV and on my last visit had a good mix of home and away fans, both inside and outside of the pub.
2. Barracuda, 42 Albert Rd, TS1 1QD – Where a fair few Fulham fans have drunk previously due to it’s very cheap pints, showing of the live football, and obviously the Dom Betts special, VK fishbowls.
3. The Isaac Wilson, 61 Wilson St, TS1 1SF – This is the nearest Wetherspoons to the ground. You know what you’re getting here cheap beer & decent food.