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YORK CITY SOUTH |
London Travel
Travelling For City
A few pointers for City fans, hopefully equally useful to those based in London and those travelling down for games.
Oxford (Wembley) - (May 16).
After last year, not sure if we need to repeat the travel info, but just in case, here goes.
Take The Metropolitan Line from Kings Cross or Baker Street to Wembley Park and walk down Wembley Way, it provides the most regular service. Trains every 5 minutes and allow 40 minutes from KX to Wembley Park. As an alternative, take the Bakerloo tube to Wembley Central or Chiltern Line train from Marylebone to Wembley.
Just outside Marylebone, towards Edgware Road, 5 minutes walk from either, is the York City South preferred pub, "The Perserverance" at 11, Shorton St, Marylebone, NW1 6UG. Its open from 12, so you there. From Marylebone, you'll enter the stadium via the back door and miss out on the walk down Wembley Way.
Catch the Metropolitan line tube from Kings Cross or Baker Street to Wembley Stadium. Enjoy the walk up Wembley Way. The best pub is The Green Man on Dagmar Avenue (HA9 8DF). Take a right out of the tube station, fork left at the roundabout and follow the main road round as it becomes Empire Way. Pass McDonalds, The Quality Inn and new build flats and at the next roundabout take a right into Dagmar Avenue. Pub on the right at the top of the hill. Its a 10 minute walk. The beer garden serves burgers and even when England play, there is very little queuing.
For the early starters, open from 08:30 is a fine watering hole, Fox & Anchor, 115 Charterhouse Street, EC1M 6AA (close to Smithfield Market). The pub is a proper free house, and carries 6 varying real ales. Food is of an exceptionally high quality, as the 70 or so City fans who were there pre-Trophy will attest to. Tables will be reserved for YCS at lunch ‘til 1.30pm, and we can drink beyond that. The other plus points are no problem in getting served, no plastic glasses, no opposition fans and its just a 5 minute walk to Farringdon or Barbican tube to pick up the Metropolitan line to Wembley.
PS Don't try our regular YCS meeting pub, its closed at weekends.
Travel Tip #1 Buy a one day travelcard covering zone 1 - 5 costing about £8. Its valid all day on tubes, buses and trains.
Travel Tip #2 A Kings Cross - Wembley return is slightly cheaper.
Travel Tip #3 Don't buy 2 singles. The ticket office queues are horrendous.
Ebbsfleet (February 13).
They've had many names over the years. Their most recent, in the hope of getting sponsorship from Eurostar and its new Ebbsfleet International railway staion.
Catch the Eurostar from St Pancras, right next to Kings Cross. 4 trains an hour, taking under 20 minutes, and £13.30 for a return. The International Station is clearly visible from the ground. Alternatively, the scenic routes trundle out of London Bridge and Charing Cross (2 trains per hour from each station) arriving at Northfleet (Cooper Arms) just under one hour later. Exit the station and turn left onto the main road. Its down hill all the way. The station is barely 400 yards from the ground.
The YCS meet is at the "Rose and Crown", close to Northfleet station. For the thirsty amongst us, "The Plough" is bang next door to the ground. There's also a social club at the ground, but on big match days, its segregated or packed or both.
Beware, don't ask a local for directions. He's as likely to be an Aussie, rather than a Kentish Man (or Man of Kent), paying his annual visit to his club and is probably more lost (and maybe more drunk) than you! PS Don't mention The Ashes.
AFC Wimbledon (November 21).
AFC Wimbledon, like Hayes, is in a tube free London desert.
Norbiton is the nearest railway station to the ground, its about a 10 minute walk away. The station is served by trains from London Waterloo via Clapham Junction and Wimbledon.
AFC Wimbledon play at, deep breath, The Cherry Red Records Fans’ Stadium, aka Kingsmeadow. Its located at Jack Goodchild Way, 422a Kingston Road, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey.
Postcode is KT1 3PB.
By public transport from Kings Cross, take the Northern line to Waterloo and then the train from Waterloo to Waterloo (via Reading). It does a circuit and returns to London. Best look on the departure board for Norbiton.
There are 4 trains an hour, departing at 12, 27, 42 and 57 minutes past the hour.
Alternatively, catch the Victoria Line from Kings Cross to Vauxhall and pick up the train from there. Assuming your don’t get lost, it should take about 50 minutes from KX to Norbiton.
At KX, buy a one day 5 zone travel card, about £8 (adult). It’ll cover the whole journey and any other tube, bus or train journeys in London on the day.
Outside the station, take either Homersham Road or Norbitron Avenue, turn right into Gloucester Avenue, then left into Cambridge Road. You’ll see the ground on your right. Its about a 10 minute walk from the station.
By road turn off the M25 at junction 10 and head up the A3, London bound towards Kinston and Norbiton. Take .the A2043 towards Kingston. Follow this to the next roundabout. Take the first exit into Kingston Road (A2043 still) and Kingsmeadow is one mile (roughly speaking) on the left.
Hayes.
Its the back of beyond (post code UB3 2LE). Nearest station is Hayes & Harlington out of Paddington’s main line station. Even then, it is a mile (roughly speaking) walk from the ground. According to their website, "Turn right outside the station, walk through the shopping area to the end of the part pedestrianised section. Turn left into Botwell Lane. Just after the swimming pool, turn right at roundabout into Church Road, and the ground is 500 yards on the left". Don’t expect to see any evidence of the ground until you’re right on top of it. Not the greatest of areas for pubs etc. There’s variety of local buses from the station and from all around, including Heathrow, Harrow, Uxbridge, Wembley and even Euston , although from there its a long haul. The nearest we'll get to Wembley this season?London Travel Tickets
: Buy a one day travelcard (Zones 1 – 5) at any station, they’ll valid on all tubes, trains and buses in the zones. Its about £8 for a day and pays for itself with one return journey.Travel Health Warning:
Check the www.tfl.gov.uk LUL / TfL (London Underground Limited / Transport for London) website, its got a journey planner and also a page which tells you which services are suspended for weekend engineering works.Email Alastair, our chairman.