Cardiff (a) Saturday 18th August 12.30pm
Surprisingly, it is possible to get there and back on the day by train provided you don't mind a very early start. Here are the main times, with fares as at 24/07:
| York | 0353 | 0440 | 0547 | Cardiff | 1455 | 1555 | 1655 | |
| Leeds | 0439 | 0549 | 0614 | Piccadilly a | 1815 | 1925 | 2015 | |
| Piccadilly a | 0553 | - | 0720 | Piccadilly d | 1835 | 1935 | 2035 | |
| Piccadilly d | 0630 | - | 0730 | Leeds | 1934 | 2034 | 2134 | |
| Cardiff | 0959 | 1021* | 1102 | York | 2005 | 2105 | 2203 |
|
From £78.10 |
Split tickets (down on 0439, back on 1455 or 1655 to get lowest price) |
|
From £85.70 |
Split tickets (down on Friday, back on 1455 or 1655 to get lowest price) |
|
£105.90 |
Off Peak Return (via Manchester) |
|
£126.90 |
Off Peak Return (any route) |
|
From £84.40 |
Split tickets |
|
£110.60 |
Off Peak Return (via Manchester) |
|
£126.10 |
Off Peak Return (any route) |
Notes:
1. Railcard holders can normally get one third off the above prices.
2. 16-25 Railcard holders can get 50% off TransPennine fares if booked at www.tpexpress.co.uk.
3. Groups of three or more can get one third off TransPennine fares if booked at www.tpexpress.co.uk.
Getting to the ground
Cardiff moved a few years back to the Cardiff City Stadium,
just over the road from where Ninian Park was. It's about a 30 minute walk from the city centre or
Cardiff station. There's actually a local station (Ninian Park) quite close to the ground,
with trains every at 6 and 36 minutes past the hour from Cardiff Central (but
only every hour, at 6 minutes past, in the evening),
journey time 4 minutes. Away fans are though advised to use Grangetown station.
It's twice as far from the ground as Ninian Park, just under a 15 minute walk,
but there are seven trains an hour from Cardiff Central (four an hour in the
evening), and again the journey
time is just 4 minutes. If you're driving down then the options for parking are:
- dedicated, but very limited, away fans car park at the ground (8 quid, and you can expect to be
stuck for ages after the game)
- match day parking at Bessemer Road Wholesale Market (5 quid, and probably not
good for getting away)
-
Gol Football Centre or Canton Rugby Club; you pay a fiver, but get a voucher
to that value redeemable at the bar; very limited parking though
There's no street parking whatsoever anywhere near the ground as it's all
resident parking only.
Pubs
Believe it or not Cardiff now possesses an away fan friendly pub! It's the
Lansdowne Hotel, which is around a 15 minute walk to the ground.
They have a good range of real ales, and also serve food. If you choose to drink
elsewhere, be careful! Even in these relatively enlightened times Cardiff fans
still have a very bad reputation. In general the advice is to avoid any pubs around the ground or between the city
centre and the ground. Having said that, the new Sand Martin, which is a family
pub, could be ok. Plus Canton Rugby Club and Gol Football Centre are ok, but
they probably only have electric beer. Certainly if you arrive by train, or if
you want good beer, your best bet is to find somewhere quiet in the centre (but
possibly not around
the station) then jump in a taxi. There are
in fact a stack of highly rated pubs in the centre, many of them clustered to
the east of the Millennium Stadium, including the Goat Major,
Hopbunker (no less than 15 hand pumps!), Urban
Tap,
Queen's Vaults and
City Arms. It seems that away fans often head for the Wetherspoons' Great
Western, just over the road from the station. However, if there's going to be
any bother that's probably where it's going to happen. Likewise the nearby
Prince of Wales (also a Spoons). If you particularly want to visit a
Wetherspoons outlet I'd suggest heading for the Central Bar, although it's pretty much out of the way. All the pubs mentioned, plus a few others, are
marked on the pub map below.
Pub map
Football Ground Guide
Cardiff City Away Fan Pack