Stoke (a)  Saturday 1st January April 3.00pm

There's more or less a normal weekday service on the trains. Here's a selection of what's available, with fares as at 23/11:
 York 0840 0853   0923 0940 0950      Stoke 1754   1820 1825   1854
 Leeds 0909 0920   0953 1009 1020      Piccadilly a 1835   1901 1905   1933
 Huddersfield 0930 0940   1011 1030 1040      Singles £4.80   £4.80     £4.80
 Piccadilly a 1005 1011   1045 1105 1113      Piccadilly d 1841 1857   1911 1926 1942
 Single from Leeds £10.50 £6.50   £6.50 £6.50 £6.50      Huddersfield 1913 1926   1945 1955 2011
 Piccadilly d 1016 1027 1036 1107 1115 1127 1135    Leeds 1937 1946   2009 2017 2031
 Stoke 1049 1106 1111 1143 1148 1206 1211    York - 2012   2035 - 2058
 Singles £4.50 £4.80 £4.50 £4.80 £4.50 £4.80 £4.50    Singles to Leeds £6.50 £6.50   £6.50 £6.50 £9.50
1234  Transpennine          2345  CrossCountry         0123 Virgin Trains
 
These are the fare options from Leeds:

From £22.30

  Advance Singles Leeds-Piccadilly and Piccadilly-Stoke

£33

  Off Peak Day Returns Leeds-Piccadilly and Piccadilly-Stoke (can be bought on day, Virgin Trains only Piccadilly-Stoke)

£36.70

  Off Peak Day Returns Leeds-Piccadilly and Piccadilly-Stoke (can be bought on day, any trains Piccadilly-Stoke)

£48

  Off Peak Return
 
From York:

From £24.30

  Advance Singles York-Piccadilly and Piccadilly-Stoke

£41.10

  Off Peak Return York-Piccadilly, Off Peak Day Return Piccadilly-Stoke (can be bought on day, Virgin Trains only Piccadilly-Stoke)

£44.80

  Off Peak Return York-Piccadilly, Off Peak Day Return Piccadilly-Stoke (can be bought on day, any trains Piccadilly-Stoke)
£55.70
  Off Peak Return

From Huddersfield:

 From £22.70

  Off Peak Day Return Huddersfield-Piccadilly, Advance Singles Piccadilly-Stoke

£25.90

  Off Peak Day Returns Huddersfield-Piccadilly and Piccadilly-Stoke (can be bought on day, Virgin Trains only Piccadilly-Stoke)

£29.60

  Off Peak Day Returns Huddersfield-Piccadilly and Piccadilly-Stoke (can be bought on day, any trains Piccadilly-Stoke)
£31.70
  Off Peak Return
 
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.

Getting to the ground
As is often the case with new grounds, it's miles out of town. Well, two miles anyway from the station and centre. If on the train then your options for getting there from the station or town centre are:
- taxi
- match special bus from Glebe Street (£3 return, but you won't be allowed on if they suspect you're an away fan)
- special away fans bus from the Terrace pub; also £3 return
- walk (around 35 minutes from the station; see the pub map below for the shortest route)
I've heard reports that away fans are sometimes held back in the pen outside the ground for a while after the game, so don't go booking yourself on a train back that leaves to soon. Also, you may have to wait so long to get on a bus that it'd be quicker walking it.

 If you're driving down then these are some of your parking options, each of which will set you back around a fiver:
- the 'southern' car park at the ground; this must be pre-booked (phone 0871 6632007), and access is from the southern end of Stanley Matthews way only
- Trent parking (presumably access is also from the southern end of Stanley Matthews way only)
- Screwfix (not midweek games), a mile south down Stanley Matthews Way (presumably access is also from the southern end of Stanley Matthews way only)
- if you arrive early enough, in the Harvesters pub car park, or at the Power League centre; getting out could be a nightmare though
- Heron Cross School; your parking money goes to a charity, and there's a cheap club over the road!
These car parks are all marked on the pub map below.

Pubs
For those driving down the options are severely limited. Around the ground there's only the Harvester and the bar at the Power League centre. Both of these tend to have a mixture of home and away fans, but they get very busy as kick-off approaches. Better options are:
- Fenton Bowling Club; this is around a 15 minute walk from the ground, and match parking is available at the school over the road (free entry with a CAMRA card)
- the Locomotive, a couple of minutes further from the ground than the bowling club
- the Plough or, better, the Gardener's Retreat; these are a good 15 minute walk from the ground; it's possible you might be able to park in one or the other, but I don't know
 
I wouldn't really recommend that train travellers drink in the centre as most of the pubs will be very "partisan". The police will 'encourage' you towards the Terrace, the designated away fans pub from where there will be buses to the ground. However it's an absolute dive and it'll get ridiculously busy. You may well therefore want to consider walking or catching a cab to one of the options nearer the ground mentioned above. If however you really do want to give the town centre a try then you could check out one or more of:
- the Wheatsheaf; Wetherspoons, and possibly ok in small numbers and without colours
- the Staff of Life; gets good reviews, and may be ok as it's on a bit of a side side street
Furthermore, there are the Sutherland Arms and the London Road Ale House, which are sort of between the centre and the ground. They both get really good reviews.
 
Pub map
Football Ground Guide
Official Stoke site
Matchday guide