Watford (a) Saturday 25th September 3.00pm
It's a Saturday 3 o'clock kick-off, but it's not the easiest place to get to by train. These are the main times, with fares as at 26/08:
| Leeds | 0715 | 0815 | 0915 | 1015 | Watford Junction | 1715 | 1717 | 1736 | 1746 | 1759 | |||
| Wakefield | 0728 | 0830 | 0928 | 1028 | Euston | 1735 | 1742 | 1758 | 1810 | 1822 | |||
| Kings Cross | 0931 | 1031 | 1131 | 1231 | Kings Cross | 1803 | 1833 | 1903 | |||||
| Euston | 1003 | 1049 | 1149 | 1249 | 1354 | Wakefield | 2007 | 2042 | 2101 | ||||
| Watford Junction | 1026 | 1103 | 1203 | 1303 | 1409 | Leeds | 2021 | 2055 | 2116 | ||||
| Single to Kings Cross | £25 | £40.50 | £25 | £40.50 | Single from Kings Cross | £10 | £10 | £25 |
| £46.40 |
Advance Singles
Leeds to Stevenage and back, Stevenage to London Zones 1-6 Super Off-Peak Day
Travelcard, Oyster/Contactless Euston to |
|
From £47 |
Advance Singles Leeds to Kings Cross; Oyster/Contactless Euston to Watford |
|
£127 |
Super Off-Peak Return (any route) |
| £48.30 |
Via Birmingham, down on 0756 and back on 1737, split as Sheffield-Derby-Birmingham-Watford |
| £59.60 |
Advance Singles
Sheffield to Kings Cross (via Donny) and Euston to Sheffield, down on 0832, back
on 1902; Oyster/Contactless Euston to |
| From £74.60 |
Advance Singles Sheffield to St Pancras and back (down on 0829, back on 1834); Oyster/Contactless Euston to Watford |
|
£80.70 |
Super Off-Peak Return via Birmingham New Street |
|
£93.60 |
Super Off-Peak Return Sheffield to St Pancras; Oyster/Contactless Euston to Watford |
|
£107.10 |
Super Off-Peak Return any route |
It's £12.50 for an Off-Peak Day Return from Euston to Watford Junction. Groups of three or
more can get one third off this though by booking in advance at
tpexpress.co.uk. Alternatively, it's £6 each way with an Oystercard or
contactless credit/debit card.
If you're on a budget and don't mind spending most of the day on a coach,
then you can get from Leeds or Sheffield to London for £12.50 or £12.40
respectively with
National Express.
Getting to the ground
The ground is around a 20 minutes walk from the station, or 10 minutes from the town centre.
You probably need to be at the ground by 20 to 3 to be sure of seeing the
kick-off because there aren't enough away turnstiles.
If you drive down then you'll find that it's virtually impossible to park near the
ground as there are no car parks and all street parking is residents only. Match
day parking is available for a fee at Watford Girls High School and Fisher
Industrial Estate. If you're arriving from the M1, as you should be, then a
better bet are the town centre car parks. The one on Church Street isn't too far
from the ground, but the Harlequin Shopping Centre one is good for a fast
getaway back onto the motorway. One place you could try for street parking is
the area around Bushey Grove Road. All these parking options are marked on the pub
map below.
Pubs
The pub situation in Watford is much improved from what it was,
particularly if you're travelling down by train. The nearest pub to the ground (the Red Lion) is strictly
home fans only. Not too far away is the
Oddfellows, which is designated an away
fans pub. It will therefore get absolutely chocka, plus they have no hand-pulled
beer. After this you're talking
about the town centre. An obvious option is Wetherspoons' Moon On The Water,
which is on the most direct walking route
from the station to the ground. However, it's not one of their best, plus it will be very busy.
Alternatively there's the Colombia Press 300 yards further up the High Street,
which is a Lloyds No 1. Again though, it's not one of their better outlets. Just
over the road from the Colombia Press is
Bosley's, which is perfectly fine.
If arriving by train then then you can hardly miss
O'Neill's - just turn right out of the station and it's in front of you. Not too far away are
the
Nascot Arms, possibly the best pub in Watford. Unfortunately though it's even further away from the ground than the station. You may therefore want to
turn left out of the station down Woodford Road to the Wellington and Estcourt Arms, which
are both perfectly fine. If you continue towards the town centre along Escourt
Street you'll come to the
Estcourt Tavern. It'll be fairly busy, but the service is good. An option from the station could be to
head for the White Lion, a traditional pub that gets great reviews. This is sort of on the way to the ground, but it's a bit out
of the way and so shouldn't be busy.
Pub map
Football Ground Guide
Official Watford site