CARLISLE UNITED 10.09.11

HOW TO GET THERE

CAR
Take the A69 towards Carlisle. After a mile the ground is on your right (look out for the statue of a footballer on the corner).

PARKING
There is a car-park at the ground that will set you back a couple of quid. Also there is a quiet a bit of street parking available.

TRAIN
The station is around a mile from the ground. Leave the station and head for Warwick Road. Follow this until you see the ground.

PUBS/FOOD
The town centre is a short walk from the ground and has plenty of pubs, particularly traditional ones in old style buildings. There is also a couple of options near to the ground including;

The Beehive- A chain pub opposite the ground, which welcomes away fans and offers a good choice of food and drink at reasonable prices. The pub is popular with home fans, and was also players, one of who was arrested for assault last year! Be careful!

Carlisle Rugby Club- Located next to the ground and popular on a match day, especially amongst away fans. They have a patio area and welcome well behaved families, which will rule quite a few people out I would expect. They are known for serving a decent range of good quality ales.

Toby Carvery- Not your usual pre-match venue, but located on the A69 that leads into town. This is a great option for a cheap, reasonable quality meal. They of course welcome families, but not people who think a carvery is an excuse to eat for 5 hours solid, then complain that the beef was tough.

BRUNTON PARK- Capacity 16,981 (10,000 seated)
For those that have never been to Brunton Park before it is a strange mix of stands, that you are not likely to see at any new out of town DIY complex.

Away fans are located in the Story Homes Stand, which is a large, covered stand along the side of the pitch. This stand is not in line with pitch as it was originally the start of a fantastic redevelopment that never took place. This means away fans find themselves looking straight behind the goal, curving their necks to see the action. 1,700 fans can sit in here and there are home fans to the left of the usual black netting. The facilities are decent and alcohol is available.

To the right is a now disused terrace that makes the old Town End look like the Kop. Strangely there is a block of seats just bolted into one corner of the terrace.

Opposite the away stand is a fantastic looking old main stand, that just oozes character. You may not feel the same joy if you were sat in it though. It has a large terrace at the front, with seated area at the back. The stand has 2 styles of roof to add to the flavour and houses the posh fans who are no doubt annoyed at the fact that they are housed in the less comfortable of the 2 seated stands.

Behind the left-hand goal is the Warwick Road Terrace. This is a large bank of terracing with a 3-gabled roof to keep the noise in. This stand is a great reminder of how football used to be, with a unique look and plenty of traditional banter coming from within its soul.

SAFETY
There have been no problems between the clubs for a few seasons now. All though they are sometimes mentioned as rivals they are not Darlow and they are not particularly bothered about us neither. That said a bit of caution should be exercised, particularly in town.

PRICE