YEOVIL TOWN 24.03.12

HOW TO GET THERE

CAR
The ground is located on the very outskirts of Yeovil and is signposted from the A303. Leave the A303 at the Cartgate roundabout and take the A3088 towards Yeovil. Follow the road for around four miles until you reach a roundabout on the outskirts of Yeovil with the Westlands Airfield directly in front of you. Turn left at this roundabout and then continue straight on, crossing a number of roundabouts. As you pass the entrance to an Asda superstore, take the next left for the ground, which can be seen from the road.

PARKING
There is a large official car-park at the ground that will cost around £2. Looking on the match ticket it seems that there is a section of this allocated to travelling fans and this is located behind the away terrace, a bit like Walsall.

TRAIN
There are 2 stations, Yeovil Junction and Pen Mill Junction. Neither is anywhere near to the ground so a little organising will be required. Yeovil Junction is the one you are likely to end up at and this is located well out of town. You can catch a ‘hopper’ bus into town and a connecting bus service, but this is a lot of hassle. A taxi would be a better bet from either station.

PUBS/FOOD

As the ground is located on the outskirts of town, pubs are limited to a few choices and these will require a little bit of walking.

The Bell Inn- 207, Preston Rd, Tel : 01935 474077. This is a Hungry Horse pub which welcomes families and serves cheapish meals. They also have a large screen and several smaller ones for the football. This pub has a mix of home and away fans.

The Arrow, Tel : 01935 476972- Pub located on the edge of an estate near to a row of shops. More popular with home fans, but welcomes visitors as well. Children are allowed and they show Sky Sports.

There is a beer marquee at the ground that only allows away fans to enter for certain low-profile games. This may well be us, but there is no guarantee. We visited this place last season and it was very friendly and hospitable. I have used better facilities, but this place certainly made me feel welcome.

This is the land of Cornish Pasties and Cider so enjoy but do so sensibly!!! What I mean is that us fat-lads should limit the number of pasties to 2 or 3 and lightweights may only want ½ a pint of the real cidery stuff! Choices near to the ground are again limited so a trek into town or a stop off en-route may be the order.

HUISH PARK- Capacity 9,665 (5,212 Seats)

The ground is functional, although those of us stuck on the away terrace may feel different if it rains. Huish Park is around 20 years old and situated on the outskirts of town, near to an industrial estate, so visions of the Somerset Countryside can be forgotten for this trip. Away fans are house in the Copse Road End, which is an open medium sized terrace. They are also allocated a small number of seats in the Cowlin Stand to the left. These are generally given to families, ambulant disabled and senior citizens first.

The Cowlin Stand is a simple single-tier stand which runs the length of the pitch, sitting to the left of the away end.

Opposite this and to the right of the away terrace is the Main Stand, which is similar to the Cowlin Stand, but houses the usual executive boxes, directors and other members of the suited and booted brigade.

The home terrace is behind the goal opposite the away end and has the luxury of a cover. Not only will this allow the home support to make more noise, but also stay dry if it rains. It’s unfortunate that in this day and age, away fans still get the most basic facilities on offer, but who am I to complain!

SAFETY
Yeovil fans are generally a safe bunch and there is no history between the clubs. The Arrow pub can get occasionally ‘lively’ but I don’t expect we will have any trouble. As usual though, be sensible.

PRICE- Tickets bought on the day of the game are in brackets.