After a long haul to Swansea next Tuesday night Rangers then hit the road again a week on Friday with a televised game at Bristol City next in the diary.
Ground Name: Ashton Gate
Capacity: 21 479 (all seated)
Address: Ashton Road, Bristol, BS3 2EJ
Main Telephone No:0117 963 0630
Ticket Office: 0870 112 1897
By Car: On the map the most obvious route looks to be leaving the M4 at Junction 19 and heading into Bristol on the M32. However if you'd like to cut out the city centre, and frankly that's a sound idea, all the advice points you towards the M5. So that's M4 Junction 20 onto the M5 southbound down to the needlessly complicated Junction 18 where the M5, M49 and A4 all sort of collapse into one another. You need to be on the A4 from there following signs for Bristol Airport/Taunton A38. After passing the suspension bridge you need to be ready to join the A3029 which crosses the river on a swing bridge immediately after leaving the A4. The ground should then be obvious on the left hand side after going through the underpass. Not particularly easy this one I'm afraid. Distance from Loftus Road - 117 miles. Journey time at speed limit - 2 hours 26 minutes
Map:
Click map to visit Multi Map site and zoom in/out or tour round.
Parking: Ashton Gate is very much like a red version of Loftus Road in many respects, including the parking. Street parking only and it's likely to be few and far between so arrive early or prepare to park quite a way away and walk in.
By Train
Bristol Temple Meads station is just under two miles from Ashton Gate and is served by Great Western mainline services from Paddington. Although this is a night game there is a direct train back to London after the match at 2235 arriving back at 0031. Direct trains on the way there every half an hour on the hour and at half past with journey times between an hour and a half and an hour and three quarters. The 1730, arriving at 1912, is about as late as you’ll get away with as long as you use a taxi from the station. Get the 1500 service out and the 2233 one back and tickets are available for £29.50 based on buying two singles in advance.
Temple Meads is a good half hour walk from the ground and all the guides advise a taxi trip out there which will set you back £7 or thereabouts. After the match buses to the city centre run from behind the main stand. The guides say away fans shouldn't have a problem on this service but it always seems to be a bit tasty when we come here and QPR fans have been kept in the away end for up to half an hour after the match in the past. Against advice I walked back after the match a couple of seasons ago and it took me about 25 minutes at a fairly brisk pace, it’s a straight walk along the river bank as well so on a nice day it wasn’t entirely unpleasant or undoable.
Pubs: I’m never quite sure what to make of Bristol City because in and around the ground before, during and particularly after the game it has been really naughty for QPR fans making the journey on our last couple of visits. For this reason, and on the ground guide’s advice, The Hen & Chicken and The Rising Sun are named in the guide as particular ones to avoid and The Robins pub, previously a favourite of away fans, is also now home fans only. There is also no alcohol on sale in the ground.
A Friday night game will see less travelling fans and less chance of trouble I would think. Many Rangers fans went for the waterfront last time and are likely to do so again, we had a lovely afternoon drinking and eating down there a couple of seasons ago without a hint of trouble and though The Nova Scotia comes recommended I don’t think you’ll go far wrong whichever boozer you pick down there. It’s placed sort of between the station and the ground if you’re walking but most people will want to do a cab for both bits of the trip. For those arriving by car try and seek out the Adam and Eve pub in the backstreets on the way into town. It’s surrounded by street parking, walkable to the ground and does the most amazing food I’ve ever had in a pub. Details on last season’s Awayday linked below.
Coach: The club coach leaves Loftus Road at 2.30pm and the Target roundabout at 3pm. Prices are £26 adults, £16 seniors and young adults and £14 juniors. The LSA is running a coach from the Springbok at 2pm priced at around £20 adults and £10 concessions. Booking details available on the LSA website.
Tickets: The away end at Ashton Gate is a dank, dark, smelly and sweaty place from which to watch a football match. None of the chairs have a back to them so are easy to fall off in any direction and if, like me, you happen to move forward in celebration of a goal expecting some resistance from the seat in front you won’t get any and you’ll plunge two or three rows closer to the pitch. There are many supporting pillars obstructing your view of the pitch and it’s shared with some of City’s more vociferous support and is, all in all, one of the worst away ends we’re likely to encounter all season.
Tickets are priced £25 adults, £20 for over 65s, £15 students, £10 juniors, and £60 for a family of two adults and two children. Bristol City are at the moment insisting that this fixture will be all ticket and Rangers fans must purchase their seats from Loftus Road by noon on the day of the game. Whether this will change closer to kick off as has happened in the past remains to be seen.
Links >>> Detailed fans' guide to Ashton Gate >>> Bristol City Official Website >>> Last season’s Awayday Review