A Rough Guide To West Ham United Monday, 28th Dec 2015 09:19 Get yourself darn to the home of the team that won the 1966 World Cup for England as well as being a popular tourist destination for the Royal Family in 1940 Gawd bless the Queen Mother. The Ground Most people refer to it as Upton Park, but its official title is the Boleyn Ground as Ann Boleyn had a gaff nearby back in the good old days when you could leave your front doors open and have a friendly toe to toe with some footpads from Sarf of the river without the Sweeney poking its nose in. The West Stand is reputably the largest single stand at a football ground in London holding over 15,000, at the back it has a unique feature of twin castle turrets making it look like some futuristic hotel in Las Vegas Im sure that you all know that this is the last season the Hammers will play at Upton Park before their controversial move to the Olympic Stadium so cup draws permitting this could be our last ever game at the stadium. Getting There By Road A long haul from Southampton in that you have to negogiate the south circular and then cross the river or alternitavely go round the M25 and cross the Thames at Dartford, either way you are looking at over two hours in total. Parking Parking is virtually non existent around the ground, with most streets having restrictions on match days, you will need to park well away from the ground and walk in, Newham General Hospital has a pay and display car park costing £4 for up to six hours and is about a 15 minute walk. By Train An easy one, from Waterloo take the Jubilee line to West Ham station, from there its only two stops to Upton Park Station on either the Hammersmith & City line or District line, dont make the mistake of thinking the ground is at West ham, Upton Park station is only about 200 metres from the ground. South West Trains seem to have stopped their four for two offers meaning that if you want to save any money on the trip you have to use a railcard, however they do have a deal on where 3 or more people can all save 34% off the fare if they travel together using a group save. The Away Section Saints have the lower tier of the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand which is the same as we have had for the past decade or so, despite the relative newness of the stand, being built in the mid 1990's its not great, the rake of the terracing is not steep so doesnt give you a great view of the pitch height wise and underneath the concourses are fairly cramped, the normal selection of food is available including beer but is a bit pricey being London. West ham is nowhere near as bad as it used to be, but its still advised to excersise caution around the stadium and the pubs nearby, the atmosphere is not as welcoming as at some grounds. Eating Drinking Etc Many of the pubs around the ground are home supporters only and even those that let away fans in tend to be a bit intimidating, but in general as long as you dont mouth off you wont get any hassle. A couple of options are, the West Ham supporters club which is directly behind the end opposite the away end, this lets in visitors for a small fee if you get there early enough. Otherwise a good suggestion is to get off a stop after Upton Park on the tube and go to East Ham, from there walk down to Barking Road and there are a few pubs opposite Barking Town hall including a Weatherspoons, you can then walk to the ground in about 15 minutes. Boleyn Ground layout West Ham United Boleyn Ground Capacity: 35,333 (all seated) Official Web Site: www.whufc.com Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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