We go to the G Tech Community Stadium for the third time and to be honest the first two trips were an absolute disaster, however it is one of our easiest away trips of the season in terms of getting there, so once again all the info that you need for a great day out off the pitch if not on it.
Our trips to Brentford's old ground in the League were rare, but it usually proved a happy hunting ground with a few cup wins plus of course that memorable 3-1 win as we went for promotion in 2011, now the Bee's have moved from Griffin Park a mile or so up the road to their new ground near Kew Bridge, it hasn't been so happy with two 3-0 defeats.
Hopefully that will change on Saturday, so here are all the details you need if you are making the short trip up to West London.
The Stadium
Brentford had played at Griffin Park since 1904,but they made the switch in 2020 to the initially named Brentford Community Stadium, not the most aspiring name to be truthful and the new name the G Tech Stadium is certainly worse than better.
They had been planning the move 2002, so it took them a long time to get planning permission & funding in place, it is compact in that it's capacity is only 17,500 and it is wedged in a corner between three railway tracks and the M4 motorway.
The ground has four distinct stands — Again a lot of planning must have been put into naming these, the South, North, West, and East stands, so you may need a compass.
The premium seats, dugouts, and media seats are available on the south stand. The family area is located in the North stand, while the hard-core supporters can be seen on the West stand. The south-east corner of the eastern stand will also host the Brentford supporters.
Visiting Supporters Section
1,750 Saints supporters will be located in a compact corner of the ground partly in the East & North Stand's, it is not a ground that you can wander all the way around and to get in the away section you have to follow a particular route which takes you around some commercial buildings, so don't assume you can just walk around the ground from any direction to get in, indeed the away section is tucked away and a bit of a hike.
The stadium has the usual choice of food & drink available at most stadiums these days.
By Car
In theory this should be the easiest trip by road, straight up the M3 then along the A316 to Richmond, then bearing left following signs to Kew, the ground itself is just the other side of Kew Bridge.
The issue is going to be parking, there is little around the ground, nor are there any big car parks nearby. So it is going to be a case of suck it and see.
There is parking away from the ground if you head away from the stadium itself towards Brentford with some street parking available in the vicinity of the old ground, likewise parking a few stops up the line from Kew Bridge station either at Richmond and then go the one stop on the Tube to Gunnersbury, this tube station is only a short walk to the ground.
Or parking to the West of the line into Kew Bridge , Hounslow, Isleworth and even up to Brentford itself have parking options and a short train journey in from there.
By Train.
This is fairly easy, train to Clapham Junction and then train to Kew Bridge, the trains run at 02 &32 minutes past the hour from Clapham and take 18 minutes.
The other option is to go into Waterloo and then get the tube to Embankment followed by a district line tube to Gunnersbury.
Eating & Drinking, Pubs etc.
There are a few pubs around the stadium, but as you can imagine they are quite busy, from looking at what other fans have done on our previous visits, crossing Kew Bridge offers the Cricketers on Kew Green on your right hand site, or turning left the Greyhound, both of these pubs are slightly quieter than those near the stadium and around a 10 minute walk from the ground.
The One Over The Ait just to the right of Kew Bridge as you look at it from the Brentford side, tucked away behind a building is a big pub that is very popular on match days.
The Gunnersbury a short walk from the aforementioned station is also popular, but a lot less crowded.
In our past two visits Saints supporters have also drunk near Brentford's old ground Griffin Park where there are a few pubs, it is about a mile walk, so allow 15 -20 minutes plus 5 mins to walk round to the other side of the ground if you take this option.
G Tech Community Stadium
Capacity: 17,250 (all seated)
Address: Brentford Community Stadium, Lionel Road, London, England
Telephone: 0333 005 8521
Ticket Office: 0333 005 8521
StadiumTours: 0333 005 8521
Pitch Size: 105m x 68m
Pitch Type: Hybrid grass
Club Nickname: The Bees
Year Ground Opened: 2020