QPR have never won at The City Ground in Nottingham, but face two quick-fire attempts to put that right this Saturday then again on January 26 in the league. Here’s the travel tips for those making either journey.
Ground Name: The City Ground
Capacity: 30, 602 (all seated)
Address:City Ground, Nottingham, NG2 5FJ
Main Telephone No: 0115 982 4444
Ticket Office: 0871 226 1980
Most of the guides and sat navs will recommend junction 24 of the M1 and then the A453 towards Nottingham followed by the A52 east towards Grantham and then the A6011 into the city - the ground is along that road. The A453 is a renowned pain in the arse though so you could possibly try junction 25 and then the A52 Brian Clough Way that connects Nottingham and Derby into town. Possibly a better bet is leaving the M1 at junction 21a (Leicester east) and following the A46 towards Newark for 20 miles, then the A606 towards Nottingham, join the A52 using the fourth exit at the roundabout junction between the two roads and then it’s onto the A6011 into town as above.
There is a large car park at the ground apparently but I have never had any problems finding street parking around and about the City Ground. There is also a £3 council car park on matchdays on the Victoria embankment near the cricket ground.
Nottingham is on the direct line from St Pancras, operated by East Midlands Trains, with a journey time in the region of two hours.
For this Saturday’s game most of the really cheap prices have gone at this late stage but you can still get singles in the morning for £20.80 leaving at 09.15 or 09.29 (arriving 10.55 or 11.18) and coming back there are £17.50 singles at 17.32 (arriving 19.14) or 19.05 (arriving 20.46) so it still shouldn’t cost you more than £40 to travel return even now.
The league matche will now be played on Tuesday January 26 because by a strange quirk it originally fell on fourth round day and, try as we might, we can’t both lose in the third round. No trains back afterwards but if you fancy an overnighter tickets are between £18 and £20 in the middle of the afternoon on Tuesday, and the same coming back Wednesday after 10.30.
Once there, if you’re going straight to the ground then exit the station via the car park down the side, turn left and walk down to the traffic lights junction with Hooters on your right. Notts County’s ground should be visible from here. Turn right and follow that main road, keeping County on your left, until it crosses the Trent and the ground is visible from there. QPR are at the far end so keep walking on and turn left at the cricket ground and then left again to the away end. Pretty easy, 15 minutes tops.
Nottingham means only one thing for many Rangers fans - Hooters. I still remember coming back on a packed train from Mansfield with QPR fans jumping up and down singing "three stops to Hooters” - honestly show a QPR fan a pair of tits... Turn left out of the station’s main entrance and left again. If scantly clad, busty young ladies serving beer isn’t your thing then there is a vast array of chain places in the city centre. The Larwood and Voce next to the cricket ground that used to be a regular away fans’ pub is now home fans only which means on a Saturday most travelling fans are now directed to the Wheeler Bar at Notts County’s ground although whether that is still the case I’m not sure.
Our resident tame Fulham fan Konk tells us: "If you like your ale, then you can't go wrong with The Vat & fiddle in Nottingham. It's the Castle Rock brewery tap - serves all their beers and plenty of stuff like Estrella and Carlsberg too. A proper old school pub with friendly locals, the excellent Harvest Pale on tap at £2.70 and cheese and onion cobs. Quality boozer open from 11.00and a 90 second walk from the station. Busy without being mobbed."
No word on coach details for the league game.
Tickets for the FA Cup tie are priced £15 for adults and seniors, £10 for under 18s, and £5 for under 12s. These prices drop to £10 for adults and seniors, £5 for under 18s and £1 for under 12s if they are season ticket holders. The discounted prices must be purchased in advance, from QPR, by lunchtime on Thursday. Discounts not available on the day at Forest — where, incidentally, buying tickets on the day as an away fan has been a long drawn out affair, queueing across a car park to reach a single ticket window in the past.
Rangers have so far sold 1,000 of their 1,900 allocation for this game.
The club has five pairs of wheelchair and carer tickets remaining located in the lower tier. Wheelchair and ambulant tickets are priced as above. To book these tickets please call on 08444 777 007 and select the relevant option.
No details on tickets for the league match as yet.
Links >>> Official Forest Website >>> Detailed fans' guide to The City Ground
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