LFW Travel Guides — Swansea, Liberty Stadium
Monday, 4th Feb 2013 19:27 by Clive Whittingham

Rangers are on the road again this weekend with a difficult looking away trip to Swansea on the agenda. Usual travel and pub tips for those making the trip are as follows…

Ground Name: Liberty Stadium

Capacity: 20,500 (all seated)

Address: Morfa, Swansea, SA1 2FA

Main Telephone No: 01792 616 600

Ticket Office: 08700 400 004

Car

From London it’s M4 and ‘go west’ all the way into South Wales, then off at junction 45 and onto the A4607 following signs for the city centre. Stay on that road for about two and a half miles and the ground should magically appear before you. In the past we’ve avoided queues at junction 45 by going off one earlier at junction 44, and then following the A48 (first left at the top of the slip road) over one roundabout and past the Dylan Thomas pub (avoid, probably the worst pub in the entire country) to the A4067, then turn left and follow that to the ground. Somewhere around the 185 miles mark from Loftus Road.

Map

Click map to visit Google and zoom in/out or tour round.

Parking

It’s a brand new stadium this, 20,500 seats so guess what? That’s right, no car park for away fans. Permit holders only at the ground and all the guides say it’s residents permit holders only in the streets in the immediate vicinity although we have managed to get parked for free on the street very close to the away end on our last two visits so don’t rule it out as an option. You could try for street parking further afield or use the dreaded park and ride facilities at Swansea Vale shortly after leaving the M4 at junction 45 - £5 per car including travel to the ground. The guide strongly discourages you from parking on the nearby retail park, apparently the ticket issuers are a bit keen. On our last two visits we approached the ground on the dual carriageway, as soon as we saw it we dived off to the right onto Cwm Level Road and parked at the side of a road no problem at all – straight out afterwards as well.

Train

At this late notice you’re going to be paying a pretty penny to book a train ticket. The standard off peak return fare is £76 but you can get that down to £55 by booking two singles out of Paddington at 10.45 (arrives 1343) and coming back at 1928 (arrives 2243). The station is a hike from the ground – a good 25 minute walk to the ground so a taxi or bus would be advised on the way back if you are going to try and make it – numbers 4, 4a, 120, 122, 125, 132 run to the stadium.

Pubs

The Northern R’s ended up in the Dylan Thomas a few seasons ago as it is one of the first pubs you see when you drive in – the food was disgusting, the service was appalling and the place was filthy. If you are arriving by car this year drive right past the revolting hell hole. There are apparently no pubs within walking distance of the stadium that admit away fans on police advice, games in South Wales do always seem to be a bit tasty police and trouble wise. All the usual Wetherspoons, Yates etc are located on Wind Street in the centre of the city near Castle Gardens, No Sign Bar is the place for real ale enthusiasts. Last season, without colours it must be said, we went in the Harvester right next to the ground. The problem is this is more of a restaurant than a pub so 90 per cent of the space is taken up by tables for people to eat. That means that people there just to drink cram into the tiny bar area around the door as you walk in. For the last couple of seasons we’ve told them we want to eat, waited 30 minutes for a table to become available, and then ordered three courses and coffee to drag out the time we were allowed to sit down before being moved on. There was some unpleasantness last season when we slowly made our way back to the salad bar for a fifth helping. All in all, as usual with new grounds, the choice is narrow and the quality absolutely awful when it comes to places to eat and drink.

Coach

The club have knocked a tenner off the price of the coach for this game so fans can travel for £22 for adults – although the official site is now advertising the game tickets have sold out and removed details of the coach so perhaps it’s full. The LSA is running one coach that leaves the Smutts at 8am but that is also now fully booked and there will be no second coach.