It's only been two weeks since our last visit, but for those of you who didn't go, here are a few tips to make the day a little easier.
The Stadium
The Hawthorns is a stadium that over the years has been completely rebuilt, although at different times, so therefore has a more traditional look and feel than newly built grounds like St Mary's.
With an overall capacity of 26,500 it is compact rather than spacious and has the dubious distinction of being the highest ground in England in terms of feet above sea level.
Getting There
By Road
Take the usual route north on the A34 towards Oxford, joining the M40 and heading towards Birmingham, at the junction of the M42 take the signs towards the M5 and when you reach that motorway follow Signs M5 North.
The ground is situated off Junction 1 of the M5, to get to the ground itself you come off at Junction 1 and head on the A41 towards Birmingham, the ground is then a short distance on the right hand side, Parking is by several signposted car parks or industrial sites offering parking, there is some street parking but check restrictions carefully.
Alternatively when coming off of the M1 take the first left towards West Bromwich Town Centre and then the first left again into Roebuck Street, there you can park and there is the designated away pub, it may be quicker to get back on the M1 from this side of the motorway.
By Train
The simplest way from Birmingham City Centre is to make the short walk to Snow Hill station, from there The Hawthorns station is served by both train and Metro with services on the train running roughly every ten minutes and only taking 7 minutes to get there.
For those who haven't purchased train tickets yet the cheapest method I have found is to buy several tickets, assuming you have a network railcard the following is recommended.
1. Buy a day return from Southampton to Basingstoke approx £10 with network card(Or Groupsave)
2, At the same time buy a day return from Basingstoke to Banbury £11 with railcard/Groupsave.
You don't need to physically get off the train at Basingstoke to do this, you can buy the seperate tickets at Southampton in advance
3. At Banbury get off and buy a day return, £18.00, but if you have three or more of you, you can do a group save thus making it approx £13 each, this takes about 15 minutes longer than staying on the cross country train but is significantly cheaper.
Eating Drinking Etc
There aren't that many pubs around the Hawthorns, at least that let away fans in, The Vine in Roebuck Street as mentioned is the designated away pub, but this is the other side of the M5 from the ground and you should allow a 15 minute walk to the ground and perhaps another 5 to walk round to the away section which couldn't be further away from the pub.
Otherwise there area few pubs on the Birmingham Road going away from the ground in the opposite direction from the motorway, the Royal Oak is probably the most away fan friendly and is renowned for its indian food.
If you are going by train there are a few good pubs in the centre of Birmingham especally the Old Contemptibles next to Snow Hill station.
The ground also has a good selection of food and beer etc but at the usual inflated prices.
More information about visiting the Hawthorns including both a street & satellite map can be found by visiting The Ugly Inside's new ground guide tab situated in the West Bromwich Albion game box on the home page, where you can also find a plethora of other information including links to the prediction league.
Capacity: 26,500 (all seated)
Address:
Halfords Lane, West Bromwich, West Midlands, B71 4LF
Main Telephone No: 0871 271 1100
Main Fax No: 0871 271 9861
Ticket Office: 0871 271 9780
Ticket Office Fax No: 0871 271 9781
Team Nickname: The Baggies
Year Ground Opened: 1900
Undersoil Heating: Yes
Pitch Size: 115 x 74 yards
Shirt Sponsors: TLCBET
Home Kit Colours: Navy & White Stripes (Sort of)