QPR make their most northerly trip of the season this Saturday as Neil Warnock’s men face Middlesbrough. For those planning to travel with the team, here’s how…
Ground Name: Riverside Stadium
Capacity: 35 100 (all seated)
Address: Middlesbrough, Cleveland, TS3 6RS
Main Telephone No: 0844 499 6789
Ticket Office: 0844 499 1234
By Car:
Obviously it’s a long hike from London, exactly 250 miles from Loftus Road to the Riverside Stadium, but it should be reasonably simple. Take either the M1 to the A1 at Leeds or the A1 all the way up past York. Then you can either take the A618 at Dishforth and pick up the A19 or carry on the A1 all the way up to Darlington and take the A66 towards Middlesbrough. Either way you end up approaching the ground on the A66 and you should start to see signs for it as you go through the middle of Middlesbrough on that A66.
Map:
Click map to visit Multi Map site and zoom in/out or tour round.
Parking: No official car park at the stadium but it is surrounded by old factories and waste ground and there is certainly no shortage of places to dump the car near the ground. Alternatively there is street parking slightly further afield, on the other side of the A66. Follow the signs for ‘away coaches’ according to the guide (link below) as this takes you past a number of private car parks by the river. The ground is also only a mile away from the town centre and all the associated long stay parking places there.
By Train This is a trip up the East Coast line from Kings Cross with a change at either York or Darlington for QPR fans. A word of advice if booking in advance, returns from Darlington and York to Middlesbrough are dirt cheap so it may be worth seeing if it is cheaper to get a London to Darlington/York ticket and then a separate one for the oneward journey.. Tickets for the full trip are currently retailing at around the £109 return mark. You can get that down to £97 by booking through the East Coast website direct, and that site is also doing a third off if you book for a group of three or more. Return tickets to York are around £78 with returns to Middlesbrough £11 from there.
Coaches: The official coach leaves Loftus Road at 7.30pm and the Target roundabout at 8am. Travel is priced £34 for adults, £22 for seniors and young adults, and £20 for juniors with the usual discounts for season ticket holders. The LSA is also running a coach from the Springbok, call or text Luke on 07806 531 999 or Gary on 07951 423 341 for more details.
Pubs: Few and far between. The Bridge next to the staton was where we went many moons ago, but it’s mainly home fans and I wouldn’t advise colours. Sky TV and a mix of fans from both clubs can usually be found at Dr Browns on Corporation Road – detailed directions in the guide linked below..
Tickets: Rangers have 1,000 tickets to sell in advance but the away end is huge and the Riverside Stadium I virtually deserted on a match day at the moment so we could sell two or three times that amount on the day if it was necessary. Which it won’t be. These are priced £26 for adults, £16 for seniors, £13 for under 18s, and disabled at the same price with a carer for free. These are on sale from Rangers until Thursday and will then be returned.
Links >>> Detailed fans' guide to the Riverside >>> Official website >>> Awayday Review