QPR fans face a gruelling drive to South Wales next Tuesday night as the boys face newly promoted Swansea City in their brand new Liberty Stadium - here are the usual tips for those making the journey.
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
By 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. Round about 185 miles from Loftus Road.
Map:
Click map to visit Multi Map site 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 residents permit holders only in the streets in the immediate vicinity. 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.
By Train
As ever with midweek games, slightly tricky. Swansea is on the Great Western line that runs out of Paddington but sadly the last train home leaves town at half past eight which, unless Rangers ship three goals in the first ten minutes heaven forbid, is not much good to anybody. If you fancy chancing your arm on the return journey then it’s out of Swansea at 2232 and change at Cardiff, Gloucester and Swindon arriving back in the smoke at 0716 the following morning – that includes a five hour wait at Gloucester though so not for the faint hearted. £62 return at this late stage for that ticket. If you fancy an overnight stay and travelling back on Wednesday the price remains the same, direct trains to Paddington leave Swansea at 29 minute past the hour. The station is 25 minutes walk to the ground, taxi or bus advised – numbers 4, 4a, 120, 122, 125, 132 run to the ground.
Pubs:
This is my first visit to this part of the world, thankfully I missed our 4-0 FA Cup trouncing because it was on the television and I had more sense, so no personal recommendations this time. 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. Obviously next season I will be able to tell you all about whatever hell hole the Northern R’s might stumble into!
Tickets
Don’t be caught out – this is apparently an all ticket match despite the fact that it is a Tuesday and a small away following can be expected. Whether this is another South Wales Police initiative or QPR’s latest attempt to extract a £3.50 booking fee from you I’m not sure – let’s not forget that only two weeks ago we were told that Aston Villa was all ticket only to find tickets on sale on the night when we got there. Still, it’s a long way to go if that turns out not to be the case this Tuesday so buy in advance if planning to travel. Rangers have just over 1000 tickets available priced £23 for adults, £13 seniors and students and £10 juniors. Disabled tickets are priced £23 for a pair. The coach leaves at 1pm and is bloody expensive. Nine loyalty points for this one – Spurs can only dream of such a haul.
Links:
Detailed fans' guide to the Liberty Stadium
Official website