The important information for those who are first time visitors to Villa Park or just want a little bit of help in enjoying their trip at the weekend.
Villa Park holds great memories for Saints fans not least the 2003 FA Cup semi final against Watford, many think of it as a traditional football stadium, however it has been completely rebuilt over the years with the oldest stand the North Stand, what was the old away end being built in 1978 and the other 3 stands being built in the mid 1990's.
Getting There
By car
 Its simple, take the A34 and then head north on the M40, then take the M42 signposted to the M6, leave the motorway just after the turnoff for the BIC and take the M6 north (NOT the M6Toll) after around 7/8 miles leave the motorway at junction 6 and follow signs to Birmingham (NE) you will see the ground from here and its well signposted.
By Train
Depending on the train you take you will either arrive at the main station Birmingham New Street or Birmingham Moor Street. From New Street you can take a local train to Witton which is on the same side as the away section and only about a 3 minute walk.
If you arrive at Moor Street you can walk to New Street in around 7 minutes and its well signposted and get the local train from there.
The ground is probably a good 35 minute walk from the City Centre so train is probably your best bet or a taxi.
A good tip for those going on the train is to firstly take the Cross Country Service to Birmingham, but dont buy one return ticket, split the journey into two, Southampton to Basingstoke and then Basingstoke to Banbury, if you use a network card then the two tickets will cost around £19 return instead of the £28 if you buy a Soton to Banbury return. You do not need to change trains at Basingstoke.
From Banbury you could also then buy a ticket from there to Birmingham New Street and stay on this cross Country train, but the cheapest option is to change at Banbury and get a different train operator into Birmingham, if there are three or more of you, you can get a group save offer for around £10 each person, this train leaves Banbury about 5 mins after the Cross Country train leaves and gets into Birmingham Moor Street about the same time as the Cross Country train which will cost about £18 with no group save available on this service.
All a little messy i know, but far better than paying the £80 or so that you will be charged if you bowl up to the station on the day, indeed its probably cheaper to purchase a Network Railcard for £30 on the day if there are 2 or more of you
If you take these options you could get to Birmingham for a little over £30 as opposed to around £80 if you buy a normal day return as group savers are not available on Cross Country train services, in essence you just need to split up your tickets into three when buying them and then just change at Banbury which is only a 5 minute wait going up and 10 minutes or so coming back
Parking
Mainly street parking although there are plenty of industrial units offering parking or the like, watch out for parking restrictions the nearer you get to the ground.
The Away Section
If you haven't visited since our return to the Premier League but have been before, this has been moved since your last visit to Villa Park, back then it was in the lower tier of the North Stand a low seated terrace with a poor view of the action even if you were sat at the highest point, now away supporters are seated in the upper & lower Tiers of the Doug Ellis Stand where a total of 3,000 fans can be accommodated, the view especially from the upper tier is superb although the concourses can be a bit packed, due to the fact that it is only a corridor with enough room to fit 3 people across.
It's the normal fare, although alcohol isn't available in the upper tier, but is in the lower.
Eating Drinking Etc
Many of the pubs in the near vicinity of Villa Park are either members only or have bouncers on the door, however there are plenty that will let in away fans the farther you go from the stadium.
The designated away fans pub some will remember from our seasons in the Premier and is the Witton Arms around 100 metres from the away turnstiles, a big pub, half of it is given up to away fans only however they charge you £2 to get in, if you dont want to pay this then if you head past the pub heading past Witton Station then a ten minute walk will bring you to the Yew Tree which doesn't charge to get in and offers a better standard of pint, for those with a car its not a bad place to park with plenty of street parking in the vicinity.
If anyone has any good tips for Villa Park please share them in the comments section below.
Capacity: 42,785 (all seated)
Address: Villa Park, Trinity Rd, Birmingham B6 6HE
Main Telephone No: 0121 327 2299
Main Fax No: 0121 322 2107
Ticket Office: 0800 612 0970
Ticket Office Fax: 0800 612 0977
Stadium Tours: 0800 612 0970
Club Nickname: The Villans
Year Ground Opened: 1897
Pitch Size: 115 x 72 yards