QPR travel north to Blackpool on Tuesday night. Bloomfield Road has expensive tickets and abysmal facilities but if you fancy the trip here are the usual travel trips.
Ground Name: Bloomfield Road
Capacity: 9 731 (all seated)
Address: Seasiders Way, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1 6JJ
Main Telephone No: 0870 443 1953
Fax No: 01253 405 011
By Car:
A long old haul from Loftus Road, 238 miles, but reasonably straight forward. Use the M1 and the M6 to head north, leaving the M6 at junction 32 onto the M55 which, if you follow it to the outskirts of the town and then onwards towards the shore, you should see Bloomfield Road appear on the right. If you do get lost the ground is right in between the Pleasure Beach and Blackpool Tower that dominate the skyline so head for either of those and you won’t be more than a quarter of a mile away.
Map:
Click map to visit Multi Map site and zoom in/out or tour round.
Parking:
Loads of street parking and pay and display car parks around the ground and as this is a cold Tuesday night out of season spaces should be in plentiful supply.
By Train
This being a midweek game you will be lucky to make it back to London afterwards, however needless to say there is no shortage of guest houses in Blackpool and last season we stayed in one between the station and the ground so an overnight stay should be reasonably easy to arrange. Unusually for provincial outposts like this there is a late train back to civilisation – you can get the 2245 back to Manchester at least. Worth bearing in mind there are two stations in Blackpool, North and South. South is nearer the station but served by trains once in a blue moon, most go into the North one and is about a 15 minute walk from the ground – I’ve seen the guide saying that it is two miles away and taxis are advised but we have walked it before no problem at all, even with Northern the Elder in tow.
You can actually be back in London at 0728 on Wednesday morning based on leaving Manchester Piccadilly at 0505 but that would leave you with the best part of a four and a half hour wait in Manchester if you leave Blackpool on the 2313 – still, you might fancy it. If not then tickets can be bought for £71 return based on leaving Euston, arriving at Blackpool North and changing at Manchester Piccadilly.
Pubs:
There is a large working men’s club by the entrance to the away end which admits fans from both teams and usually has a friendly atmosphere, likewise the one we went in two minutes from the ground on the Lytham Road. Fans of Wetherspoons can try The Auctioneer on Lytham Road near the South Station about ten minutes from the ground, on that same road is the Old Bridge House which is recommended by CAMRA. Blackpool town centre isn’t a million miles away either – basically lots and lots of options here.
Tickets:
Rangers have 1753 tickets which are extortionately priced for what you get. The stand is an uncovered temporary structure the likes of which you usually find at golf tournaments and it moves violently up and down whenever anybody gets up to go for a piss. The whole sorry structure is built on a sort of grey clay like surface that quickly turns into a sticky quagmire whenever it rains – if that happens you are advised to just let it set on your shoes and then chip it off with a chisel or something a day or two later, trying to wipe it off while it’s still wet only seems to make it worse. One season accommodating away fans like this while a stand is developed is understandable, two seasons is inconvenient, any more than that is taking the piss and frankly Blackpool should be thoroughly embarrassed and ashamed to not only still have this shambolic set up five years after it first went up but also having the nerve to charge supporters:
Adults - £26
Seniors - £20
16-18 years old - £18
Juniors - £15
Disabled - £26 for a pair.
And as if that wasn’t laughable enough tickets rise by a quid each if you dare to buy them on the night.
Links:
Official Blackpool Website
Detailed fans' guide to Bloomfield Road