New LFW policy this year — we'll be doing one travel guide when the cheap trains are released, and another when the tickets go on sale, starting with Man Utd away in September.
Ground Name: Old Trafford
Capacity: 76 100 (all seated)
Address: Sir Matt Busby Way , Manchester , M16 0RA
Main Telephone No: 0870 442 1994
Ticket Office: 0870 442 1999
M6 for this one up to Junction 19 and then the A556 towards Altrincham and A56 towards Manchester until the ground appears. You’re unlikely to be able to get very close to it with the parking restrictions and road closures. It's 193 miles from Loftus Road , four hours give or take allowing for traffic.
It’s been a while since were last here but the parking situation hasn’t changed much — lots of little private car parks at businesses and factories. The Old Trafford cricket ground charges a fiver, but the Salford Lowry Mill came highly recommended by my Mum who parked there for the Rugby League Grand Final a couple of years ago and paid £3. Alternatively you can park at the end of the tram lines at Altrincham and Eccles and get a tram to the ground from there.
It remains a mystery to me how Virgin Trains managed to get more than 100,000 of their passengers to sign a petition asking for them to keep their franchise when it came under threat from an outlandish bid by First Group. As usual, on a Manchester United home matchday, we're already seeing prices heading through the roof for a game that doesn't take place until the middle of September.
At the time of writing the cheapest trip is the 0820 from Euston arriving into Piccadilly at 1103 for £19 single, coming back at 2021 (arriving 2257) for £19 so a round trip of £38. You can knock a fiver off this by coming back at 2055 (arriving 2349) but that's a long old day. Anything later than 0820 is currently at £35.50 apart from the 1257 which is £27, although you'd be pushing the kick off time with an arrival of 1509.
One way we've skirted around this rip off before is to go up the East Coast to Leeds . Leaving Kings Cross at 0856 (arriving 1128) and going back at 1945 (2220) or 2045 (2320) you can currently travel for £26 with £12 return tickets between Leeds and Manchester . No kind of saving for a whole load of hassle now, but expect those Virgin tickets to be £79.20 very shortly so this £38 trip may become more attractive.
There are also currently some £16 returns available on the (very slow) London Midland service to Crewe from where a return to Manchester can be had for £9.50 so you're going there and back for £25 which is approaching reasonable — although you do have to trek through the Midlands on the Ninky Nonk for three hours and then change.
The main Manchester stations are not walkable for Old Trafford so get the tram to either Pamona or Exchange Quay on the Eccles branch or Old Trafford on the Altrincham line. A warning for after the match — trams are usually so full they don’t stop at Pamona so Exchange Quay maybe a better bet, although on a Sunday this is also an absolute ball ache. The whole place is a tourist-infested hell hole basically, go with low expectations.
Coach details to be released nearer the time.
Ticket details to be released nearer the time.
As ever, we expect Manchester United's borderline-criminal stewarding to be in full force for this fixture and would advise all QPR fans against: persistent standing or even occasional standing; shouting, clapping, talking, making a noise of any sort; catching a steward's eye; asking for directions to the bogs; looking a bit shifty; breathing too loudly; having one of the fatter more obnoxious ones steam into you on he stairs. All of these are punishable with an immediate, heavy handed, usually needlessly violent ejection carried out by a team of lobotomised gibbons. Ordinarily we'd say it's quite easy not to be thrown out of a football match, but Old Trafford is the exception. Here, it's more difficult to stay inside the place for 90 minutes. A persistent, ongoing scandal.
Links: >>> Official Website >>> Detailed Fans Guide to Old Trafford
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Pictures — Action Images