KC and the Sunshine Ground

One Hull of a ground! Well no bad, at least it has some character. Easy enough to find if not a short journey. I parked at the stadium, £5 to park, and walked through the wooded park wherein lies the stadium.

I got myself a ticket in the East Stand, row 'z' and then made use of the council toilets next to the child play area. Fans have to wait until 2pm before the turnstiles open so I could get in and have some lunch. Tea, hot dog, wedges and special offer packet of Pringles.
As advertised it took half an hour to get back to the A63, a mere two miles from the ground. A bigger crowd would presumably lengthen this wait as the car park didn't look full to capacity.
The stadium is a modern eclipse with one side rising slightly higher than the others. Not a massive capacity and the visitors, Preston, attracted some seventeen thousand crowd. The different stands seem to have some ritual identity chant before the game. Decent enough ground and I would have liked to see more of the local attractions, The Deep and the bridge.

Cold-chester no more hot-chester!

A scorcher of an opening match at Colchester's stadium. Temperatures were hot enough that even in a shaded stand tee shirts were worn for decency not warm. I used the excellent park and ride just over the other side of the A12. Asked if I was there for football I was charged £3 to park and walked the short distance following signs marked for football fans to the stadium.

Weston Homes Community Stadium Colchester

After purchasing a ticket for the west stand at £27 I walked around and got some food from under the east stand; open to the public without giving access to the stand itself. Tea was the cheapest I have encountered in the last five years of a solitary pound. The stadium is new pleasant enough, nothing special but it suits them.
The mascot was on his game and I would say a bald eagle. The football was quite vibrant and the four goals were enough to make for an entertaining game.
After the game I made an easy exit to the next door dual carriageway and off the home. I good experience and can recommend a visit.

Elland Road signs off with a complete lack of goals

Not a bad journey.  Easy parking though getting out proved a slow business after I used a car park close to the motorway junction rather than the club's itself. The ground was rather full and it took two attempts to find the right ticket office but I managed it in time. Nothing in the shop for a neutral.

The food was the usual offerings. The ground was impressively full for a match of no consequence. Leeds has a few motorways to navigate but they do aid an easy enough entry and exit.
It is quite an expensive ticket considering the fare on display; £41 for the East central lower stand. The match wasn't the best, or the worst but produced no goals. The stadium shows more about their past than present but I think they are going in the right direction. Worth a visit footie fans.

Oakwell Sun

I arrived early for this dead rubber and bought a ticket from the new
looking part of this ground. Wandering around to the stand presented a somewhat older looking façade. And taking my seat up in the West Upper Stand very much confirmed the age of some parts; wooden seats for a start.

I enjoyed a hot and tea outside while waiting for the turnstiles to open from a
van; £5:50 and nice enough. Inside the ground it was PG tips with my kit-kat.
Looking around the stadium it feels quite modern and a large ground for league
one; giving away Barnsley's one appearance in the Premier League perhaps.
Despite the sun baking us in the open, up in the stand with a cold northerly wind I had to do my coat up to keep away the chills. The Tykes rescued a point at the end after Peterborough had a man sent off and the football wasn't too bad.

Coming off the M1 I had followed signs for the Football Club which guided me around the centre and to a car park near the Metrodome; the ground was a couple of hundred yards away down a grass area used for parking by visitors.  Getting away was easy enough.  All-in-all not a bad ground. I wish the Tykes well next season.

Leyton in Brisbane

A mid-week match is a different affair. The atmosphere can feel quite different. For this tie I would say the main difference was the cold. The away fans were happy and quite noisy but then they were 'The Bradford Boys'!.
Whilst in the queue for a ticket a lovely local was offering a spare ticket so I got to enjoy this lovely ground for free, Thanks.

The crowd were great - unfortunately their team could not delivery the goals and Bradford took the win. I like the ground and I travelled there by tube so parking so not an issue but there looked to be some nearby parking facilities for the few that came that way.  And some seem to park on the streets around.
The food was fine, the usual fare and prices. The ground is unusual in having a block of flats in each corner and some stands that have other buildings as integral parts; such as a college and more flats.