Sheffield Travel – Saturday

Sheffield Wednesday v Hereford United
Saturday 29th January 2011 KO 3.00pm
Hillsborough Stadium
Sheffield
S6 1SW
Phone 0871 995 1867
Ticket Office 0871 900 1867

The Owls can trace their history in some form right back to 1820. Unsurprisingly, their name does stem from the day on which they played their games but not as a football club. It comes from the Wednesday Cricket Club that was formed in that year. It was 1867 that The Club changed to the Sheffield Wednesday Cricket Club and Football Club.

The earliest record of a football club is in Sheffield with Sheffield FC being formed in 1857 and Hallam FC in 1860 although neither of these early clubs are directly connected with the two current professional clubs although Sheffield FC did, at one time, play at Bramhall Lane.

"Wednesday" won the FA Cup in 1896 defeating Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 at Crystal Palace in front of 48,836 spectators a feat, which they repeated in 1907 at the expense of Everton when the gate topped 84,500.

"The Owls" nickname comes from the early name of their stadium – The Owlerton Stadium – like Hillsborough, a suburb of Sheffield. The record gate stands at 72,841 which was achieved at an FA Cup 5th round match against Manchester City in 1934.

Bulls fans will be accommodated in the upper tier of the Leppings Lane End West Stand with access to turnstiles being directly off Leppings Lane. The game is NOT all-ticket and Bulls' fans will be able to pay at the turnstiles although advance tickets are available from HUFC offices up to lunchtime on Friday. The cut-off for orders via telephone and post is 4.00pm on Wednesday.

HUISA – Coaches depart Radford's at 9.00am with a fare of £16 for members and £18 for non-members.

BY CAR – Travel to Worcester then take the M5 north to join the M42 at M5 J4A. Continue on the M42 taking care to keep left at J3A (avoiding the M40). You will pass signs for the NEC and continue to follow all M42 signs in the direction of Tamworth. The M42 eventually becomes the A42 and which will take you to the M1. Join the M1 (north) and continue all the way to Junction 36 taking care to remain on the M1 at J32 where it splits to the M18. At M1 J36, take the A61 towards Sheffield. Coach organisers should note that South Yorkshire Police will meet coaches at this point to co-ordinate the onward journey to Hillsborough. Car drivers should continue to follow the A61 for approximately four miles until the second roundabout where you take the third exit into Leppings Lane. Yes, it is that easy. Distance is around 155 and you should allow three and a quarter hours. Postcode is S6 1SW.

PARKING – There are a few unofficial car parks mainly along the A61 where firms will charge you £3-£5 to park up, with one of the closer ones being the Wednesdayite Car Park (the name of one of their supporters organisations). Their tariff is £5 for non-Wednesdayite members and the car park is situated next to the Kop end of the ground, and therefore is one of the closest..
An alternative, particularly if you want to combine your day with a bit of shopping, is to head to Sheffield Meadowhall Shopping Centre (leave M1 at J34), which is a huge out of town retail shopping centre. The advantage is that parking at Meadowhall is free, however you'll need to take a Tram from there to Leppings Lane (Yellow Tram) that will set you back around £3.50.
TRAIN – Sheffield station is in the centre of Sheffield about three miles from the stadium.

SUPERTRAM – Signposted from the train station. Take the Middlewood Road tram (yellow route) to the Leppings Lane stop which is a short walk from the ground. http://www.thetrams.co.uk/supertram/services.php

BUS – Bus numbers 53, 70 and 80 run from Flat Street Bus terminus (near the train station) to Hillsborough. From Angel Street, use buses 85 and 86 and from Snig Hill, buses 85 and 86.

ALEHOUSES – On the A61 north of the ground you will find The Norfolk Arms about 2.5 miles from the stadium and The Red Lion half a mile closer to Hillsborough. One that I have visited before is The Hillsborough Hotel at 54/58 Langsett Road just off the A61 going into the centre from the ground. It has it's own microbrewery on the premises! Also, the nearby New Barrack Tavern on Penistone Road is well worth a visit being run by the Castle Rock Brewery.

In the centre of Sheffield on Wellington Street you will find The Devonshire Cat, a largish pub with a dozen hand-pumps and good value food. Close to the north side of the inner ring road and at a point where the A61 finally hits the City, you will find The Kelham Island Tavern at 62 Russell Street. This fine alehouse was CAMRA National Pub of The Year in both 2009 and 2010 and therefore needs no further recommendation. Also, nearby, is The Fat Cat at 23 Alma Street which has 11 pumps including Timmy Taylor’s ExLandlord.

It is believed that no alcohol is served in the visitors end at Hillsborough.

There is no shortage of fast food outlets both in the centre and on the approaches to the ground.

Be there.

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