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Southampton

Directions

From the M3 take the A33 into Southampton. Continue on the A33 until you reach the junction with the A3024 Northam Road and turn left onto this road towards Northam. Then turn right onto the B3038, Britannia Road for the stadium.

Away fans with a parking permit, should use the Park & Ride Scheme, which is located by Junction 8 of the M27.

There is hardly any parking available at the stadium and there are parking restrictions to be put in force for the local area. Many fans appear to be parking in the City Centre and then taking the 15-20 minute walk to the stadium. Alternatively, on my last visit I noticed a number of fans parking around the Marina area and then taking the ten minute walk to the ground. Parking in this area has the advantage that at the end of the game, you can avoid the city centre gridlock, by heading along the coast on the A3024 and then onto the M271/M27. Steve Ship a visiting Crystal Palace fan also recommends it; 'The Marina is called the Ocean Village which has plenty of parking, but it does charge to park there (we paid Ł5 for six hours). It is no more than a ten minute walk to the stadium, has a pub on the complex (which had a decent mix of home and away supporters) as well as plenty of food outlets. We left at the final whistle and were back on the M27 within 20 minutes thus avoiding the congested town centre'.

Barry Sear suggests 'I parked in Woolston (on the other side of the Itchen Toll Bridge) where there is plenty of street parking, and made the 15-20 minute walk from there to the ground over the Itchen toll Bridge. To get there, you leave the M27 at Junction 8 and follow the A3025 to Woolston. I was back on the M27 within 10 minutes of getting back to the car'.

You may wish to try the away supporters free park & ride service located near to Junction 8 of the M27.

Pubs

Daren Wheeler recommends the following pubs 'the The Prince of Wales, The Bevois Castle and the Station as good friendly pubs for away fans. Ocean Village also has a lot of friendly drinking holes'. I found a good mix of home and away fans in a Wetherspoons Pub; 'The Standing Order' in the city centre. Remember though that the stadium is a good twenty minute walk away.

I did discover though a small pub called the Chapel Arms (formerly the Le Tissier Arms), which was only five minutes walk away from the stadium. Although a predominantly 'home' pub, it did have a small number of away fans in it, on my visit. To find this pub, simply go to the corner of the stadium that has the Saints Superstore on it (between the Itchen & Chapel Stands) and then walk away from the stadium towards the city centre, along the road, that runs beside the river and you will come to the pub on your right.

Chris Hayward recommends 'the Coopers Arms on Belvedere Road (5-10mins walk away from the ground). Good for both home and away supporters and is amongst the closest to the away coaches dropping off point in Britannia Rd through local industrial estate'.

By Train

The stadium is located around one and a half miles away from Southampton station (where there is also quite a large car park), which should take about 30 minutes to walk. There is also a shuttle bus in operation taking fans from the station to the ground. This operates from the Blechynden Terrace bus stop outside the station.

Turn left out of the station' s southern entrance and walk up Western Esplanade, which becomes Civic Centre Road. Remain on the Civic Centre Road and walk between the Civic Centre and the Marlands Shopping Centre. Eventually a crossroads is reached with the Nationwide Building Society on one corner and Lloyds Bank on another. Cross into New Road and follow this road across a park and past a college. Eventually you will reach a complex road junction with a number of traffic lights. Cross Kings Way into Northam Road and follow this road for quarter of a mile until you reach the ground on your right'. There are signs provided by the local council, which direct fans from the station to the ground.