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Colchester United
From The North & M11:
Leave the A14 and then join the
M11. Come off the M11 at J8 (Stansted Airport/A120) and follow the A120 towards
Braintree & Colchester. The A120 then
joins the A12 and after passing the stadium on your
right, leave the A12 at Junction 28, which is directly adjacent
to the football ground.
Car
Parking:
There 700 car parking spaces at the stadium which
cost £6. There is also an extensive residents only parking scheme in
operation around the stadium, so you may need to journey to over a
mile away, before you can find a legitimate parking space. Mick
Hubbard adds; There are a number of local businesses in the
area also offering parking for around £5'. Whilst Peter Bennett
tells me; 'There seems to be no parking
restrictions, north of the bridge over the
A12.'
By Train
The nearest station to the ground is Colchester North
which is just under two miles away from the stadium. Located near to
the station at Bruff Close is a free shuttle bus service that will
take you to the ground. It takes around 10 minutes to reach the
stadium. I have heard of some fans paying to park at
Colchester North Station, where there is a fair sized car
park and then taking the shuttle bus. Apparently there is
some street parking to be had on Mile End Road near to the
Bricklayers pub.
Shuttle Bus to the Stadium:
A shuttle
bus operates from Bruff Close, which is close to Colchester
North station (at the end of the station approach turn left and take
the second exit at the roundabout, the buses park behind the "Big
Yellow" storage facility that you can see from the
station ).
For 3pm kick offs it will run from 1pm, with the last bus returning
from the stadium at 6pm. For 7.45pm kick offs, the service will
commence at 6pm with the last bus returning from the stadium at
10.15pm. The cost of the bus is £1.
Pubs
With the stadium being on the very
outskirts of Colchester, then there is little in the choice of pubs.
David Prior informs me; 'The Dog and Pheasant on Nayland Road, is
probably the closest to the stadium, although it is till around
3/4's of a mile away. However, it is only admitting home
fans'. Audrey MacDonald
a visiting Hartlepool United fan adds; 'We visited the Dog and
Pheasant and were admitted okay, although we weren't wearing
colours. The pub had a good choice of beer and did food too. To find
the pub, go down to the end of United Way, then at the end turn left
into Boxted Road and at the mini-roundabout go straight over into
Nayland Road. The Dog and Pheasant is on the right next to a
fish and chip shop'.
David Prior continues;
'If you are arriving at Colchester North Station then
there are a few pubs within
a five minute
walk.
Directly opposite Bruff
Close (where the shuttle bus runs from) is
the Bricklayers, but this is for home fans only.
If you turn right out of the station and cross at the
pedestrian crossing and keep going straight on down North Station
road, you will come to the Norfolk, which is a Greene King pub
and offers a good selection of lagers and ales. A
little further on is the 3rd option being the Albert, which
is a Beefeater pub'. John
Hill a visiting Huddersfield Town fan adds; 'The Norfolk Arms, which is
less than five minutes walk away from
the station car park was happy to admit away
fans. It looks like that it has recently been
refurbished, plus they serve
hand-pulled ale. Plus
Sky Sports on screen & a
new-looking pool table, so definitely recommended'.
Alternatively you can
take the short train ride from Colchester (North) mainline station
to Colchester Town, around which there are plenty of pubs to be found;
including on St John's Street the CAMRA listed pub, the Fox &
Fiddler which serves a number of real ales. Almost next door is the
Playhouse, which is a Wetherspoons outlet. This former theatre is a
spectacular setting for a bar, as the original dress circle and
stage of the theatre have been preserved and is well worth a
visit. |
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