| Contents |
What's The County
Ground Like?
Future Ground
Developments
Don
Rogers Stand (photo)
What Is
It Like For Visiting Supporters?
Arkells Stand (photo)
Where To Drink?
Looking
Towards The FastPlant Town End (photo)
Other Places
Of Interest
How To Get
There By Car & Where To Park
By
Train
A Closer Look At The
FastPlant Town End (photo)
Admission
Prices
Local Rivals
Programme &
Fanzine
Disabled Facilities
Fixtures 2012-2013
Ground Layout
Record & Average Attendance
Fans Ground Reviews
Hotel
Accommodation
County
Ground Location Map
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| What's The County
Ground Like? |
| A
traditional looking ground, that has an interesting
mix of stands. Both sides are large two-tiered covered
affairs that tower above the two smaller ends. The
Main Stand is the Arkells Stand on one side. Built in
1971 the stand is a fairly simple affair and has the
players tunnel and team dugouts in front. It has
windshields to either side and a few supporting
pillars. Opposite is the smarter looking Don Rogers
Stand. Opened in 1994, this stand has a cantilevered
roof, allowing spectators to have an uninterrupted
view of the playing action. It has a large upper tier,
with a much smaller lower tier. The FastPlant Town End
is a small covered stand, that is the traditional home
end. Unfortunately it has a row of supporting pillars
that run across the front of it. Oddly on one side,
the base of one of the floodlight pylons is situated
within the stand, with the pylon itself rising up
through the roof of the stand. At the other end is the
Stratton Bank Stand. This area is uncovered and open
to the elements. It has a small electric scoreboard
situated above it, next to which is a Rolex Clock.
Apparently this is the only Rolex clock that can found
within a football ground anywhere in the World. The
ground also benefits by a striking set of four
floodlight pylons.
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| Future
Ground Developments |
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The Club have announced
plans to almost completely re-develop the County
Ground, into a new modern stadium. Plans are for a
19,000 capacity venue, with a roof design similar
looking to the Reebok Stadium in Bolton. The only
stand that would remain is the Don Rogers Stand,
although Executive Boxes may be added to the rear of
it. The other three stands, starting with the Town
End, would be redeveloped. This includes the
Stratton Bank, which will be roofed and used to
house away supporters. It is hoped that works on adding an
additional tier to the Town End, could start in
the Summer of 2013.
Thanks to Gary Stanley for providing me with this
information.
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Don Rogers Stand
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| What Is
It Like For Visiting Supporters? |
Away fans are located in the Arkells
Stand at one side of the pitch, where up to 1,200
fans can be housed. This is an older stand with
facilities to match, but at least you are under
cover. If you are at the back of this stand there is
one supporting pillar which may impair your view of
the goal otherwise it is fine. You even get a view
of some of the rolling Marlborough Hills beyond one
corner of the ground! There is a small kiosk at the
back of stand serving amongst other things a range
of pies, but be careful when taking them back to
your seat. The entrances to the seating areas are
through large solid doors, and to compound matters
they open out towards you!
Teams with a larger away following can also be
allocated the Stratton Bank End if required. A
further 2,100 fans can be accommodated in this area,
but the end has no cover and is open to the
elements. Fine on a nice sunny day, but on a cold
wet, winters day, it can be grim. This area was a
former terrace that has had seating bolted onto it,
which meant that the height between rows is not
great. I found Swindon to be a relaxed and fairly
friendly day out, although the size of Police
presence on my last visit seemed excessive.
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Arkells Stand
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| Where To Drink? |
| Away
fans are treated to their own bar, called Bar 71,
which is located by the away turnstiles. The County
Hotel right by the ground, did not allow entrance to
away supporters on my last visit. Best to continue
down County Road and seek out the Cricket Club that
sits behind the Arkells Stand. As Mark Osborne from
Swindon adds; 'On match days home and away fans can park on the
cricket ground (for a small fee) and then have access
to a drink in the cricket club. This is a very
friendly (as well as cheap) club that always welcomes
away fans'. I would echo these comments but also add
that you can still get into the cricket club (there is
no charge) even if you have not parked there. Please note though that the Cricket
Club facilities are not available when the Cricket
Club is playing a match. This doesn't happen often
but can do towards the beginning and end of the
football season, when fixtures overlap.
Audrey MacDonald a visiting Hartlepool United
fan, recommends 'The Merlin' on
Drove Road, near to the magic roundabout. 'Away
fans are welcome and
they have Sky Sports showing on 12 television screens and even in the gents (according to my husband)'. Alcohol
is available within the ground to
away fans in the Arkells Stand (but not in the open Stratton Bank
End), otherwise if you
arrive early Swindon town centre is a 15 minute walk away.
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Looking Towards The FastPlant Town End
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| Other Places Of Interest |
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Located
near one corner of the ground is the 'Magic
Roundabout'. Whoever designed this must have been on
something. It is a large island surrounded by five
mini roundabouts, which effectively means that
traffic can go round the main roundabout the wrong
way! Confused? I was!
Thanks to
Chris King for providing the image of the Magic
Roundabout above and the directions below. Chris
suggests that visiting supporters, with the aide of
the diagram, can perhaps practice in their back
garden prior to visiting Swindon!
If you want further information then visit the
Magic Roundabout page of the Swindon Web.
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| How To Get
There By Car & Where To Park |
| The
ground is well signposted in and around Swindon town
centre. Just follow signs for 'The County
Ground'.
From M4 Junc.15:
Follow the A4259 (Queens Drive) towards
Swindon. Go across one roundabout and at the next
take the first exit onto the A4312 (signposted
Swindon/Football Traffic). You will see the
floodlights of the County Ground over on the right,
as you approach the large Magic Roundabout. The
County Ground is on the corner of this
roundabout.
From the North A419
from Cricklade/Cirencester/M5:
Continue on the
A419 until reaching the top of the new 3
lane stretch of dual-carriageway, which
runs uphill. (I would advise to
stay in the inside lane on this climb as
the exit approaches quickly). Take the exit at the
top of the hill (Lady Lane Junction). At the
lights go right, then almost immediately at the
next set of lights go left. Follow this road
through the next set of traffic lights (passing
the Motorola building to the right), then branch
left onto the A4311. From here follow this road,
following signs for Town Centre. At
Transfer Bridges roundabouts turn left at the
first and then straight over the second. The
County Ground is on the left after the
mini-roundabout. The County Ground is one of
the few remaining football stadiums you can
notice from a fair distance, due to the
striking floodlights. Thanks to Robin Sharpe
for supplying the directions.
If you survive the
Magic Roundabout then there is some street parking.
Otherwise park at the cricket club (take County Road
off the Magic Roundabout, go past the County Hotel
on your right, you will see a small sign further
down on your right for football parking, just before
the mini roundabout). There is
some parking available at the ground itself for a
cost of £10.
Map
showing the location of the County
Ground (at the bottom of this page).
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| By
Train |
| The ground is walkable from
Swindon train station and will take you around 10-15
minutes. Leave the station, cross the road and proceed
up the road between the two pubs (Great Western and
Queen's Tap), continue to end of road. Turn
left, proceed along Manchester Road, through traffic
lights as far as you can go. At the junction
turn right. The County Ground is about 300 yards up
this road on the left. Thanks to John Bishop for
providing me with the directions.
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A Closer Look At
The FastPlant Town End
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| Admission
Prices |
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Home
Fans*:
Arkells Stand & Don Rogers
Stands:
Adults £25, Over 60's/Students £19,
Under 18's £17, Under 16's £12, Family Packages from
£40
FastPlant Town End: Adults £19, Over 60's/Under
20's/ Young Adults £15, Under 16's £12**
Away Fans:
Arkells
Stand:
Adults £25, Over 60's/Students £19, Under 18's £17
(Proof of age required), Under 16's £12
* Club members can get a
£2 discount on these match ticket prices.
** Under 16's must be accompanied by an adult in
the Town End. Under 10's can be admitted free if
they are a member of the Club and are accompanied
by a paying adult.
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| Local Rivals |
| Oxford
United, Bristol Rovers &
Bristol City.
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| Programme |
| Official
Programme: £3
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| Disabled
Facilities |
| For
details of disabled facilities and club contact at the
ground please visit the relevant page on the Level
Playing Field website.
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| Fixtures 2012-2013 |
| Swindon Town FC fixture list (takes
you to the BBC Sports
Website)
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Ground
Layout
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| Record & Average
Attendance |
32,000
v Arsenal
FA Cup 3rd Round, January 15th, 1972.
Modern All Seated Attendance
Record:
14,731 v Walsall
League Two, May 5th 2007
Average Attendance:
2011-2012:
8,411 (League Two)
2010-2011: 8,458 (League
One)
2009-2010: 8,389 (League One)
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| Fans Reviews Of The County Ground |
Pete Callan
(Oldham Athletic) 30/3/13
Joe Cooper
(Preston North End) 23/2/13
Stuart Jackson (Yeovil
Town) 17/11/12
Paul Willott (Doing
The 92) 25/2/12
Diana Bowden
(Crewe Alexandra) 6/8/11
James Spring (Notts
County) 2/4/11
Tino Hernandez
(Bournemouth) 1/1/11
Damian Purser (Leyton
Orient) 17/4/09
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| Hotel
Accommodation |
If you require hotel
accommodation in the area then first try a hotel
booking service provided by Late Rooms. They offer all
types of accommodation to suit all tastes and pockets
from; Budget Hotels, Traditional Bed & Breakfast
establishments to Five Star Hotels and Serviced
Apartments. Plus their booking system is
straightforward and easy to use. Yes this site will
earn a small commission if you book through them, but
it will go to help with the running costs of keeping
the Guide going. The Hotels listing also includes
details of how far away the accommodation is located
from the football ground.
Access
their Swindon
Guest Houses and Hotels page.
Remember that you can use the above link or panel
below to book any other hotels that you may need
for business or leisure, either in the UK or
abroad.
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| Map
showing the location of the County Ground, railway
station and listed pubs |
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Instructions for using
the map:
- Use the bar on the left of the map to zoom in /
out using the + / - keys.
- Click and drag an area of the map to move around
or use the up/down, left/right arrows
- Click the Satellite button to see aerial view
photograph.
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| Feedback |
If
anything is incorrect or you have something to add,
please e-mail duncan@footballgrounds.net
and I'll update the guide.
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