IPSWICH: #LUFCAWAYDAYS GUIDE

IPSWICH: #LUFCAWAYDAYS GUIDE

Information for United fans travelling to Portman Road...

Ipswich Town have kindly supplied the following guide for away fans visiting Portman Road...

Welcome to Ipswich! This is a short guide, designed to answer the kind of questions that we often get from visiting fans, and provide the information that we find useful when we’re travelling away ourselves.

For any further information, or if you have any feedback on our guide, please contact Elizabeth Edwards, Assistant Supporter Liaison Officer and Chair of the ITFC Supporters Club, on officialitsc@btinternet.com or 07968 876504.

HOW TO GET TO THE STADIUM

Back in 2003, we hosted an England international v Croatia. On the Englandfans message board, someone asked “how do I get from the station to the ground?” The response was simple: “Come out of the station and look straight ahead. The ground is the oblong structure with floodlights at each corner.”

• BY CAR

The address is Portman Road, Ipswich, IP1 2DA.

From Leeds, there are two main road options, the most direct being M1 / A14, though often the quicker route is the M62 / A1 / A14. Whichever way you go, it is likely to take three-and-a-half to four hours, but you should allow at least another hour for traffic. The section of the A14 between Huntingdon and Cambridge is very busy, especially between 3pm – 6.30pm. Beware of average speed cameras which cover about 25 miles from Huntingdon to the east of Cambridge.

Satnavs vary in their recommended route into town, but whichever way you go, it shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes from the A14 to the ground.

For those without Satnav, once you reach the junction of the A12 and A14, just south of Ipswich, take the A1214 for a couple of miles into town. As you approach the town centre area, there’s a Sainsbury’s supermarket on the left – at this point, go straight on past Sainsbury’s and then almost immediately right onto West End road. Take the first left (after about half a mile) onto Sir Alf Ramsey Way and you’ve arrived.

Note that the roads immediately behind the Cobbold and Sir Bobby Robson stands are closed about 90 minutes before the game, so to access the NCP car park on Portman Road you will need to continue on London Road, straight on to Handford Road and then do a U-turn at the roundabout with Civic Drive, turning back onto Handford Road, then taking the first left into Portman Road.

• PARKING

There is no official stadium car park, but there is parking all around the ground. The closest is a large NCP on Portman Road (right by the away end), which usually has spaces up to at least 7pm, and it’s worth checking later. There’s also a large car park on West End Road (5 minutes’ walk away) and at the railway station (less than 10 minutes). The town centre is less than 10 minutes’ walk, and has numerous car parks, as you’d expect.

Being a town centre ground, most streets are controlled (residents only) parking, so free on-road parking tends to be at least a 20-minute walk away. As usual, the car parks nearest the ground are a bit slow to clear after the game – for a quick exit, use the railway station car park, and exit left out of the station onto Burrell Road / Ranelegh Road (B1075), then (after about a mile) left onto the A1214.

• BY COACH

Away coaches usually park in the West End Road car park, 5 minutes’ walk from the ground.

• BY TRAIN

For those travelling by train, Ipswich station is only 5 to 10 minutes’ walk from the ground. For Leeds to Ipswich, there are two rail routes, the quicker being Leeds to Peterborough, then Peterborough to Ipswich. Some fans will travel via London (changing at Kings Cross and taking the tube round to Liverpool St).

Of course you will not be able to get back to Leeds the night of the game.

Some Leeds fans will be travelling back as far as London after the game – beware, as there are engineering works affecting services in the evening. The only direct train to London after the game leaves Ipswich at 22:08, but takes two hours to trundle to London, arriving at 00:08, just about OK for last tubes (if it is on time), but presenting some difficulty for anyone wanting to travel beyond London.

If you need to be earlier, then you’ll need to miss the last few minutes of the match and get the 21:43, change to a rail replacement bus at Colchester, then back onto a train at Witham, arriving into London at 23:34.

We’d recommend allowing at least an extra hour for your journey to Ipswich, as delays are by no means unknown. There are ticket checks on all mainline trains.

OFFICIAL AWAY PUB
The recently refurbished Station Hotel (formerly the Riverside Hotel) is opposite the station, and is the official away pub. It has had a major refurb recently, is roomy, has a garden and TV screens, and three beers on handpump from the Greene King stable.

Most pubs immediately around the ground are home fans only, and few pubs around the town, if any, will welcome groups of away fans. As always, couples, families and older people will find it a bit easier to slip into a town centre pub for a quiet beer or two. Note that, on a match-by-match basis, police may designate other pubs in the town centre as home fans only.

STADIUM

• PORTMAN PALS – volunteer fans who help out with information etc.

Look out for the Portman Pals outside the stadium. Dressed in red, they are there to help answer your questions and point you in the right direction. One of the most common questions for the Pals is “where is the nearest cash machine?” There are no cash machines at the ground – the nearest are

at the Cardinal Park leisure park (about 5 minutes’ walk) or the railway station (about 5 to 10 minutes’ walk). Given the choice, we’d suggest going to Cardinal Park, as the machine at the station is not always open.

• MATCHDAY PROGRAMME

The matchday programme can be purchased outside the stadium from the white, tardis-like kiosks. Programmes cost £3.

• SECURITY

As at most away grounds, you can expect to be searched prior to entering the ground.

• SEATING

Portman Road is a traditional ground, with 4 separate stands. The away end is blocks V1 and V2 of the Cobbold Stand plus, for this game, the adjacent block E, plus (families only) block S. All bar block S give you a good side-stand upper-tier view of the action, though it is an older stand, dating from the 1970s. Ambulant disabled fans will be seated in the away fans Family Area, within block S of the lower tier. Note that Under-5’s are not permitted in the lower tier of any stand at Portman Road. Wheelchair users will be located in the home end.

If tickets are available on the day you will be able to purchase these at turnstiles 10 and 11. These are cash turnstiles with no debit or credit card facilities for away fans. We will advise your SLO as soon as we have this information.

• HUNGRY OR THIRSTY?

Food and drink facilities are what you’d expect (pies, hot dogs, confectionery etc). Alcohol availability in the away end is determined on a match-by-match basis. We will advise your SLO as soon as we have the information for this game.

• SMOKING POLICY

Portman Road is a no smoking stadium. This includes e-cigarettes. Anyone found smoking will be ejected from the ground. For anyone considering leaving the stadium, note that no re-admission to the ground is permitted.

• FLAGS/BANNERS

Subject to space, flags and banners are allowed in the away end. These will need to be fire certificated. For questions relating to this contact Mick Warden on mick.warden@itfc.co.uk.

• MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND SELFIE STICKS

Musical instruments and selfie sticks are not allowed in the away end.

DISABLED FANS

There are special arrangements for wheelchair and ambulant disabled fans (tickets and parking). Please contact Warner Duff by email on warner.duff@itfc.co.uk or by phone on 01473 400556.

STAMP IT OUT

Ipswich Town Football Club takes a zero-tolerance stance on any form of racial, homophobic or prejudiced behaviour. Supporters can report any incident instantly that they feel needs attention by texting the anonymous ‘Stamp it Out’ number on 07834 439429 (standard text rate applies). All reports will be handled in the strictest confidence. Alternatively, Supporter Liaison Officer Sally Webb can be contacted on sally.webb@itfc.co.uk.

IF YOU’RE SPENDING A BIT MORE TIME IN IPSWICH…

HOTELS
Ipswich has numerous hotels, many at the budget end of the market, within a comfortable walk from the ground. Of the chains, the nearest are the Novotel and Penta hotels (5 mins), with Premier Inn and Travelodge around 10-15 mins from the ground in the harbourside area. For a more upmarket option, the Salthouse Harbour Hotel is on the harbourside.

LOCAL ATTRACTIONS
Ipswich local attractions include:

• Harbourside and marina, with numerous restaurants, cafes and bars

• Town centre, with many independent stores dotted around a fairly compact area

• Christchurch Park, Mansion and Gallery – a huge, 70-acre park just north of the town centre, including a Tudor mansion which houses a renowned (and free) art gallery (with a permanent display of local artist John Constable)

• Pubs selling a wide range of locally-brewed real ales, with town centre options including the Fat Cat, Greyhound, Dove Street Inn, Mulberry Tree, St Judes Tavern, Thomas Wolsey, Greyhound and Briarbank Brewery. Of these, the Dove, St Judes and Briarbank are also microbreweries.

• Felixstowe is just 15 miles (15 minutes, via the A14) away to the east, and is both a traditional seaside resort (there’s a pier and the promenade stretches for a couple of miles) and major container port, which includes a fantastic viewing point, where you can see shipping movements and the loading / unloading of the world’s largest container ships.

• The Orwell Bridge carries the A14 over the river to Felixstowe, and is an impressive sight from below. You get to it off the A137, which is a mile or so east of the A12/A14 junction. The road under the Orwell Bridge then meanders for a few miles past Pin Mill (the Butt & Oyster is a lovely old waterside inn) and onto Shotley, which has loads of yachts and great views of the ports of Felixstowe and Harwich.

• The historic little town of Woodbridge is just a few miles from Ipswich, with a tide mill, lots of little boutiques, some fine pubs, and an Adnams Wine and Beer store (next to the station)

• Just a bit further up the coast you’ll find the beautiful seaside town of Aldeburgh with its famous fish & chip shop (it’s the one at the north end of the High Street, with the big queue outside), as well as some wonderful little shops and pubs. You’ll pass the concert hall, antique, home furnishings and fine foods shops of Snape Maltings en route to Aldeburgh, and it’s well worth the short detour – no national chains here!

• If you’ve managed to get as far as Aldeburgh, you may well be tempted to continue a bit further up the coast, past the impressive power station at Sizewell, to the beautiful seaside town of Southwold, home of Adnams beers, a pier, and lots of little shops and galleries. 

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