Whaddon Road- Cheltenham Town FC Ground Guide

[Smudge]

How Easy Was The Ground to Get To (from the station, by car, etc)
I was given advice to leave the M5 at junction 9 to cut out the town centre, so that worked out well for traffic.

If Applicable, How is Parking Near The Ground?
Its all restricted right near the ground, so again foloowing advice, I parked on a street called Pitville Lawn. Its nearer to a high street with places to eat and drink than the ground too, so worked out very well.

Based on Where You Were Sat, How Was the View?
Ive been in both ends, thanks to an annoying quirk that once Id committed to buying tickets for their FA Cup game we Hereford on a Monday night...Everton were drawn away at the winners! There are a couple of pillars in the home terrace, but the view is still mostly good, while the away fans have the privilege of a brand new all seater end! Its very small and shallow, but luckily I was on the back row.

How Were The Stewards on The Day?
No problem

If You Ate at The Ground, How Would You Rate the Food?
Avoid. Absolutely avoid.

How Was The Atmosphere At The Ground, From Both Sets of Supporters? Does the Stadium Hold the Noise?
Ironically, it was better at the Hereford game, where it was very good. Bigger crowd for the Everton match and they gave us less tickets too, but obviously it had attracted a few glory hunters because the atmosphere was really poor in comparison to the Hereford match.

How Are the Pubs and Local Attractions in The Local Area?
Nothing really right near the ground, but a short walk away is a high street with a few pubs and takeaways which was okay.

Overall Score Out of 10?
Its alright, smart little lower league ground.
6/10

 

[Murphy]

How Easy Was The Ground to Get To (from the station, by car, etc)
Bit of a pain to get to from London by train, although it only takes a couple of hours or so. You have the unusual experience of having to double back on yourself at Gloucester Station (Believe it was Gloucester), where the train you were on going forward, starts to go backwards to pull into a different area heading to Cheltenham Spa. Quaint little station though, but it's advised you get a cab either into the town or straight to the ground, both are a fair walk from Cheltenham Spa station.

If Applicable, How is Parking Near The Ground?
Such a small town indicates that not a lot of on-street parking will be available, especially in the areas surrounding the ground - I mean there's a bowls club situated directly behind the away end, what's not to love about that?

Based on Where You Were Sat, How Was the View?
The away end is a nice size and offers a fantastic view of the playing surface. Whether you sit towards the back (only goes back around 13 rows) or the front, your view is excellent. This is helped by its proximity to the pitch, when you walk directly through the turnstiles, around 15 yards ahead you can directly touch the goalnets it's that close to the pitch. A fantastic away end.

How Were The Stewards on The Day?
Stewards were all friendly and from what I remember on my three visits, none of our supporters had any problems whatsoever.

If You Ate at The Ground, How Would You Rate the Food?
Food in the away end isn't exactly at the top of the football food charts, burgers and hot-dogs are certainly worth a miss.

How Was The Atmosphere At The Ground, From Both Sets of Supporters? Does the Stadium Hold the Noise?
Stadium doesn't really hold noise well, and we didn't make much noise on any of our visits as we tend to favour not winning at Cheltenham. You get a bit of lip from the corner of the new modern stand running along the side of the pitch, but that's where the YOOF congregate, believe they're known as Wymans CTFC. Besides, I'll excuse any stadium from not holding noise when it has a fantastic grandstand like Cheltenham does - you can't beat that.

How Are the Pubs and Local Attractions in The Local Area?
The town centre offers a decent array of pubs - we went in two, both of which were Wetherspoons and showed live football which is a rarity. Both were bustling and had a good atmosphere to them which is what you want on a matchday. Closer to the ground, there's a pub up the road on the corner on the street behind the grandstand which is small, but quaint and is decent for one or two pre-match. Dartboard and jukebox included, what more do you want? Otherwise there's the Robins Nest clubhouse at the ground which admits away supporters. As always it was very friendly on our visits, but then again Cheltenham fans are generally a bloody nice bunch. Avoid the San Miguel though, didn't taste good on tap when I was there!

Overall Score Out of 10?
Depending on what you want from an away day you'll probably rate this differently to me. I really like Cheltenham as a club and as a group of supporters, and it's one of the few grounds that I could imagine supporting a club similar to Daggers from.

8/10.