Tykes vs the Toon! Barnsley – A Newcastle United aways supporters’ guide.
Posted on December 6th, 2009 | 12 Comments |
At around 115 miles from Newcastle, Barnsley is not a bad jolly away for the Toon. The journey is a pretty staight-forward one, coming straight down the A1 (like it is for all our away games), meeting up with M1 at Leeds and following that south down to J37 (A628); exit there and follow the signs into Barnsley. Pretty much as soon as you leave the motorway you will pick up signs for the ground but even if you miss these you will end up at the ground anyway, so long as you stay on this road. There is another way in off the A1(M) via Pontefract and picking up the A628. Frankly, sticking to the first option is quicker and cuts out the risk of getting stuck in traffic.
The train station is no more than 10 minutes walking from the ground so anyone who comes via a train will be fine.
Right, now your around the ground you’ll need to park. On your way to the ground, the chances are you will have seen at least a sign, if not the building itself, which is the Barnsley Metrodome, a big leisure centre type thing which you can try parking at, or on any nearby streets, just watch out for tow away zones! Failing that, pretty much next door to that is a big park called ‘Queen’s ground’ which is used as a dedicated away parking area. It costs £3 for a car but be warned, parking will be at a premium as Barnsley have upped our allocation to 6,000 seats!
Now your there, your parked. What else can you do? Well if you have the time, why not grab a drink and something to eat? The Metrodome has a bar inside which serves food aswell and there is also a Burger King near to the ground. Apart from that there isn’t much else around unless you head into the town centre. If your going to do that however, i’d recommend covering up your colours. Don’t get me wrong, i’ve always had friendly experiences in Barnsley but in my opinion it best not to get yourself in a situation which can invite trouble – besides, if you head into the town you’ll only have to deal with Christmas shoppers anyway! The bar inside the away end of the ground should be open as it looks like we are having the whole of the North Stand. Teams with a ‘normal’ 2,000 seat allocation dont have this option as when the stand is split home/away, the only bar is in the home section!
In the ground, the away stand is pretty modern having been re-developed around 10 years ago and, as I have said, this should be all toon fans. Obviously all the usual pies and sausage rolls will be on offer on the concourse. The average gate at Oakwell this season has been just under 12,000 but i’d expect it to be bigger as we are the current league leaders. Theoretically that means our 6,000 voices can make this a home game away from home which i’m sure we will do our very best to do!
Unfortunately, i’m going to be missing this game due to financial constraints but i’m really starting to wish I threw caution to the wind, stuck two fingers up at the bills and booked a ticket. Being at an away game is always brilliant, even if the result goes the wrong way. Having 6,000 fans at an away game just makes it that extra special. Roll on Sheffield Wednesday on boxing day, a game I will be going to and the subject of my next guide, and if you have any questions or comments then please feel free to leave them below.
NUFCBlog Author: toonsy
toonsy has written 643 articles on this blog.
great article yet again, really easy to get there been aes over the years, looking forward to a seat this time tho, but i bet we will all be standing! i would think with over 6000 tickets sold already it will be a huge day out and fingers crossed 3 more points!!