Fleetwood v Pompey: Away-Day Guide

• Ground: Highbury Stadium. Opened: 1939. Capacity: 5,311. Record attendance: 5,194

On Tuesday, Pompey supporters will be making the long trek north to Fleetwood Town’s Highbury Stadium, situated on Park Avenue, Fleetwood, Lancashire, FY7 6TX.

Fleetwood is on the Fylde coast a few miles North of Blackpool. The Cod Army’s stadium has a capacity of 5,311 – only 2,701 of which are seated.

Blues fans will mostly be on the Percy Ronson covered terrace at one end of the stadium, with some seats allocated in the Parkside Stand.

There is an away fans ticket office and programme booth situated outside the entrance for away supporters.

• Getting there: Leave the M6 at junction 32 and take the M55 towards Blackpool. Leave the M55 at junction three and take the A585 towards Fleetwood.

Continue on at Blackpool & The Fylde College roundabout, then take first left into Copse Road.

As you pass Fleetwood fire station, branch left and turn left into Radcliffe Road.

Take the next right into Stanley Road and the stadium is at the bottom of this road on the left.

• Parking: There is no parking for away supporters at the stadium but there is plenty of on-street parking available in the area.

• By train: There is no station in Fleetwood itself. The closest station to Fleetwood is at Poulton-le-Fylde, which is a little more than five miles away.

Blackpool North station is around seven miles away from the ground. Trains run from London Euston to Preston – a journey of which takes a little more than two hours.

However, because of engineering works there will be rail replacement buses running from Preston to either Poulton-le-Fylde or Blackpool North.

Please note it will not be possible to travel back to London – or Portsmouth – after the match. Those journeys will have to wait until Wednesday morning.

From Poulton-le-Fylde station, there is a bus stop opposite the station entrance where you can get either a number 80 or 82 bus to Fleetwood. The journey will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

Get off the bus outside the Strawberry Gardens pub and the ground is a 10 to 15-minute walk away.

If you travel to Blackpool North station, a taxi to Fleetwood will cost around £20.

Bus services number one and 14 leave Blackpool town centre every 10 minutes. And the journey to Fleetwood will take about 30 minutes.

Alternatively, leave the station, turn right and head down to the seafront.

Tram line one runs north to Fleetwood every 20 minutes. The journey will take about 40 minutes.

Get off the tram at Stanley Road in Fleetwood, which is about 200 yards from the ground.

A bus timetable can be found on the Lancashire County Council website.

• Eating and drinking: The Queens Hotel, Poulton Road, Fleetwood, FY7 8PR is about a 15-minute walk from the ground. It has Sky Sports, serves food and Thwaites beer.

Go up Highbury Avenue then left at the St Nicholas church into Poulton Road. The Queens is about 300 yards on the left.

The Strawberry Gardens, Poulton Road, Fleetwood, FY7 6TF, is a pub and bistro that welcomes away fans.

It has a wide selection of lagers, cider and cask ales, along with Sky Sports. It also has food provided by Syd Little (of Little & Large fame) and his wife.

In Fleetwood town centre there are plenty of pubs, including a Wetherspoons, the Thomas Drummond, London Road, Fleetwood, FY7 6JE.

A former Sunday school, it is named after Thomas Atkinson Drummond, who built most of the workers’ cottages and the churches in the new town of Fleetwood.

On the seafront is the Mount Hotel, The Esplanade, Fleetwood, FY7 6QE.

Inside the ground you will find the usual selection of pies and hot dogs. There is also Jim’s Sports Bar at the ground, which normally admits away fans.

The facilities in this bar are excellent but get there early as it is bound to be very popular on matchdays.

It is located at the back of the Memorial Stand and can be accessed from the park pathway that runs along that side of the ground. It is open from 5pm and shows BT and Sky Sports.

The Highbury Club which is located adjacent to the away turnstiles does not admit visiting supporters.

Alcohol is also available inside the stadium but only to away fans who have seating tickets in the Parkside Stand.