Hereford United FC: Edgar Street, Hereford, HR4 9JU Tel: 01432 276 666 History: Formed in 1924, when two local clubs merged and started in the Birmingham leagues and eventually reached the Southern League. A non-league attendance record was set at Wigan in the FA Cup in 1954, with more than 24,500 watching. Hereford's most famous FA Cup exploit was the defeat of mighty Newcastle 2-1 in a third round replay in 1972, the year they were also elected to the Football League. Lost in the play-off semi-finals to Darlington in 1996 but then lost their league status a year later on the last day with Brighton staying up. Unlucky to lose out on promotions back under long-serving chairman and manager Graham Turner until the 2006 Conference play-off win over Halifax, while a second promotion soon followed, before the dropped back a division. Record Attendance: 18,114 v Sheffield Wed FA Cup 3, Jan 1958 Capacity: 8,843 Last season: Honours: Division Three champions 1975/76, Div Four runners up 1972/73, Conference play-off winners 2006. Record victory: 6-0 v Burnley, Div 4 Jan 1987 Defeat: 0-6 v Rotherham Utd, Div 4, April 1989 Nicknames: The Bulls Colours: White Manager: John Trewick Players in: Chris Adamson (Ilkeston), Leon Constantine (Northampton), Jonny Godsmark (Newcastle, loan), Kenny Lunt (Sheff Wed) Jamie Tolley (Macclesfield) Darren Jones (Forest Green) Adam Bartlett and Keith Lowe (both Kidderminster), Darren Dennehy (Cardiff, loan), Ryan Green (Bristol Rov), Marlon Jackson (Bristol City), Darren Jones (Forest Green) Glen Southam (Dagenham & Red), Kenny Lunt (Sheff Wed), Marc Pugh (Shrewsbury), Gavin McCallum (Weymouth), Tristan Plummer (Bristol City, loan), Ryan Valentine (Darlington). Players out: Dean Beckwith and Steve Guinan (both Northampton), Toumani Diagouraga (Peterborough), Craig Samson (Ayr), , Kris Taylor (Port Vale), Garry Breen, Karl Broadhurst, Nick Chadwick, Clint Easton, Richard Jackson, Simon Johnson, Jack Macleod, Steven O'Leary (all released) Famous players, fans, connections: Ronnie Radford (player), Colin Addison, John Sillett, Graham Turner (managers), Roger Whittaker (fan), Simon Johnstone, Alex Jeannin, Rob Purdie (players, ex-Darlington). Click for Streetmap of ground

Take the M1, M42 right to the end and head onto the M5 south, leaving at junction 5 (Droitwich). Follow the A38 towards Worcester, before taking the A449 signposted Hereford. Follow Hereford signs and the A49 will eventually take you into the city and straight past Edgar Street. Parking: The club has use of a large council pay-and-display car park next to the ground with fairly cheap parking rates. There is also a NCP carpark in Blackfriars Road, maximum cost £2,, as well as a multi-story car park towards the town centre within two minutes walk away. Away fans turnstiles are on Blackfriars Street. Distance from Darlington: 236 miles, allow 4.5 hours.

Trains: Less than a mile away, the ground is no more than a 15- minute walk from the station. Turn right into Commercial Road at the end of the station approach - past Morrisons - and head towards the city centre. You pass a BP garage and shops on your right until ou reach the traffic lights (on the corner by a sofa shop, with a Subway restaurant ahead of you). Then turn right along Newmarket Street, then its right into Widemarsh Street and quickly left into Blackfriars Street to reach the away end.

Hereford Taxis: 01432 343343 City Taxis: 01432 340350 Blue Line Taxis: 01432 343435 Cathedral Taxis: 01432 343438 Darlington FC Supporters Club Coach 9am, £28. Contact: 01325 243911. See Darlington Supporters' Club for more details. Payment for each coach trip must be either paid for in full before travel, or a 50% non-refundable deposit paid in advance. Anyone wishing to travel on the coaches must join before the day of travel

Trains (Suggested times updated Aug '09): Darlington 08.21-York (08.50) 08.58-Manchester Piccadilly (10.19) 10.30-arr Hereford 12.40. Rtn: 17.49-Birmingham New Street (19.11) 19.30 arr 22.21 Fares: £98.60 return. Birmingham New Street Hourly services from 09.49 - journey time 1hr 31mins, return 17.40or 19.11. Fares: £12.90-£14.40 cheapday return. London Paddington: Change at Newport, south Wales for most services. 08.21-direct arr Hereford 11.40. Rtn: 17.51-Newport (18.37) 18.44-arr Brisol Temple Meads (19.18) 19.30-arr 21.14. Fares: From £57 off peak return. Cardiff Central: Trains every hour on the Manchester service, journey time an hour. 09.50-arr 10.53, rtn: 17.51, 18.16 or 18.43. Fare: £16.10 cheapday return.

Real ale There's a good Hereford pub blog, with updates on ale in the city. The Victory, 88 St Owen's Street A nautical-themed city centre pub, home to the Spinning Dog brewery and a home also, naturally this being Hereford, to real ciders, as well as guest ales. Food served. There's a beer garden at the side of the pub - the brewery is at the back. Directions: From the station, walk along Commercial Street and left at the lights into Bath Street - follow the road around past the social services offices, left at the junction at the lights and the pub is over a pedestrian crossing, opposite a Peugeot dealership. DAFTS recommended. Click for street map Barrels, 69 St Owen's Street On the same street as The Victory and my preferred choice - over the traffic lights - this has four or five Wye Valley real ales on hand-pull, cider, a choice of lagers, with four rooms, including pool table and Sky TV. The Wye Valley Butty Back and stout are highly recommended. Very friendly place, the locals gave us a true welcome - very relaxed atmosphere. Also a beer garden at the back. DAFTS recommended Other city centre/near station The Litten Tree, 58 Commercial Street Airey free house, with food served - in the Wetherspoon's vein, minus the real ale. Just John Smiths and the like. The Kings Fee, 49-53 Commercial Road On the way up from the station, this JD Wetherpoon's pub is sizeable in the art deco style, with a garden at the rear. They had three beers on during our post-match visit, not bad as these places go, although it looked like a bomb had hit it, with the usual detrius of the afternoon drinking and dining crowd. Non-smoking throughout, Sky Sports screens on "silent" and a cash machine. . Open from 9am. DAFTS recommended.

Pubs from the top, left to right, The Victory, Barrels; middle - The Oxford Arms, The Newmarket; bottom - The Kings Fee, The Litten Tree. © Photos: DAFTS There are plenty of takeaways in Commercial Road between the station and the city centre, including Mr Chips, which claims to hold a Guinness record for the biggest bag of chips - 812lbs. There's a large drive-in KFC opposite the station approach. You can also find a sit-down Subway sandwich restaurant at the end of the road, on the junction with Newmarket Street. There are other chains in the centre, as well as plenty of cafes, and a Thai and a couple of Indian restaurants close to the ground in Widemarsh Street.

Near the ground Radford's, Hereford Utd FC The scruffy looking (from the outside) Legends clubhouse has gone and is replaced by this new club bar (named after a legend), which promises at least one real ale and big-screen Sky Sports. Alongside the main stand, around the ground from the away entrance, usually welcomes visitors. The Old Market Inn, Newmarket Street. Formerly known as the Newmarket, this grade II listed pub has now reopened since our last visit. Close to the ground and usually a mix of home and away fans. Worthington Creamflow, John Smiths, beer garden at the back, if you like traffic noise. JD's, Widemarsh Street, corner of Newmarket Street (pictured above) Chain pub with plenty of drinks offers and lunches. About five minutes from the away end. The Oxford Arms, 111 Widemarsh Street Another close to the ground and popular on match days. A bit of a squeeze, in a 16th Century building, can get busy. Bass and Boddington beers and Thatcher's cider. No food. The Herdsman, 54 Widemarsh Street Used to be known as the Old Harp. Close to the ground but no real ale. Best to avoid.

If you'd like to be e-mailed a regular bulletin with the latest updates on this site - including details of DAFTS members known to be travelling then E-mail DAFTS

A comprehensive tourism website has links to online accommodation bookings and places to visit. For accommodation, recommended is the comfortable and friendly Charades hotel, 34 Southbank Rd, about five minutes walk from the station and 10 minutes from the city centre (Tel: 01432 269444, about £40 per night B&B). For something different, try a visit to the Cider Museum,, which celebrates the town's most famous export. There is also the medieval map of the world, Mappa Mundi, dating from the late 13th century, at Hereford cathedral (admission to the museum and to see the map, £4.50). There is a small farmers' market on Saturdays in the main shopping area. Tourist information: 1 King Street, Hereford. HR4 9BW, open 9am-5pm. Tel: 01432 268430 Fax: 01432 342662 Rail timetables Virgin Trains GNER National Express Online map AA Routeplanner Hotels/B&Bs Hereford community website Hereford Council Hereford Tourism Hereford Times Herefordshire CAMRA Surfing there... The best is probably the The official site, which is an easy-loading, straightforward alternative to the ghastly Premium TV official efforts. The Hereford United Supporters' Association doesn't seem to have been updated that much. The Hereford United net is full of pop-ups, but has the stats and regular news. Next away matches: Barnet (Sat 7th November, FA Cup) and Chesterfield (Sat 21st November)   No responsibility is taken for accuracy, if in doubt check before travelling. Anything worth adding? Please e-mail us any suggestions. Back to index page © DAFTS 2009