Mansfield Town FC: Field Mill, Quarry Lane, Mansfield, Notts, NG18 5DA Tel: (01623) 623567 History: Formed in 1897 by local chapel-goers, joining local leagues in 1902 and turning professional in 1905. Moved to Field Mill ground in 1921. In 1929, the Midland League club beat Wolves in the FA Cup at Molineux and lost 2-0 to Arsenal in front of 44,000 at Highbury. Finally elected to Football League in 1931/32. Club hit by financial scandal and debts in 1953 after 'illegal payments' and fraud court case involving club secretary. A record 10 Stags players were booked for ironically applauding the ref off the pitch - he gave a controversial penalty to Crystal Palace in a 1962 Cup tie. Three Stags players jailed in 1965 for a "match fixing" scandal stretching back to 1961, one for four years. Beat West Ham - inc Hurst, Moore and Peters - 2-0 in FA Cup in 1968. Relegated to Div 4 in 1971/72 after going until December to score a goal at home, promoted again three years later scoring 100 goals. Beat Leeds in League Cup (1994/95). Record Attendance: 24,467 v Nott Forest, FA Cup, 10 Jan 1953 Capacity: 6,553 Last season: 17th Honours: Div 4 champions 1974/75, Div 3 champions 1976/77 Record victory: 9-2 v Rotherham Utd, Div 3N, 27 Dec 1932 Defeat: 1-8 v Walsall, Div 3N, 19 Jan 1933 Nickname: The Stags Colours: Yellow and blue Manager: Billy Dearden Chairman: Keith Haslam Players in: Lee Bell (Burton), Dan Martin (Notts Co), John McAliskey (Huddersfield) Players out: Chris Beardsley (York), Barry Conlon (Bradford), Giles Coke (Northampton). Famous fans/players/connections: Daley Thompson (ex-decathlete - player), Ken Wagstaff and Ernie Moss (player), Stuart Boam (player and manager), Raich Carter (manager). Click for streetmap of ground

Exit the M1 at junction 28, take the first exit (s/p Mansfield A38). Through seven sets of traffic lights until you come to the Kings Mill roundabout (The King and Miller pub and McDonald's on the left). Take the third exit (s/p Mansfield A38). Continue along the A38 (Hospital to the left), through more lights, past the Sir John Cocklepub to the left and take a right into Sheepbridge Lane. Down the hill, under the railway bridges and take the first left into Quarry Lane (Lord Byron pub on the corner). Field Mill is at the far end of Quarry Lane. Be careful when parking, especially with enforcement in operation at the adjoining retail park on match-days.

Trains: Local services on the Robin Hood Line. Mansfield Station (NB: Not Mansfield Woodhouse) is a straightforward enough five minutes walk from the ground - follow signs to the Bus Station and walk down steps. Left along dual carriageway, straight on at lights, continuing along Portland Street. Turn right at lights by church into Quarry Lane. Walking back to station after the match - head for the side of the Comet store on the retail park opposite the stadium, as you come out of the away end. There's a sign for the station and you walk up the drive, past the car park to your right to the end of the platform, with trains for Nottingham.

ABC Taxis Tel: 01623 654321 Door 2 Door Cars 01623 657158 1-2-3 Taxis 01623 420321 Darlington FC Supporters Club Coach 10.45am, £15. Contact: 01325 243911. See Darlington Supporters' Club for more details.

TRAIN TIMES (Updated January 08): Darlington The return journey is complicated this weekend by a replacement bus from York. 10.02-(Doncaster 10.47) 11.02 (Worksop, 12.13) 12.40 arr 13.11, rtn is possibly too tight for the 16.57 (Worksop 17.31) 18.10 (Sheffield 18.35) 18.54 (York, 19.54) 20.10 (replacement bus) arr 21.30. Otherwise is the 17.46-(Nottingham 18.19) 18.42-(Sheffield, 19.39) 19.54 (York, 20.47) 21.00 (replacement bus) 22.20. Fares: From £26 return to £57.60. Birmingham New Street 10.13-(Nottingham, 11.41) 11.56 arr 12.27. Rtn: 17.13 (Nottingham, 17.49) 18.00-arr 19.27. Fares: Cheapday return, £16.10 London St Pancras: 08.55 (Nottingham, 10.34) 10.56-arr 11.27. Rtn: 17.13-(Nottingham, 17.49) 18.07 arr 20.09. Fares: £30 return to £51.90 Sheffield: 10.44- (11.13, Worksop) 11.40 arr 12.11 Dur: 1hr 34 mins. Return: 17.13-(17.49, Nottingham) 18.00-(18.3, Derby) 18.42-arr 19.16. Or 17.46-(Nottingham 18.19) 18.42-arr Sheffield, 19.39. Fares: Cheapday return approx: £8.10, saver return £10. Cardiff Central 06.25-(Bristol Parkway, 07.07) 07.40 (Birmingham New St, 08.57) 09.13-(Nottingham, 10.37) 10.56 arr. 11.27. Rtn: 17.13, (Nottingham, 17.49) 18.00-(Birmingham New Street, 19.27) 19.40 (Bristol Parkway, 20.58) 21.25 arr 22.10. Fares from £25 to £55.30 return.

Town centre/real ale Railway Inn 9 Station Street, (01623) 623086 Former Bateman's outlet in Mansfield, which was thankfully saved from the threat of development. There should be two reasonably priced ales. A big bonus are the tasty, good value lunches, from home-made pie (£3) to bacon baps. TV and children are welcome if dining. Across the car-park from Mansfield Station (Robin Hood Line), under the bridge along Quaker Way and turn right. It is close to the town's main shopping area. Unusually it serves a good choice of cocktails. It has featured on TV quite often, once for somebody being buried alive underground in the garden and once for one of its customers getting married - to the pub!! Click for streetmap DAFTS recommended. Widow Frost, Leeming Street Wetherspoon's town centre pub, recommended by the local CAMRA group. Click for street map

Nottingham For those of you (especially from the South) having to travel on the Robin Hood Line via Nottingham then we recommend a pub close to the station: Vat & Fiddle 12-14 Queens Bridge Road (100 yards from Nottingham station) 0115-9850611 A DAFTS favourite. Consistently good beer from a choice of 10 hand-pulls, including a mild.This Tynemill pub is situated next to the Castle Rock Brewery, from where you will allways find two of their beers on. Also on offer are 70-plus malt whiskies. This single room pub is only a minute's walk from Nottingham railway station and Metro - cross the road from the front entrance and it's a road to the left. Parking is very limited - but, heh, why take a car here? Thanks to Colin Fletcher, DAFTS Notts

Near ground Early Doors, Quarry Lane Large one-roomed pub nearest to ground,very busy on matchdays serving Mansfield cask conditioned ales. DAFTS recommended Il Rosso, 180 Nottingham Road (400 yards south of ground) 01623-622031 This used to be The Plough but has gone through a bit of refurbishment and is not quite the football fans' pub it once was. Best to give a miss. Click for map.

The new shopping complex opposite the ground has fast food, including Burger King. There's a KFC fast food place a few minutes walk away on Nottingham Road, near Safeway, and a Macdonalds in Park Lane Road not far away. In the ground, there are pies and sausage rolls, crisps, chocolate and hot and cold drinks.

Steeped in history, Mansfield lies deep within the heart of Robin Hood country. The town has a long tradition of non-conformism, due in part to the toleration shown by vicar of Mansfield, John Firth - who provided refuge for the Quakers amongst others. Sadly that tradition hasn't survived if recent football trips are anything to be going by, with the Quakers soundly persecuted and beaten... Mansfield's status as a market town dates back centuries to Henry III in 1227. At the centre of Sherwood Forest, all the rich landlords and barons hunted in the district. The market is still the heart of the town centre and surrounding it are several impressive buildings, including the Bentinck Memorial. In the Old Meeting House and parsonage, are several William Morris windows in superb condition. The town has seen many industries grow over the years such as quarrying, coal mining, textiles, farming and gratefully brewing - with a Discovery Centre open. You can see the town's superb 19th century railway viaduct,its 15 arches spanning the town centre make it one of the largest viaducts in an English town. To find out more of Mansfield's history, try either the Museum on Leeming Street, or the Visitor Information Centre in White Lion Yard, staffed by members of The Old Mansfield Society. For those wishing to stay overnight I would recommend travelling back to Nottingham via the Robin Hood Line where numerous places to stay are located around the Station. An information centre is located near the Market Square and accomodation can be booked from there. The Information Centre is a 10 minute walk from the Station forecourt. Contact Mansfield Tourist Information Centre on(01623) 463770, Old Town Hall. Rail timetables Virgin Trains GNER National Express Online map Hotels/B&Bs Evening Post Mansfield Council Mansfield Pages Mansfield CAMRA Notts Pubs Notts Tourism Surfing there... The Supporters' Club site is the best really. Well laid out and informative, with loads of useful stuff and a lively discussion forum. The The Rivals site is fairly basic, but the travel/pub info is pretty good. The Official Mansfield Town website is OK for just the basic stuff. Also worth a glance is the Follow The Yellow Brick Road web version of their long-running fanzine and the online fanzine Deja Vu Next away match: Wrexham (Sat February 2nd) Anything worth adding? Please e-mail us any suggestions. Back to index page No responsibility is taken for accuracy, if in doubt check before travelling. © DAFTS 2008