Ground
and ticket prices Visiting fans are seated in the North
Stand at the new 20,000-capacity Liberty Stadium. It looks a little like
the Darlington stadium, which of course is a little like Derby County.
These arenas could be turned into one of those Russian dolls. Adults £13,
OAPs/students £10, Under 16s £7.
Best recommendation is to go to
M4 J45, take the A4067 and follow the signs to a park and ride.
Parking at the ground is very limited (a carpark at Landore for
just 900 spaces, £4), unless you come in an official supporters'
coach. Lots of restrictions, be warned. Park and ride schemes operate
from County Hall (city centre) and Swansea Vale (north of the city,
2,000 spaces, £5).
To reach the city centre instead,
leave again at junction 45 and follow the signs via the B4603 to
the west of the river Tawe, crossing to the east of the river onto
the A4217 then into the city centre. Official directions
Trains: It's
a 25 minute walk to the Liberty Stadium from the station.
There are frequent buses from
the railway and bus stations to the ground. The services 4,4A, 120,
122, 125, 132 or X20-25 all travel close to the stadium, and run
every few minutes. The bus station is next to the Quadrant shopping centre.
CityTax 01792 475200 Yellow Cabs 01792 644446 High St Cabs 01792 477477 Sketty
Cabs 01792 298703
Darlington
FC Supporters' Club CoachContact:
01325 243911. See Darlington
Supporters' Club for more details.
If you're making a long weekend of it,
the city is on the edge of the Gower peninsula - a good choice of beaches
and coves, some popular with the surfing fraternity - especially in this
weather. Pembrokeshire is just over an hour away to the west. Closer to
the city, there's the small seaside town of Mumbles, which has a mix of
pubs, restaurants and craft shops.
Places in the city you can visit include
the Marina, although the Welsh Industrial and Maritime Museum (relocated
from Cardiff) is closed currently and a new maritime museum is being built.
Lots of things to do with a Dylan Thomas theme. See the Virtual
city guide
Being a seaside town - and out-of-season - there's a good choice of accommodation, which includes The Pantycelyn Hotel about a quarter of a mile away on the seafront and close by the Bayswater Guest House
322 Oystermouth Road (01792 655301) and Beachcomber Hotel
364 Oystermouth Road (01792 651380). Large hotels include the Marriott at the Marina and the Posthouse (0870 400 9078) at the Kingsway island in the city centre
Swansea has some lively night-spots
with plenty of city centre pubs. There's nevertheless a small yob element
amongst their fan-base, which has led to notes of caution to visiting
fans. Certainly, the police escort normally afforded coaches out of the
city would do some foreign heads of state proud.
City centre/real ale
The
Bank Statement/Lloyd's No1, 57-58 Wind Street, city centre
next to the No Sign, it's a Lloyd''s pub in a converted bank, with the
usual competitively priced beers, food all day and low-key music. On our
visit, there were about three real ales on, including Exmoor and Taylor's
Landlord (£1.49 per pint). There's a Wetherspoon's The Potters Wheel (85-86
Kingsway) but this will probably be a bit quieter. A few Swansea fans
used it and gave us a friendly welcome. DAFTS recommended.Click
for Streetmap
Near
the ground
Nothing, yet, near the ground
although a new pub is planned. There are a few "locals" and "home"
pubs in the Plasmarl and Landore districts across the stadium, which
are best avoided, like The Station and The Railway Inn.
The SAFC website's pub
guide and map aimed
at home fans and it doesn't offer up too many options even for them. It's also a real ale desert.
Visiting fans
are advised to try the city centre instead.
City centre
Eli Jenkins, 24 Oxford
Street, nr bus station Badger's, Bass/Worthington and guest
beers, food until 7.30pm. On way to ground. CAMRA recommended. The
Pumphouse, Swansea Marina About 15 minutes walk from the
ground, this is a sizeable pub, with food and family area. Beer
garden, weather permitting.
The Wig and Pen, 134
St Helens Road. Short-ish walk from the ground, spacious
pub that does good and reasonably priced food. A couple of real
ales.
The No Sign, 56 Wind Street,
city centre is an old fashioned, dark pub, popular with office
crowd in the week - with a good wine selection, as well as a couple of beers
from the Brain's stable. CAMRA recommended. Partially ruined by refurbishment at the back but
it still retains its character.
Not far away, I also quite like The Queen's Hotel, Gloucester Place between the marina and the city centre, which serves Theakston's and Brain's and lunches.
Out of town/real ale
The Park Inn,
23 Park Street, Mumbles (Five miles).
Part of the "Mumbles mile" of pubs, popular with Stag and Hen parties
and student rag, but most aren't worth a light (ale). This off seafront
Victorian local, on a back street of terraces, has won the area's
CAMRA award a few times over the years. They have beers from all
over the UK, as well as ales and stout from the Dwan Brewery in
Tipperary, Ireland and local ales from the Tomos Watkin Brewery,
as well as the small Swansea Brewing Company in Bishopston. No food
on last visit though. Taxi from the station costs about £8
but the No2/3 bus will take you here from Swansea. DAFTS recommended.
Click for street
map
There are plenty of fish shops and fried chicken eateries in the city
centre, walking from the railway station.
For more discerning palates,
there is a Pizza Express (40-41 Castle Street) and Pitcher and Piano (59-60
Wind Street) and a Yates (1-4 Caer Street) is another pub chain that does food and is in the centre.
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then
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Now
playing at the Liberty Stadium
The
Bank Statement/Lloyd's No1, 57-58 Wind Street, city centre
next to the No Sign, it's a Lloyd''s pub in a converted bank, with the
usual competitively priced beers, food all day and low-key music. On our
visit, there were about three real ales on, including Exmoor and Taylor's
Landlord (£1.49 per pint). There's a Wetherspoon's The Potters Wheel (85-86
Kingsway) but this will probably be a bit quieter. A few Swansea fans
used it and gave us a friendly welcome. DAFTS recommended. 
