Through the seasons before us..

If you’re a follower of another side planning on visiting the City Ground, hopefully this info will help you plan your trip and enjoy it - aside from the result, of course! Or indeed, you may be a far flung Forest fan who doesn’t get to as many games as you’d like.

The City Ground is actually outside Nottingham’s city boundaries, nestling on the banks of the Trent close by to Trent Bridge cricket ground. Contrary to popular belief, you won’t get shot if you visit Nottingham. The ground has a theoretical capacity of 30,602, although some of those seats have little or no visibility of the pitch, they were added to the ground in order to give it a sufficient capacity to be used for Euro 96.

The address of the ground is Pavilion Road, West Bridgford, NG2 5FJ

Where you’ll be sitting
We can accommodate up to 4,750 away fans, and you’ll find yourself in the lower tier of the Bridgford End. Reportedly from other fans, the facilities are decent - although the stewards are predictably meat-head like, they are a lot more forgiving than they are with the home fans above you! The ‘noisy’ home fans are situated above you in the Upper Bridgford, and to your left in the ‘A’ Block of the main stand - you can expect the usual banter although you will always have the chance to dominate the atmosphere being concentrated in one area, and that area has the best acoustics in the stadium.

Where to drink
There used to be a pub that either welcomed or was made exclusive to away supporters depending on the likelihood of conflict with the home fans.  I’m informed the Larwood and Voce has now become a home supporters only venue - I guess the best advice I can offer is to check with the police around the ground if there are any places geared up for away fans now - if you find one, let me know!

Casa used to allows away fans in, but appears now to have closed indefinitely.  There are lots of drinkeries like the Southbank Bar, Amici, The Globe and the Trent Bridge Inn, all of which have varying policies on away supporters depending on the team you are following.  So either find somewhere further flung from the ground, or go into the ground and have a plastic glass of pissy beer at the City Ground.

Why not stay over?
You may want to make a weekend of it, as Nottingham is a great city for a night out, and you often see away fans making the most of Hooters on London Road, which is the road that runs between Nottingham City and Trent Bridge. If you’re looking for somewhere to stay in Nottingham, then click here for a few options. When you pop out for a drink you could do the historic route, with inns like Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, The Salutation Inn and The Bell Inn all with claims to being the oldest inn in England, a more conventional night out with plenty of Wetherspoons type offerings, or go a bit trendier and try the Lace Market or Hockley areas.

How to get here
To get to the City Ground from the North, leave the M1 at junction 26 and follow the A610 towards Nottingham (watch out for speed cameras!) then follow signs ‘football traffic’ which’ll take you around the houses a bit, but eventually it’ll bring you to the City Ground via the A6011.

From the south, leave the M1 at junction 24 and take the A453 towards Nottingham, and admire the wonderful sight of Ratcliffe on Soar power station! Then take the A52 East towards Grantham then joinn the A6011 into Nottingham.

For parking, there’s a car park at the ground, but there’s loads of street parking to be had for free - I would recommend the West Bridgford area for away fans, both for the proximity of the away end, and less likelihood of any bother - this is on the same side of the River Trent as the ground. Not far over the other side of the river is ‘the Meadows’ which can be a little unsavoury.

If you’ve come by train then the City Ground is easily walkable from the station - this route isn’t the quickest, but it’s the safest, the quickest route to the City Ground from the station involves walking through the Meadows estate - which I wouldn’t recommend for non-locals. Leave the station from the front exit, head left, and you’ll see a traffic light crossroads, turn left here and you’re walking down Queen Street alongside the station with a large carpark to your left, at the end of this road you reach London Road (and Hooters), so either stop for a pint or take a right and you’re heading directly towards Trent Bridge, from where you’ll clearly see the City Ground, you’ll also have the anticlimax of seeing Notts County’s ‘Lego Lane’ ground on your left as you pass.

Don’t take my word for it…
If you need reassurance about Nottingham, given the bad press it seems to undeservedly get, then there is a review of visiting the City Ground from a Derby fan, who would have every reason to pick fault, click here to read it.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below!

Useful links:

• Places to stay in Nottingham
• The Forest guide on www.footballgroundguide.co.uk