Premier League
Ewood Park, Blackburn
Saturday May 14, kick off 12:40
Tickets
United have got 7,00 tickets in the entire length of both upper and lower tiers of the Darwen End (pictured right).
They cost £37 for adults, £26 for over 65s and £16 for under 16s.
All away-end tickets have been sold and posted out.
Anyone who has not got their ticket at this stage should call United on 0161 868 8000 and arrange for their ticket to be posted out by special delivery for an extra £5.30.
Tickets are on sale in the home end to people with a booking history with Blackburn Rovers. Details
here.Weather
It will be a mixed day of light winds, light cloud and moderate sunshine and heavy rain showers, with a high of 13C/55F and a low of 7C/45F.
TV
Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports 2HD will show the match live, with the show starting at 12:30.
Car – £13.
If you’re driving to the match and are using a satnav or an internet routeplanner, use the destination postcode BB2 4JF.
It takes about 45 minutes to get there from Manchester and will cost about £10 in petrol for a return journey.
There are two ways to get there, the first being the M61, then the M65, then the A666 and the second being the M66, then the M65 and then the A666. Either way it’s very easy. Leave the M65 at junction 4 for Darwen.
Parking – free
If you arrive early, street parking isn’t a problem. The best streets to park are a five-minute walk away from the ground towards Darwen (so away from Blackburn Town Centre).
Anywhere in the Jack Walker Way and Oakdale area will be fine before 12:45ish. Use the postcode BB2 4JJ to get there.
Otherwise, there are quite a few paid-for car parks just off the A666 charging about £3 per car. Our preferred one is on Branch Road, as it allows you easy access onto Sandy Lane and then the M61 after the match.
Train – £6.80
You can either get off at Blackburn and walk for 20 minutes down a hill or get off at Darwen and walk for 15 minutes up a hill.
We recommend the latter because it’s a slightly shorter train journey and you pass better pubs on the way up to the ground.
At Manchester Victoria (pictured above), ask for a day return. It will cost £6.80
To the match
It’s quite straightforward. Trains leave Manchester Victoria at:
08:00, 08:29, 09:00, 09:29, 10:00, 10:30, 11:00 arrive at Darwen 41 minutes later
. Don’t leave after 11:00
When you arrive, come out of the station, turn right, and walk right up Bolton Road until you reach the ground on your right.
From the match
Trains leave Darwen at:
One problem with this is that many reds will have walked up to Blackburn station (pictured right) and the train that stops at Darwen comes from Blackburn, so the train might be full by the time it reaches Darwen.
Trains leave Blackburn roughly 10 minutes before they arrive in Darwen.
Coach – £12
On behalf of United, Thomas Cook Sport is running coaches, but they are all sold out.
To book, email your name, contact phone number and required number of places to
redsaway@hotmail.co.uk ooking details.
But it’s never been our favourite pre-match drinking choice. It gets packed early, it attracts idiots and, unsurprisingly, it attracts more police than the G20 Summit protests.
When it’s full, the pub serves cans of Carling from a marquee outside,
One of our favourites is The Fox and Hounds off Albion Road, which is a two-minute walk from the ground right by McDonald’s.
It’s a home fans only pub, but if you don’t wear colours, you should get in okay and the locals are friendly enough anyway. The lager is good and you get served surprisingly quick in the run up to kick off.
None of the other pubs heading up towards Blackburn town centre are worth trying as they t
end to get packed out and have bouncers on the doors demanding to see home-end tickets.
But there’s three heading the other way, towards Darwen that we quite like.
The Hindle Arms (pictured right), at 18 Raikes Bridge is off the beaten track, but you can enjoy a decent, quiet pint there pree match.
Alternatively, you could try The Blackamoor Inn which is on the same road a bit further down or The Golden Cup at 610 Blackburn Road (just underneath the motorway bridge) which tends to get pretty busy on matchdays, but has a good atmosphere.
who is sitting in rovers end if so which section?
Sam – that’s not a good question to ask…you never know who is reading.
Any spares?!?!
Vitty – do you expect United to have returns?
@Matt, United could well have some returns as they were allowing cancellations due to the tickets needing to be sent Special Delivery or being collected from the TO. Its worth a try
Anyone want to swap a Blackpool ticket for a Blackburn ticket ???
sorry Vitty, I realise how stupid a question that was on a public forum!!
as of 15:30 today they havent had a single return for blackburn, lets be honest who is going to return these tickets at only 37 quid a pop?! The brown cow just up the hill from mcdonalds is a good pub which allows away fans as long as they dont start mouthing off etc
is the brown cow showing the game for those who dont have tickets?
sam, do you know of any spares goin?
Cheers Massie
Rang about 2:30 and they had none.
Girl I spoke to said its worth trying tomorrow so you never know.
N e know how far from mill hill train station??
naylor – sorry mate I dont tickets seem like gold dust unless your gunna pay stupid money
Chris – Mill Hill station is a five-minute walk. If you’re coming from Blackburn, it’s quicker to walk to the ground than to wait for the connection to Mill Hill.
Will the fernhirst show the match or boot out before kick off ? If so any other decent boozers other than those already mentioned. An just outta interest , does a ton sound silly money for an away end ticket! Cheers.
Thanks alot vitty much appreciated!! I dnt know where my train goes through just booked it to there as was told was nearest to ground.
Does anyone have or know anyone with any spares for a genuine red. People are asking for silly money.
No pubs within the Blackburn area are allowed to show the game. This is according to the manager of the Fernhurst pub.
May have spare Tkt (will know for certain later) will be at fernhurst at some point tomorrow
Email lakeymufc@aol.com if interested
And I won’t be asking for silly money…
Ticket sold
Yeah cheers Paul. I can confirm this, I rang em too. What a joke. Stick to town then, hope the old bill don’t try an pull something similar here.
Paul and RedB – pubs in blackburn town centre will have it on, the police are closing pubs near the ground
Can you imagine being near Old Trafford and none of the pubs around there not being allowed to show the games. Just wouldn’t happen. Police overreacting as usual.
Looking for a spare if anyone has one.
Going up anyway.
Let me know if you can help
matt.owen87@yahoo.com
What’s everyone doing afterwards if they’re closing the pubs around the ground?
slim, they are only closing the pubs whilst the match is on, they will be re-opening at the final whistle.
Anyone know where would be good to celebrate number 19 and watch Stoke win the FA Cup immediately after our game?
TO had returns this morning. I rang up at 09:45 and a girl told me they had none. My mate used my phone straight after i had called them and got one. I called them straight back and was told they had none.
@Naylor
I see. Nice one mate. My guess is a party in Blackburn then.
Fernhurst has been shut after games before by police, to get everyone to clear off. Wouldnt be surprised if they do it again, other boozers will be open though I wouldve thought
Great blog…..but no way is it a 15 minute walk to the ground from Darwen station!!
It needed a VERY brisk walk to get there in time for kick-off (about 30 minutes and I don’t walk that slow).
Didn’t even notice the torrential rain on the way back, though.
Happy days!
19!!!
vitty when are you doing wembley pub guide ?