The Anonymous Widower

92 Clubs – Day 34 – Stevenage, Stoke, Sunderland

Stevenage should have been easier than it was, but the siugn-posting was a bit patchy and sent you the wrong way on the way from the station.

Stevenage Town's Lamex Stadium

Typically, too, as Stevenage is a new town, cars come first and pedstrians nowhere. I did see the odd bus stop and a few buses, but there was no information of any use.  At how many places could I have said that? Perhaps, it would be better to ask at how many places were the buses understandable to a visitor?

I lost a few minutes waiting for the train back to London, but I made the time up by catching the 11:00 at Euston, which stopped en route at Stoke-on-Trent for Stoke City. I took a taxi to the Britannia Stadium, as I’d experienced Stoke’s buses before and only a local or a determined masochist would have enough knowledge or fortitude to attempt the journey by bus.

Outside Stoke's Britannia Stadium

I do hope they run a shuttle bus from the station on match days!

I struck it lucky on return to Stoke station, in that I was on another Virgin train immediately to Manchester.  But as ever, I was let down in Piccadilly, by their stupid train display and missed the next train to Newcastle by about a minute. So it was change at Leeds, where they have displays that work.

Sunderland should have been easy from Newcastle Central, as it has its own station at Stadium of Light.

Stadium of Light Station

But as to the stadium it was out there somewhere in the dark.

The Stadium of Light is in the Dark Somewhere

As it was chucking it down, I decided that as it wasn’t signposted from the station, as far as I could see, that this would have to be the end of trying to find the Stadium of Light in the Dark.

Perhaps I should have risked pneumonia.

By 18:00 I was on the train going home Kings Cross.  Sadly, it was half-an-hour late into the capital.

November 4, 2011 - Posted by AnonW | Sport, Transport/Travel | 92CCBB, Football, Trains