To Burnley To See Ipswich
I went to Burnley today to see Ipswich play. I went up via Leeds, as in my opinion, First Class on East Coast is so much better than the offering on Virgin Trains.
I also didn’t suffer any delays, but apparently some Ipswich supporters, who took the Manchester route, got to the match at around half-time.
Can Ipswich Fans Go By Train To The Last Match?
If you live in Ipswich, support Town and want to go by train to the last match of the season at Burnley,you’ve got a five hour journey starting at six in the morning.
I’m luckier in that I can catch the 08:03 train to Leeds and change for Burnley there, getting there in just under four hours.
Yet again, East Anglia shows how badly it is connected to the rail network.
I also get back to London about 19:30, whereas those going to Ipswich arrive two hours later.
So to answer my question, the answer is yes! But those of us, who live in London can do it a lot easier, than those that live in Ipswich.
92 Clubs – Lancashire Humour
I saw this sign at Burnley Manchester Road station.
Does the World End At Leeds?
Notice that it just says Train. Does this mean that they are just one a day?
In fact, if I was the Fat Controller of Britain’s railways the line between Blackpool North, Preston, Blackburn, Burnley, Halifax, Bradford, Leeds and York is one that I’d upgrade seriously. It links the East Coast main line, at Leeds and York, with the West Coast main line at Preston. With three coach trains, an increased frequency and better bus/train interfaces like they have at Blackburn and it could have a postive benefit to the area. I didn’t see much of the countryside, in my four journeys on the line this week, as it was either raining or dark and sometines both.
92 Clubs – Day 7 – Burnley, Burton Albion
As I said in an earlier post, I took the morning easy and just turned up at Euston, bought a ticket and took the 11:30 train to Preston, where I changed for Burnley Manchester Road, which is the nearest station to the Burnley ground, Turf Moor. The walk-up ticket cost me £48.70, as opposed to the £13.85, I’d paid for an advance ticket, for an early train. But of course I couldn’t use that one after my troubles in Bristol! Well that is if I wanted to stay sane, fit and well.
Turf Moor
I arrived at the ground just before two after about 30 minutes walk. The trouble is that the station is on one hill and the ground is on another and the only public transport between the two is a taxi. I’ve said before, that crossing the main road by the station in Welcome to Burnley is not the easiest. I met a lady at the station as I moved on to Leeds, when I left and she agreed.
But the people at the club are very friendly and I got a good welcome there.
Welcome to Burnley FC
The receptionist took the picture, which sums up the club well, and told me about one of their former players who has suffered a serious stroke. My best wishes go out to him and his family.
She also told me, how she and a few friends were having an expedition to Brighton to see Burnley play in December, staying for the weekend nearby. Sadly, I won’t be going to Burnley this season as Ipswich play them on a Tuesday night.
From Burnley, I took the train to Leeds, on my way to Burton Albion. It was in fact three trains and I suffered my first delay of the week as it was a bit of a tortuous journey, where I had to change at both Leeds and Derby. The late train, was the service from Leeds to Derby, which was twenty-two minutes late and that knocked on. I dfo wonder how many tickets are issued between Burnley and Burton Albion
Outside Burton Albion's Pirelli Stadium
The picture sums up Burton, although it wasn’t the club or the twon’s fault. To say it was raining would be an understatement, so I chickened out walking to the ground, as pneumonia would not be something to add to my ailments. The picture was taken by a cheery taxi driver, originally from Wimbledon.
Originally, when this day was planned, I would have moved on to Bury. But walking around Manchester, late at night and in the rain, I decided that to return home would be a better idea. After changing trains at Birmingham, I was in London around ten and asleep in bed, just after eleven.
92 Clubs – Day 6 – Is It Over?
On the train last night, I decided I would take things a bit slower and on Day 6 visit perhaps just Burnley and Burton Albion and then see how I felt.
So perhaps the best idea would be to leave London on the 11:30 Virgin reach to Burnley via Preston.
I may get to Manchester, which wouldn’t be the worst place to spend a night!
I tried to book this last night, but all the train web sites were down. As at ten this morning, there is still something wrong.
So I have two choices.
- I write off today and start again tomorrow.
- I go to Euston and see what I can get a ticket for.
But then I’m a London mongrel of the worst kind. So it has to be option 2.
The Fixtures For 2011-12 Are Now Out.
Now that the fixtures for next season have been published, what are going to be the difficult ones to get to from London or even Ipswich?
At present there is only one, that I probably couldn’t make.
That is on the 29th November 2011 at Burnley. It was a good trip last season and too far for a Tuesday in November.
Not My View of Burnley
Burnley gets a pasting from The Times today. Here’s a flavour.
Burnley has been called “Poundland” land by a councillor because it has so many discount and £1 stores.
The Lancashire town has had its fair share of hard economic times since the Industrial Revolution.
Only last month it was highlighted in a survey as having the lowest property prices in Britain. Four of the top five streets with the lowest house prices in England and Wales are in the town.
Perhaps after my last three years, I tend to see everything half-full rather than half-empty.
I won’t deny Burnley has problems, but it has a lot of things going for it, like the football club and Towneley Hall. And I would say that everybody I met last Saturday was friendly and very welcoming. That includes stewards and police too!
It was definitely an enjoyable day out and I shall be going next year, if we’re both in the same division.
An Old-Fashioned Football Match
In some ways yesterday’s match between Burnley and Ipswich reminded me of the 1950s, when football was much more honest and very much a part of the community. I’m not saying things are not better now, but some of the values have gone.
Men would finish their Saturday lunch, kiss the missus and the dog goodbye, put their pipe and tobacco in their pocket, don their flat cap, pick up their rattle and then walk to the match through streets of terraced houses, arriving just before kick off.
Now wives and family will more as likely be going and thankfully all stadia are now smoke free. But at Burnley the ground is still surrounded by houses.
Turf Moor Behind the Terraced Houses
And as the picture, which was taken an hour before kick-off, shows, they don’t get there early.
I also got a lot of good old-fashioned courtesy from the stewards, police and the staff in the ticket office, where I was able to buy a senior ticket for the away end for just £15. Now that is an old-fashioned price for a Championship football match!
I also sat on a proper wooden seat.
A Comfortable Wooden Seat at Turf Moor
It was comfortable too, just as the one I’d sat on at Fulham.
I also took this picture of the rows and rows of wooden seats.
Rows and Rows of Wooden Seats
Sadly, they are to be replaced with anonymous plastic. But is that progress?
In some ways not really! I seem to have heard that supporters prefer them and that if you have someone who knows what they are doing, keeping them in good nick is cheaper than with plastic ones. I’m not for the return of standing at grounds, but proper wooden seats are another matter.
I took this picture less than an hour before kick-off.
Turf Moor an Hour Before Kick-Off
Note only a handfull of the crowd have arrived, the pillar supporting the roof and even more wooden seats in the Bob Lord stand to the right. But some things have improved. Just look at the state of the pitch after our awful winter and a very dry March. It is a real credit to the groundsman and his staff.
The match too was strangely old-fashioned in that although the players showed passion, there was little or no aggro, either from them or the crowd, which was very good humoured.
I was happy with the result and Ipswich perhaps could have had another giving a bit of luck. But then so could Burnley!
And after the match we all walked away in an amicable fashion, shepherded by a few policemen, who’d not been required to help out at Blackburn. The only trouble, I had in walking to the station was the long uphill climb and the difficulty in crossing the roads, with cars flashing impatiently everywhere.
As the station was being well-used by supporters of both sides, surely a shuttle bus between the station and Turf Moor might even be profitable at say a few pound for the return.
Towneley Park and Hall
I think we’re all going to hearing more about Towneley Hall, as it is again being used as the location for the new series of the BBC’s Antiques Master.
Eric Knowles has described it as a hidden gem and I won’t argue with that.
Towneley Hall
I walked to the Park from the town centre and spent an enjoyable couple of hours there. I had an excellent coffee in the cafe and explored the house and its art gallery. It was just a pity that they charge non-Burnley residents for entry to the house. Some gluten-free food would have been welcome to. There was some baked potatoes, but I wasn’t sure of the fillings. There was also some nice-looking home-made cakes, so why not some chocolate ones, as some of the traditional recipes don’t use wheat flour.
I then walked down the hill to Turf Moor for the match.
Towneley Park
Since my visit, I’ve looked at maps and the Internet and have found that the Hall used to have its own station. Obvious;ly, reopening the station is not on, but perhaps a trail from the station to the park vaguely following the route of the railway might be an idea. It might also be fairly level, so an easier walk than the one I took by my circuitous route. It would also be safer, separate from the traffic and with a nice down hill run into the town. I suspect too, that it would have good panoramic views over Burnley. I took this picture as I walked down to the town from the station.
Walking Down into Burnley
But the view would be better, if you were higher up, as the direct route might well be. It certainly wouldn’t be as boring as walking along a busy dual carriageway.
Welcome to Burnley
I arrived at Manchester Road station in the town at 10:30 and the station is in effect an unmanned halt with shelters, like say Newmarket or Dullingham, which I used to use quite a bit in Suffolk.
However it differs from the two Suffolk stations in a couple of important ways. There are no information screens giving details of arriving trains and there is no local maps. Those in Suffolk, actually carry advertising for things like local hotels and taxi companies.
There were a couple of police in the station car park, but as they were from Manchester and not local, and were probably there to observe any stray carrots going to Blackburn. So they weren’t much use on directions.
I knew that Towneley Park, my intended destination, was close to the Turf Moor and after walking down the hill, I found a sign to Burnley FC, so I walked in that direction. This picture shows just how dangerous it was, as I needed to cross two dual-carriageways without even a rudimentary form of crossing.
Pedestrian Unfriendly Burnley
I know I’m just one old man, who’s had a stroke, but I’m still reasonably nimble and usually not in a hurry, so I can wait for a gap in the traffic. But so often, roundabouts and dual-carriageways are real barriers to pedestrians and judging by the flowers you occasionally see on railings, others have not been so lucky.
But the pedestrian access to Manchester Road station is a disgrace and there is a definite need for a light-controlled crossing or an underpass to get across the main road at the station. I think that it might be possible to put an underpass in alongside the railway.
To be fair to Burnley Council, they are thinking about improving accessibility in the town, as this page shows.
I did finally reach the bus station, where I found a bus map, which gave details of where I needed to go to get to Towneley Park.
The Anonymous Widower 