Away Day Guide – West Ham United
On Friday 22nd February Fulham travel to the London Stadium for the first time (19:45 kick off). Here is the FST away day guide to West Ham United.
TICKETING INFORMATION
Fulham have sold their full allocation of just under 3,000 tickets for the trip to the London Stadium. This means there will be no tickets available on the day.
GETTING TO THE LONDON STADIUM
BY CAR
Driving to the London Stadium is discouraged as the stadium itself has been designated as a public transport destination and there is virtually no parking available to visitors nearby.
Exit the M25 at Junction 27 and take the M11 towards London. At the end of the M11, stay in the left hand lane and follow the signs for the North Circular A406 (S) (A12, A13). At the bottom of the flyover where the roads merge, move into the left-hand lane for the A12. At the roundabout take the fourth exit onto the A12 towards Central London and Stratford. Stay on the A12 for around four miles until the Velodrome building becomes visible on your left. Exit here onto the A106 signposted Stratford and Westfield. At the bottom of the slip road at the traffic lights, take the left hand filter lane, towards Stratford and Westfield. Continue along this road and you will reach the stadium on the right and the Westfield Centre on the left. Just before the Westfield Shopping Centre you will reach a set of traffic lights, where you turn left for the Westfield Car Park, A,B & C, which are clearly signposted from this point.
The best parking option will be in the Westfield Shopping Centre, priced at £6.70 for the evening. There is a 25% discount available if drivers sign up for the Westfield Smart Parking scheme.
BY TRAIN
The three closest train stations to the London Stadium are Stratford, Stratford International and Hackney Wick, which are all around 10 to 15 minutes walk from the stadium itself.
Stratford station (Jubilee, Central Lines and DLR) is located next to Westfield and has overground connections to London Liverpool Street and Clapham Junction. Supporters are advised that after the match, fans heading back to Stratford station are diverted on a route that avoids the shopping centre and there the queues are managed to regulate the flow of supporters into the station. There are also likely to be lengthy queues on the platforms as well.
Stratford International Railway station is on the other side of Westfield to Stratford and is served by local services from London St Pancras, which is about seven minutes away. It is also located on the Docklands Light Railway.
Hackney Wick is on the west side of the stadium when to compared to the two Stratford stations and Westfield. It is served by trains from Clapham Junction, Richmond and Stratford. It also stops at Highbury and Islington, which is also situated on the Victoria Tube line. Supporters are being discouraged from using Hackney Wick on matchdays due to its small size, but it is open on matchdays and you are advised to arrive in good time. After the game, services from this station are likely to be packed with fans who have already got on at Stratford.
BY COACH
The club’s official coaches will leave Motspur Park and Craven Cottage at 4.45pm
AWAY PUBS
There are very few pubs that will welcome away supporters in the vicinity of the London Stadium, so Fulham supporters may prefer to drink in central London before heading to the ground tomorrow night. The Hamilton Hall Wetherspoon’s outlet at Liverpool Street station has been a popular meeting point for fans travelling to West Ham since they moved to the London Stadium.
The Goose on the Broadway, now known as the Sportsman (78-78-102 Broadway, Stratford, London, E15 1NG) is probably the closest thing to a traditional away pub near to the ground. It does welcome home and away fans as well as families. It has been rebranded as a sports bar with large big screen televisions and a pool table, that also serves food and real ale.
Alternatively, there are several eateries that also serve alcohol in the nearby Westfield Stratford shopping centre complex. One of the best options is The Cow on Westfield Avenue, but supporters could also try the bar inside the Asper’s Casino or drink in the Holiday Inn, which are also situated inside the Westfield Stratford shopping centre itself. Supporters are advised that away fans wearing colours have not been admitted to some of these venues in the past.
There are also a couple of options closer to some of the local train stations. Opposite Stratford International is Tap East (7 International Square, London, E20 1EE), a specialist beer bar and microbrewery that has sixteen draft ales on tap and another 100 bottled beers. Close to Hackney Wick station, there are two bars attached to local breweries. The Crate (Unit 7 Queen’s Yard, White Post Lane, Hackney Wick, London, E9 5EN) offers excellent craft beers as well as excellent pizza. Next door, is the Howling Hops (Unit 9A Queen’s Yard, White Post Lane, Hackney Wick, London E9 5EN), which offers ten draught beers as well as a food menu.
Alcohol is available inside the London Stadium itself, including Amstel (£4.80 a pint), Fosters, Strongbow and Bulmers (£4.60 a bottle), Smirnoff Ice (£4.80) or small bottles of wine (£5.10).
