Delia Forgets Her Days Supporting Ipswich

CARROW ROAD

What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters?

Away fans are housed on one side of the new South Stand, on one side of the ground. As you would expect from a new stand the facilities and view of the playing action are good. The normal allocation in this area is 2,500 fans although this can be increased further for cup games. If you are located at the very back of this stand then you can enjoy some fine views across the city, including Norwich Cathedral. The Club I found to be particularly friendly and relaxed. I certainly would rate it as one of the better away days, even though it seems an eternity to get there. As Delia Smith is on the board of Norwich City, the food available within the ground has been spruced up a fair bit and is very good. The Club even bake their own pies which not only include the usual array such as steak & kidney, chicken & mushroom, but also a number of 'matchday specials' (which change from game to game) such as beef in red wine gravy & cheese, mushroom and garlic. Please note that smoking is not allowed in the seated areas of the South Stand.

Tom Jameson a visiting Sheffield United fan informs me; 'I recently visited Carrow Road and found it to be a pleasant, relaxing atmosphere which made for a very enjoyable day out. We were the first away supporters to sit in the new South Stand, towards the right hand side of the stand, towards the Barclay End. The stand is very modern, and offers a decent view of the action with plenty of leg room. One problem I did encounter was the tendency of the stewards to order away supporters to keep seated throughout the game. This led to our fans singing 'Sit down, if you hate Wednesday' instead of the usual 'Stand up, if you hate Wednesday' and 'Sit down, stand up', which did not go down too well with the stewards who in my mind very harshly ejected one supporter from the stadium. So it is advisable to comply with the steward requests, although I did find it all rather annoying'.

Where To Drink?

I found that the number of good pubs situated in-between the train station and the ground, were plentiful and friendly. In fact it almost ended up being a pub crawl before the match had begun! The traditional haunt of away fans for many years was the Clarence Harbour, but this alas is now making way for a housing development. Most fans now seem to be heading instead for the 'Compleat Angler', which is by the river opposite the railway station (around 5-10 minutes walk from the ground)'. This pub seems to have now taken over the mantle of the 'away fans pub'.

Rob Emery informs me; 'Not far away from the ground and towards the City Centre a new leisure complex called the Riverside has opened. This has a number of drinking and eating establishments, including a Wetherspoons Lloyds No.1 outlet. Whilst Nicholas Mead suggests; 'the Coach and Horses on Thorpe Road brews its own beer and is around a 10 minute walk away from the ground'.

How To Get There By Car & Where To Park

The ground is well signposted from the A11 and A47.  From the southern bypass (A47) take the A146 into the city. At the traffic lights turn right and follow the outer ring road: Left at the roundabout. Right at the next lights.  Follow the inner ring road round to the right, over the river and the ground is on your right. If in doubt follow signs for the the railway station until you get to the river (where the rail station is off to the left and ground on your right).

David Clarke informs me that 'The best car park for away fans is Norfolk County Hall, which is well sign posted on the left of the A146, as you follow signs towards the ground from the Southern Bypass. It is currently £3 and can hold about 2000 cars, and does usually fill up by 2pm for games where the away team bring loads of fans'. Martyn Swan adds; 'It's advisable to get to the car park before 1pm if you want a decent spot, otherwise you may get stuck in spaces at the back, and it can then take ages at the end of the game to exit'.

By Train

The ground is walkable from Norwich train station. If you ignore all those wonderful pubs it should take you around 5-10mins to walk to the ground. From the station turn left and head for the Morrisons supermarket and you should see the ground behind that.