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Getting There
Get plenty of snacks in if you're the driver - it's a long one. Get yourself onto the A1(M) after, the usual jaunt down the A19, where you'll briefly join the M18 before joining the M1. You'll need to take the M69 towards Coventry which will eventually see you onto the M40, followed by the A34. Then it's time to whip down the M3 to A37 and before you know it, you'll be seeing all the cruise ships lining up. If you're looking where to park the club have five city council car parks they recommend here.
In decent traffic and without many stops, it'll take you around five hours. This is one of the few away trips where it makes more sense to go by car or coach rather than use the train. Due to having to change trains at least once (if you're travelling from Durham/Newcastle) it means it's a dragged out affair where you could also be waiting a while for your next train.
Pubs
A handy one that I've used over recent visits has been The Admiral Sir Lucius Curtis. It is a Weatherspoons but the fact that you can get some scran there is handy on a trip as long as Southampton and, in my experience, they've always had a decent beer selection. It's only a 10 minute walk from the stadium, welcomes away supporters and you can park right outside it for £1 per hour.
On the other side of the stadium at Shamrock Quay, The Waterfront comes highly recommended. Like The Admiral it has a nice mix of home and away fans and isn't too far from the ground. It's a canny place for a pre-match pint, especially if the weather stays canny.
If You're At A Loose End
The biggest tourist attraction in Southampton is The Solent Sky Museum. You can see exhibits of every kind of plane imaginable with exhibitions about aviation in both the first and second world war, the early days of flying and even space flight. Well worth a look if you're getting down on the Friday and you're looking for a way to kill some time.
Due to the long trip many may opt for a Saturday night stop over. If you fancy some entertainment on the evening, Jongleurs is hosting a comedy night in Oceana. Tickets are priced at £15, you get four live acts but it still won't be as funny as Santiago Vergini's own goal a couple of years ago.
The Stadium
Southampton are in their fifteenth year at St. Mary's, since they moved from The Dell and it's certainly not been boring time for the club. In those years the club have been in three different divisions and seen players such as Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott grace the home dressing room.
The official capacity of the ground is 32,505 and does have it's similarities to our own stadium, even though Saints have managed to keep their seats red. There's no upper tiers so the stadium stays level all the way around and, unlike the Stadium of Light, there's no central gangway so head down to the concourse if you need to make your way around for whatever reason.
The away end is located in one half of the Northam Stand with the more vocal of the Saints following being to your left, as you look at the pitch. There are still tickets available in our approximate 2,400 allocation so if you're still considering it, get yourself over to the ticket office where adults are priced at £30. If you do travel down, sing yer heart out and bring back three points. Or even just one point. Any points will do.
