Away Day Guide: Livingston - What to do, where to drink & what to expect!

Getting there

In all likelihood you’ll most probably be staying in Edinburgh or Glasgow if you’re making the journey up to the Tony Macaroni Arena (yes, really). The stadium is fairly easy to get to via a train from Newcastle to Edinburgh Waverley or Glasgow Central/Queen Street which shouldn’t set you back more than £45. Depending on where you’re staying, you can get trains to Livingston in just under an hour, every 15 minutes or so.

Livingston North is served by Glasgow Queen Street, whereas Livingston South is served by Glasgow Central - both stations travel direct to and from Edinburgh. Each station is a 25-minute walk from the stadium.

Livingston is situated approximately 18 miles west of Edinburgh and easily accessible from the M8 motorway, and the stadium is fairly well signposted around the town.

Leave the M8 at Junction 3 and take the A899 towards Livingston. Leave this road when you reach the large roundabout that is the junction with the A71 (Bankton Road). Turn right onto the A71 and at the next island turn right onto Alderstone Road (sign posted town centre). Go straight across three roundabouts and then turn right at the second set of traffic lights and into the stadium approach road.

There is a fair sized car park at the stadium which costs £5.

dailyrecord.co.uk

Pubs

Again, if you’re staying in Edinburgh rather than Livingston itself, you can find a host of pubs (as mentioned in our Hibs guide). But what if you’re going to be a real man and take on the sights of lovely Livingston? I doff my hat to you sir and present you with some fine drinking establishments. All two of them.

The Lime Kiln is a popular place for home and away fans alike and is situated just by the Main Stand. The McArthur Glen shopping centre also has a pretty mean Wetherspoons called Newyearfield serving all your best loved beers! Other than those two you’ll find yourself struggling for other decent boozers if I’m being honest.

What else can I do?

This is Livingston, so not bloody much. TripAdvisor will tell you the stadium itself is in the top ten things to do which should tell you what we’re dealing with here; although you will definitely be able to find Buckfast.

There’s a big designer outlet on Almondvale Avenue which is described as "first class designer shopping" by Audrey F on TripAdvisor. Wowee!

If you’re feeling adventurous perhaps you could go to Escape Livingston; a popular game with locals where you pay money to get locked in a room and attempt to solve puzzles in a way to get you and your teammates out. I would suggest if you drink enough of the good tonic wine, you’ll be able to do that by the time Simon Grayson is celebrating a Billy Jones hat-trick for free! Although the cells in Livingston are pretty similar to the ones you see in Sunderland.

Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

The Stadium

Livingston wins the award for the most ridiculous stadium name ever - narrowly beating Sports Direct @ St. James Park - with a re-brand in September 2016. More commonly known as the Almondvale Stadium, as is now commonplace in modern football it’s been renamed for advertising purposes.

In spite of the obscure name, the stadium is pretty decent. It’s a 10,000 capacity all-seater stadium that opened two years prior to our glorious Stadium of Light in 1995. There are open corners to the ground on either side of the West Stand, and at one side of the pitch - which also has a few supporting pillars.

The Livi Lions’ growth has been impressive over the years, gaining promotion from Scotland’s bottom league all the way to the Championship; although they have bobbed around those two divisions over the past few years. That growth has seen crowds quadruple in size and as such the stadium is probably one of the best grounds for atmosphere in the Scottish Championship.

Tickets

Adult tickets for the game are priced at £15, with over-65s £10 and under-16s £5.

Tickets are available from safc.com, the Livingston ticket office or on the gate.