Away days: Everton
As the Swans get set to face Everton on Monday, we bring you a fan's guide to Goodison Park to improve your matchday experience.
Everton
Monday, December 18, 2017 - 8pm
Address: Goodison Park, Goodison Road, Liverpool, L4 4EL
Telephone: 0151 556 1878 Website: www.evertonfc.com
What's it like?
Goodison Park is an old-fashioned stadium with around 3,000 away fans allocated one corner of the two-tier Bullens Road Stand. If you are in the lower tier, you could be lower than the actual pitch, which does not make for the best of views.
The facilities are basic and, with old wooden seats and tight gaps in between rows, away fans can make some noise and provide a great atmosphere.
Pies available include Scouse, steak, and cheese and onion, while sausage rolls and burgers are also sold.
Chang lager, bitter and small bottles of white wine are on offer, but alcohol is not sold 15 minutes before kick-off and you can expect big queues at half-time.
Visiting Liverpool
Liverpool means The Beatles. The Beatles Story at Albert Dock is a tour through their lives, with memorabilia and input from friends and family, while the Cavern Club on Mathew Street is where they began.
Tours of Goodison Park are run daily and can be booked at http://www.evertonfc.com/content/tickets/stadium-tour-experience.
Liverpool has the most museums outside of London. The Museum of Liverpool at the Pier Head is the largest newly-built national museum in Britain, while there are many others around Albert Dock including the Merseyside Maritime Museum, where you can discover the city’s seafaring past.
There are many art galleries and free art exhibitions. The Liverpool Walker Art Gallery is the national gallery of the north, with works by Hockney, Degas, Turner and Rembrandt. Tate Liverpool at Albert Dock, housed in a Grade 1 listed converted warehouse, stages lots of exhibitions featuring work by everyone from Tracey Emin to Picasso.
The Echo Arena (L3 4FP) hosts the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards on the Sunday night. Tickets cost £49.50 for the chance to see the show presented Gary Lineker, Clare Balding and Gabby Logan.
Also, the pantomime Aladdin is there from December 15-24. Tickets are priced between £12.50 and £29.50, with family tickets costing between £58 and £68.
Meanwhile, you can watch Christmas at the Academy at the O2 Academy (L3 5UF) at 6pm on Saturday for just £7.90.
Popular hotels in the city centre include The Adelphi, Holiday Inn, The Nadler, The Adagio or, for those on a budget, The Printwork Hotel.
The only places to stay near Goodison Park are St Hilda Hotel, The King Harry Bar & Hostel and Stanley Park Hotel. See https://www.visitliverpool.com/ for more information.
PUBS AND GRUB Behind the Park Stand is a small fanzone serving food and alcohol. Meanwhile, a 15-minute walk from the away fans’ entrance is a decent sized Wetherspoons, The Thomas Frost (L4 4AJ), with home and away fans welcome.
Nearby are The Spellow (L4 4EN) and Winslow Hotel (L4 4EH), while Taxicab Drivers Sports & Social Club (L4 6UF) charges a pound for entry and has cheap beer and a friendly atmosphere.
The city centre is good for a pre-match drink. There are loads of pubs near to Lime Street train station including The Vines (L1 1JQ), The Fall Well (L1 1LS), the North Western (L1 1RJ) and the Crown (L1 1JQ), who do an extensive food menu.
PARKING There are two ways to Everton – through mid-Wales and the motorway – with both taking around the same amount of time.
If you arrive about two hours before kick-off, there is street parking around Walton Lane. Alternatively, you can park towards Anfield or in Stanley Park for £10 (the entrance to the car park is in Priory Road), or £7 at the Walton Lifestyles Sports Centre (L4 9XP).
A 15-minute walk from the ground and just five minutes from the motorway, parking there will help you avoid traffic jams and enable you to make a quick getaway after the match.
TRAIN The main station is Liverpool Lime Street, which is over three miles from the ground, so either head for Kirkdale station or get a taxi for about £8. The best way from the city centre on public transport is the Merseyrail Northern Line to Sandhills to catch the Soccerbuses.
If buying train tickets in Liverpool then ask for a return to Goodison Park, as the train ticket is valid for the Soccerbus. Both Sandhills and Kirkdale stations can be reached by getting a train from Liverpool Lime Street to Liverpool Central, changing there.
After the game, you may want to grab a taxi into Liverpool, or walk to Kirkdale station as the Soccerbus is normally very busy, plus you can wait for up to 30 minutes due to big queues, then an additional 20 minutes or so for the bus to make its way from the stadium.
Trains to Liverpool Lime Street leave for the four-and-a-half-hour journey at 10.29am, 10.55am, 11.28am, 11.55am, 12.29pm and 12.54pm for the four-and-a-half-hour journey. There are no trains back after the game, so an overnight stay is required.
