Away Fans' Guide | Ipswich Town

Address: Ipswich Town Football Club, Portman Road, Ipswich, IP12DA

Website: www.itfc.co.uk

Club Telephone Number: 01473 400500   

Ticket Office Number: 03330 050503

Supporter Liaison Officer: Elizabeth Edwards, slo@itfc.co.uk, 07968 876504 @ITFC_SLO

Disability Liaison Officer: Lee Smith, lee.smith@itfc.co.uk, 01473 400556

Customer Services: customerservice@itfc.co.uk

Twitter: @IpswichTown, @itfchelp

BY CAR

Note: There are long term roadworks on the A12 which will increase your journey time. The section around Colchester is being resurfaced, with disruption promised until February 2024 (yes, we do mean 2024). In recent weeks, we have been delayed 30-40 minutes heading towards London daytimes. There are often overnight closures and hence diversions. Prepare yourself for a very long journey!

The address is Portman Road, Ipswich, IP1 2DA. From Plymouth take the A386 / A38 (Devon Express Way) / M5 / A30 (join at junction 29 of the M5) / A303 / M3 (join at junction 8) to the M25. Join the M25 clockwise at junction 2 (via Heathrow). At junction 28 of the M25 use the left lane to join the A12 towards Chelmsford. Follow the A12 to outskirts of Ipswich and pick up the last few miles route below.

Note, there is an alternative route via Bristol, taking the A38 / M5 / M4 / M25 / A12. This is a fair bit further, and usually takes about half an hour longer, but some people do prefer to be on dual carriageways the whole of the journey. Whichever way you go, it is likely to take at least five to six hours depending on travel conditions.

Unless you live very close to Suffolk, we generally recommend allowing at least an hour, and ideally 90 minutes, beyond the AA / Google / Sat Nav suggested journey time. The last few miles Sat Navs vary in their recommended route into town, but whichever way you go, it shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes from the A12 / A14 to the ground.

For those without Sat Nav, once you reach the junction of the A12 and A14, just south of Ipswich, take the A1214 (London Road) for a couple of miles into town. As you approach the town centre area, there is a Sainsbury’s supermarket on the left – at this point, go straight on past Sainsbury’s and then almost immediately right onto West End Road. Take the first left (after about half a mile) onto Sir Alf Ramsey Way and you’ve arrived.

Note that the road immediately behind the Cobbold stand is blocked by flower beds and the road immediately behind the Sir Bobby Robson stand is closed about 90 minutes before the game, so to access the NCP car park on Portman Road you will need to continue on London Road, straight on to Handford Road and then turn right at a set of traffic lights onto Portman Road (if you miss the turning, just do a U-turn at the roundabout with Civic Drive, turning back onto Handford Road, then taking the first left into Portman Road).

PARKING

There is no official stadium car park, but there is parking all around the ground. We are expecting a very big crowd for this game - so arrive early to park near the ground.

The closest option is a large car park on Portman Road (right by the away end, post code IP1 2BP), which is likely to have space for this game up to maybe 90 minutes before kick-off. There are also large car parks on West End Road (5 minutes’ walk away, post code IP1 2DZ) and at the railway station (less than 10 minutes, postcode IP2 8AL).

The town centre is less than 10 minutes’ walk, and has numerous car parks, as you’d expect. Being a town centre ground, most streets are controlled (residents only) parking, so free on-road parking tends to be at least a 20-minute walk away. As usual, the car parks nearest the ground are a bit slow to clear after the game – the further you park from the ground, the less likely you are to face lengthy traffic delays post-match.

One good option is the railway station car park (it’s controlled by cameras, and the pay stations are by the entrance to the station – it costs £6 all day at weekends) - exit left onto Burrell Road / Ranelagh Road (B1075), then (after about a mile) left onto the A1214 to get out to the A14.

Three car parking spaces are available for visiting disabled supporters. Spaces can be booked by contacting Ipswich Town's Disability Liaison Officer, Lee Smith, on 01473 400556. There is no charge for this parking but note that the spaces are on the opposite side of the stadium to the away turnstiles.

BY COACH

Away coaches usually park in the West End Road car park, 5 - 10 minutes’ walk from the ground. The Station Hotel (away fans pub) is just a couple of minutes away – go towards the bridge over the river, at the east end of the car park, turn right and you’ll find the pub the other side of the river, right opposite the railway station.

It is possible to arrange a drop-off nearer to the stadium for fans with mobility issues – please contact Ipswich Town's Disability Liaison Officer, Lee Smith, on 01473 400556 in advance of the game to arrange this.

BY TRAIN

Note: There are no planned engineering works on the Ipswich to London route on the day of the match.

For those travelling by train, Ipswich station is only 5 to 10 minutes’ walk from the ground. The route from Plymouth is via London Paddington. From London Paddington take the Elizabeth Line to Liverpool Street where you pick up a train to Ipswich. Alternatively, you can take the Bakerloo Line to Oxford Circus and change to the Central Line for Liverpool Street. The journey time is between 5 hours 10 minutes and 5 hours 40 minutes depending on connections and whether you need to change at Bristol Parkway for Paddington.

For those travelling by train there are a number of options that will get you to Ipswich in time for the game. For example, www.greateranglia.co.uk shows trains leaving Plymouth at 05:27 (change at Bristol Parkway), 05:58, 06:55, 07:25 (change at Bristol Parkway) and 08:14 which are scheduled to arrive into Ipswich at 11:05, 11:39, 12:06, 13:05 and 13:38 respectively.

After the game www.greateranglia.co.uk indicates that the trains leaving Ipswich to Liverpool Street at 17:09 and 18:11 connect to the 19:04 and 20:04 from Paddington to Plymouth arriving into Plymouth at 22:39 and 23:38 respectively.

If you are travelling back towards London only, as well as the 17:09 and 18:11, there are trains at 17:44, 17:52 and 18:41. There are later options with the last train to Liverpool Street leaving Ipswich at 22:41.

Whatever your travel plans, you should check www.greateranglia.co.uk or your usual train operator website for updated times. There are ticket checks on all mainline trains and ticket barriers at Ipswich.

The Green Army have snapped up the entire allocation of tickets for Saturday's Sky Bet League One clash with promotion rivals Ipswich Town at Portman Road.

Over 2,100 supporters will make the pilgrimage to Suffolk for a tie between the third-placed Tractor Boys and Steven Schumacher's Argyle. Thank you for your incredible support.

Tickets will be available for collection from the Home Park Ticket Office until 3pm on Thursday 12 January.

After this any tickets not collected will be available at Ipswich on the day of the game from the Away Ticket Office, next to the Away Turnstile from 1:30pm.

If you were expecting tickets to arrive in the post and they have not please either call us on 01752 907700 or email tickets@pafc.co.uk by 3pm on Friday 13 January, so that we can arrange duplicates for collection on the day. This will also be from the Away Ticket Office, next to the Away Turnstile from 1.30pm.

Departs from outside the Devonport End at 5.45am.

The Station Hotel is opposite the station, and is the official away pub. It has a garden and TV screens, and up to four beers on handpump, mostly from the Greene King stable.

Most pubs immediately around the ground are for home fans only, and few pubs around the town, if any, will welcome groups of away fans, especially wearing away team colours. As always, couples, families and older people will find it a bit easier to slip into a town centre pub for a quiet beer or two.

Note that, on a match-by-match basis, police may designate other pubs in the town centre as home fans only. This is more likely nowadays as there have been a number of pub closures in the immediate area around the stadium. In practice, the smaller and the friendlier the away following, the easier it is to enjoy our many great pubs on a matchday.

There is a FanZone marquee and entertainment zone at the stadium, but this is strictly open to home fans only. There are ticket checks at the door.

The nearest cash machines to the stadium are a 5-10 minute walk away, (a) at the railway station, (b) at the Cardinal Park leisure facility (which has a number of chain restaurants, plus a KFC and a McDonalds), and (c) throughout the town centre.

Portman Road is now a cashless stadium. This includes the programme kiosks positioned close to the away fans entrance and on the corner of Sir Alf Ramsey Way / Portman Road (close to Planet Blue). Other programme kiosks do currently accept cash.

The 68-page matchday programme, priced at £3.50, can be purchased outside the stadium from the blue, tardis-like kiosks, but note that the nearest kiosk to the away end does not accept cash. Programmes are not for sale inside the ground.

As at most away grounds, you can expect to be searched prior to entering the ground. Ipswich Town also uses a trained search dog and some stewards now wear body cameras.

Large bags will not be permitted to be taken into the stadium. By way of guidance, nothing larger than a standard carrier bag will be allowed. There are no facilities to leave bags.

Portman Road is a traditional ground, with four separate stands. The away end is blocks V1 and V2 of the Cobbold Stand. This gives you a good side-stand upper-tier view of the action, though it is an older stand, which celebrated its 50th birthday last season.

Ambulant disabled fans, who require limited stepped access, will be seated within block S of the lower tier of the Cobbold Stand – this is an away fans block. Ambulant disabled supporters wishing to sit in the upper tier can do so but please note that there is no lift access or accessible toilet facility in this area.

As we do not have wheelchair spaces in the Cobbold Stand, wheelchair users are located with home fans in the Magnus Group West Stand. Four spaces are available.

Accessible toilets are on the concourse of the lower tier of the Cobbold Stand.

A baby changing facility can be found in the ladies toilets in the lower tier of E block.

All kiosks are cashless. Card and contactless will be accepted. Alcohol availability in the away end is determined on a match-by-match basis.

Portman Pie (Steak & Ale) £4.95

Chicken & Ham Pie £4.95

Chicken Balti Pie £4.95

Vegetarian Pie £4.95

Sausage Roll and Vegan Sausage Roll £4.50

Rollover Hotdog £4.95

Any Pie or Hotdog & Hot/Soft Drink & Crisps/Chocolate Bar (saving of 70p) £8.50

Crisps £1.50

Grab Bags £3.30

Duo Chocolate Bar £1.50

Hot drinks (Tea, White Coffee, Black Coffee, Hot Chocolate, Bovril – all 12oz) £2.75

Soft Drinks (Coca Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta Orange Zero, Sprite Zero – all 500ml) £2.75

Belu Still Water 500ml £2.25

Capri Sun 200ml £1.80

Carlsberg 4.0 PET 500ml £5.25

GK IPA 3.6 PET 500ml £5.00

Stowford Press 4.5 PET 500ml £5.25

Red, White, Rose wine 187ml £5.25

Mixer Cans: Gin & Tonic, Vodka & Coke 250ml £5.25

Portman Road is a no smoking stadium. This includes e-cigarettes. Anyone found smoking will be ejected from the ground. For anyone considering leaving the stadium, note that no re-admission to the ground is permitted.

Subject to space, flags and banners are allowed in the away end. These will need to be fire certificated. For questions relating to this contact Neil McCluskey on neil.mccluskey@itfc.co.uk.

Musical instruments and selfie sticks are not allowed in the away end.

As with all grounds and to comply with legislation, the use of pyrotechnics or attempts to bring them into the stadium is a criminal offence and will not be tolerated.

Pushchairs are not allowed into the stadium. No storage is available so they will need to be left in your car.

The Club has radio headsets available to supporters with visual impairments ran through Soccer Sight, who provide dedicated descriptive commentary allowing the supporter to sit anywhere in the stadium.

If you would like to reserve headsets or you have any special requirements please contact Ipswich’s Disability Liaison Officer Lee Smith on lee.smith@itfc.co.uk or 01473 400556.

Ipswich Town Football Club takes a zero-tolerance stance on any form of racial, homophobic or prejudiced behaviour. Supporters can report any incident instantly that they feel needs attention by texting the anonymous ‘Stamp it Out’ number on 07834 439429 (standard text rate applies). All reports will be handled in the strictest confidence.

You can also report any discrimination or anti-social behaviour to Kick it Out using the Kick It Out app which is available to download from the App Store or Google Play, or via: Facebook /kickitoutofficial; Twitter @kickitout; email info@kickitout.org; phone 0800 169 9414.

Alternatively, you can contact customer services via customer.service@itfc.co.uk.

Ipswich has numerous hotels, many at the budget end of the market, within a comfortable walk from the ground.

Of the chains, the nearest is the Penta hotel (5 mins), with the Premier Inn and Travelodge around 10-15 mins from the ground in the harbourside area and a newish lodge at the Mermaid pub (Marstons), also about a 10-minute walk.

For a more upmarket option, the Salthouse Harbour Hotel is on the harbourside, and Milsoms (Kesgrave) is in a country house setting on the eastern edge of Ipswich. The Railway at Westerfield is about 2 miles out of town, but is a lovely traditional pub with great food and frequent trains that get you to Ipswich station in just a few minutes.

• Harbourside and marina, with numerous restaurants, cafes and bars
• Town centre, with many independent stores dotted around a fairly compact area
• New Wolsey Theatre, one of the UK’s leading regional theatres, with a year-round programme of great plays and shows, including their own productions and national tours. Their rock n roll panto runs from early December to early February, and is simply unmissable – even, or especially, if you don’t “do” conventional pantos.
• Christchurch Park, Mansion and Gallery – a huge, 70-acre park just north of the town centre, including a Tudor mansion which houses a renowned (and free) art gallery (with a permanent display of local artist John Constable)
• Pubs selling a wide range of locally-brewed real ales, including the Fat Cat, Dove Street Inn, Woolpack, Greyhound, St Judes Tavern, Arcade Street Tavern, Three Wise Monkeys, Thomas Wolsey (strictly home fans on a matchday), Spread Eagle, Lord Nelson and Briarbank Brewery. Of these, the Dove and St Judes often have their own-brewed beers amongst a wider range, whilst the Briarbank is a microbrewery with a wide range of its own ales.
• Felixstowe is just 15 miles (15 minutes, via the A14) away to the east, and is both a traditional seaside resort (there’s a pier and the promenade stretches for a couple of miles) and major container port, which includes a fantastic viewing point, where you can see shipping movements and the loading / unloading of the world’s largest container ships.
• The Orwell Bridge carries the A14 over the river to Felixstowe, and is an impressive sight from below. You get to it off the A137, which is a mile or so east of the A12/A14 junction (turn towards Ipswich, down the hill, and then turn right at the first roundabout towards Shotley). The road under the Orwell Bridge then meanders for a few miles past Pin Mill (the Butt & Oyster is a lovely old waterside inn) and onto Shotley, which has loads of yachts and great views of the ports of Felixstowe and Harwich.
• The historic little town of Woodbridge is just a few miles from Ipswich, with a tide mill, lots of little boutiques, some fine pubs, and an Adnams Wine and Beer store (next to the station).
• Just a bit further up the coast you’ll find the beautiful seaside town of Aldeburgh with its famous fish & chip shop (it’s the one at the south end of the High Street, with the big queue outside), as well as some wonderful little shops and pubs. You’ll pass the concert hall, antique, home furnishings and fine foods shops of Snape Maltings en route to Aldeburgh, and it’s well worth the short detour – no national chains here!
• If you’ve managed to get as far as Aldeburgh, you may well be tempted to continue a bit further up the coast, past the impressive power station at Sizewell, to the beautiful seaside town of Southwold, home of Adnams beers, a pier, and lots of little shops and galleries.
• The delightful market town of Framlingham is about 20 miles north-east of Ipswich, home turf of the club’s main sponsor Ed Sheeran, who put the town on the world stage with his ‘Castle on the Hill’ track.
• 10 miles south of Ipswich, on the Essex border, is Constable country, where you can visit the artist’s famous locations along the Stour valley, including Willy Lott’s cottage and the Haywain at Flatford Mill.