Visiting Ground-Hoppers Guide to Liverpool

For Liverpool and Everton fans, it seems entirely unreasonable that someone could support another football club. The two teams based in the city have some of the most loyal and passionate fans in the world, who would be keen to speak of the value not only of their players but also the football grounds that they call home.

There are, of course, plenty of people out there that support neither team but that might want to head along and have a look around the stadiums or need to get to them because they’re an opposition fan and have a game there. On top of that, many first-time visitors who do support the Reds or Blues might want to know about things around the grounds.

Anfield

Let’s start by taking a look at Anfield, if for no other reason than it was the first stadium that was built in the city. If you asked someone who had visited both Anfield and Goodison Park which was the older football ground then they would likely have pointed to the home of Everton, such is the extent to which Anfield has been modernised and updated to a similar extent to which Goodison Park has been allowed to fall away.

If you’re heading to Anfield, whether it be for a tour or in order to watch a match, getting there will be arguably the toughest part of your day. Transport links to the stadium are not the best, unfortunately.

If you’re heading there on a non-match day and you are in a car then you’ll be ok, with plenty of parking around the stadium itself for those that wish to head to the club shop or go on a tour of the famous old stadium. If, on the other hand, it is a match day then you will find the opposite is true.

There are a number of car parks close to the ground, both official and unofficial, that you will need to pay to use. The official ones you also need to book into ahead of your visit, which is important to remember. On-street parking isn’t easy, not least of all because parking restrictions are in place and you run the risk of getting a ticket if you ignore them.

Public transport is probably your best option, presuming that you don’t want to pay to get a taxi, with the soccer special going from Liverpool City Centre out to Anfield on a journey that takes about 15 minutes. The 917 runs form Commutation Row to the ground.

If you’d like to get a different bus then you can take the 26 from the Liverpool ONE station, the 17 from Queen Square Bus Station or the 917 from St Johns Lane, all of which will go to the ground. The 68/168 runs from Bootle to Aigburth, with the 14 and 19 running from Queen Square to a stop close by. If you end up getting the train to Sandhills, you can get the Soccerbus to the ground.

There is no train station at Anfield itself. As a result, the best thing that you can do is to get a Merseyrail train out to Sandhills and then get on the Soccerbus from there to the ground. The train out to Sandhills runs from Moorfields or Liverpool Central. If you’d like to walk then it is about 30 minutes from Sandhills and Kirkdale stations and even longer than that from the city centre.

There is a Cycle Hub in Stanley Park Car Park that you can use if you’d like to ride a bike up to the ground, which is a free service. Once you’re at the ground there are plenty of places to grab a bite to eat and a drink around the stadium itself.

Of course, most people will want to soak up the atmosphere of the pubs around the ground rather than head to the officially licensed retailers. If that’s the category that you find yourself in then The Sandon is probably the first place you’ll want to visit, given the fact that it is considered to be the ‘birthplace of LFC’. Hotel TIA is another venue that is worth heading to, often offering live music in the massive beer garden. The Albert is located right next to the Kop and therefore provides a good atmosphere, whilst The Park stands in the shadow of the famous old stand. If you’re an away fan then the Arkles is where you’ll want to go.

Goodison Park

It isn’t just Anfield that suffers from problems with public transport. It is just as difficult to get to Goodison Park on a match day, with each of the 19, 20, 21, 310 and 345 bus routes going from Queen Square Bus Station in the centre of the city out to the famous old ground. If you’re at St John’s Lane then the 919 is what you’ll be after, whilst the 26 goes from the Liverpool ONE Bus Station out to Everton Valley, from where there is a short walk to the stadium.

The 919, by the way, only operates on a match day. The 68/168 from Bootle to Aigburth Vale is a non-city centre option, as is the 62/162 from Crosby/Bootle to Penny Lane.

Kirkdale Train Station is the closest one to Goodison Park for those looking to get the train, but it’s still around a mile from the ground. You can head to Sandhills if you’d like, getting the Soccerbus out to the ground from the station being the easiest method of transport.

The Cycle Hub in Stanley Park Car Park is also in operation for Everton games, should you want to ride a bike to the stadium. Just as with Anfield, parking is limited around Goodison Park on match days, with limited official parking and on-street parking made difficult by the restrictions that are put in place to ensure that locals can park their own cars when there’s a match on.

As you can imagine, the pubs that are most favoured by Liverpool fans tend to be relatively empty on an Everton Match day, so you’ll want to head to the ones closer to Goodison if you’re looking to soak up the atmosphere. The Thomas Frost is just give minutes away, with the Wetherspoons pub seeing both Blues and away supporters popping in for a drink.

The Queens Arms is near aintree Racecourse, ten minutes or so drive from the ground if you’re coming in from that direction. The Arkles is a popular one for away fans, just as with those travelling to see their team play Liverpool, whilst the Winslow Hotel is where the majority of Blues will be heading.