646 brilliant City fans made the trip to Leyton Orient last weekend and will hopefully be back on the road on Tuesday with a mammoth midweek maraud up to Barrow.
For the majority of Grecians this will be the first trip to newly named Dunes Hotel Stadium, so here is a handy away day guide for the Cumbrian Coast.
Match Information:
- Barrow AFC v Exeter City, Sky Bet League Two.
- The Dunes Hotel Stadium
- Tuesday 17th August 2021, 19:45 KO.
The Ground
- Name: Dunes Hotel Stadium (Holker Street)
- Capacity: 5,045
- Year opened: 1909
- Record Attendance: 16,874 (vs Swansea Town, FA Cup Third Round 1954)
- Address: Wilkie Road, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA14 5UW
Though the official address is Wilkie Road; Holker Street Stadium has been home to Barrow AFC since 1909. Previously the Bluebirds played at The Strawberry Ground (1901), Ainsley Street (1905), and Little Park in nearby Roose (1909).
The first Football League game played at Holker Street was against Stockport County in 1921, where 9,750 budding spectators were in attendance. The capacity record came in 1954 when over 16,000 fans watched Barrow’s 2-2 draw with Swansea Town (* Now City) in the FA Cup.
City fans will be travelling to Barrow for the first time since 1972 and will be housed in the newly roofed Holker Street End terrace, with seated allocation also available. Hopefully Tuesday will be slightly better viewing than the 0-0 stalemate nearly 50 years ago.
Advance Ticket Prices:
Seated
- Adults: £19
- Concessions: £15
- Under-18s: £6
- Under-7s: Free
Standing Terrace
- Adults: £16
- Concessions: £13
- Under-18s: £5
- Under-7s: Free
All prices, except under 7’s, raise by £1 on matchday.
Wheelchair access & tickets
These are available from Barrow only. Contact them on 01229 666010.
How to buy
Click here to access our new ticketing site and follow the instructions for Barrow.
Getting to Holker Street
By Car: (Estimated 5hr 40m)
Follow the M5(N) in its entirety before merging onto the M6.
Leave the M6 at junction 36 onto the A590 and follow signposts for Barrow.
You will enter Barrow via Park Road and when you pass the fire station on the right, take the next left into Wilkie Road. The ground is on the right hand side.
Post code for Sat-Nav is LA14 5UW.
Parking:
Parking at the ground is not available due to limited capacity. There is an APCOA Car Park outside the train station (LA14 5QZ), a pay and display at Whittaker Street (LA14 1QL) and Ambrose Car Park (LA14 1UZ).
By Rail: (Estimated 6hr 49m)
On Tuesday:
- 08:27 Cross Country (to Newcastle) from Exeter St David’s, change at Birmingham New Street.
- 11:15 Avanti West Coast (to Blackpool North), change at Preston (Lancashire)
- 13:45 Northern Rail to Barrow-in-Furness arriving at 15:03.
There is also a train from Exeter St David’s at 10:37 following the same changes which arrives in Barrow by 17:16.
Barrow-in-Furness Station is approximately ½ mile away from the ground. On leaving the station, exit onto Holker Street and turn right. The ground will be on your left-hand side after a small roundabout at the top of Holker Street.
Grecian Travel, ran by the Supporters' Club is available for City's trip to Barrow
The coach will depart from Unit 1 nightclub at 11.15am for a fare of £48 for adults and £43 for under-16s
Other pick-up points include: Honiton Road park and ride (by Miller and Carter Steakhouse), Junction 28 (Cullompton services). Junction 27 (Tiverton), Junction 25 (Taunton.) All other pick-ups by prior arrangement.
How to buy
Currently Grecian Travel can only be booked directly.
For more information or to book please contact John Bishop on 07904036334 or by email at: john.bishop760@btinternet.com (after 6pm).
Hotels
As of Sunday 15th August, all major chain hotels still have rooms available.
Local Points of Interest.
Barrow-in-Furness offers whole host of non-football places of interest for travelling City supporters to enjoy during their time on the Cumbrian coast.
The Devonshire Dockyard is the largest building in Cumbria and is home to a wealth of sub-maritime history.
The Dock Museum on North Road offers free admission and is located close to the Premier Inn.
The beautiful Furness Abbey is ran by English Heritage and is a welcoming day out for the family and Sandscale Haws Nature Reserve sits on the coastline.
Pubs and matchday refreshment:
The club welcomes away supporters into the “Crossbar” pre-game and alcoholic beverages are also available in the ground.
Around Barrow there are a number of popular pubs around. On Duke Street you will find the ‘Ambrose Hotel’ which offers a wide selection of real ales.
In the Town Centre (about a 15 min walk to the ground), both the ‘Duke of Edinburgh’ and the ‘Furness Railway’ both feature in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide with the latter being part of the Wetherspoons chain.
Hot food and drinks are available in all kiosks in the ground.
Safeguarding
Both Exeter City and Barrow AFC are committed that all fans, home and away can attend matches enjoying a welcoming and inclusive game of football. The home side do offer an anonymous online form if you experience any incident of foul, abusive or anti-social behaviour whilst at Holker Street which can be accessed here.
Stewards will also be available as well as the Barrow AFC phone number 01229 666010.
We wish the safest of travels to everyone adventuring up to Cumbria on Tuesday and we look forward to seeing you all at one of the furthest trips of the season.