Oxford United: Away Day Guide for Bradford City fans

Gary Bowyer has come in as the new manager for the Bantams' fight against relegation from the Sky Bet League One and it's been a tale of mixed fortunes so far.

A solid 3-1 home win against Peterborough in his first game in charge was followed up on Tuesday evening with a 1-0 loss when hosting division leaders Luton Town.

The Hatters hadn't tasted defeat in 25 games before the City match and so only conceding one and giving glimmers of hope in the second half was a respectable showing.

Bowyer's men will hope they can get back to winning ways down at Oxford United this Saturday.

If you're making the trip, we've got you covered.

From travel times and routes, to the best boozers - this guide will give you everything you need.

GROUND

Venue: Kassam Stadium

Capacity: 12,500

Address: Kassam Stadium, Grenoble Road, Oxford, OX4 4XP

TICKETS

Prices: £24 for adults, £17 for seniors (65+), £16 for 18-21-year-olds, £14 for U18s, £13 for U13s and £6 for U7s.

Tickets can be bought on the City website or at Valley Parade.

Any tickets that haven't been collected before 4:00pm on Thursday, March 14 can be collected from the North Stand ticket office at the Kassam Stadium on matchday (near the west turnstiles in the stand).

Tickets will also be sold at the same office on the day, from 1:30pm, but this is cash-only.

Away supporters are situated to the left side (open end) of the North Stand (alongside the pitch).

This is usually shared with home fans, but if there is enough demand, a club can be allocated the whole of this stand which provides just over 5,000 seats in total.

TRAVEL

The main concern for the big day is how to get there, how long it will take to get there, and where on earth you're going to park.

Train:

For the second away-day in a row, it's a trip darn sarth for Bantams fans.

As is usually the case, there's several different options, but we're going to stick with what the Oxford United website says, as some of the others seem overly complicated.

The trip takes just under five hours going via train, so you'll want to set off early.

First port of call is to get to Leeds Railway Station to then head on the train down to King's Cross.

Once at Kings Cross, you'll want to go from the King's Cross St. Pancras Underground Station to Paddington Station.

You'll want to look for the Hammersmith & City line, getting of after five stops (roughly 10 minutes).

From Paddington Underground Station, it's a short walk to Paddington Station, where you'll want to get on the Great Western Railway service to Bristol Temple Meads, getting off at Reading.

Then you'll get a CrossCountry train (the Banbury line) from the same station to Oxford Station.

From here, it's a four mile walk to the ground, or The Oxford Bus Company City 5 route runs from the station to Knights Road which is a five-minute walk to the ground.

Also, if you walk to the New Westgate Shopping Centre there's two buses per hour straight to the stadium on a Saturday.

By car:

This journey is quote as taking between two hours and 50 minutes and three hours and 50 minutes depending on traffic.

From T&A towers - in the centre of Bradford - it's onto the M1 to begin, following it to the A43 in Northamptonshire.

When you get towards Northampton, you'll want to take the A43 exit at junction 15A.

Follow the signs for the A43 when you come to the next three roundabouts and continue on.

At each forthcoming round about, stay on the A43 before taking the first exit onto the M40 S slip road at Cherwell Roundabout and continue onto exit 10.

Then follow the M40 to the A34 - to do so you'll want to use the left two lanes at junction 9 to take the A34/41 exit to Bicester/Aylesbury /Oxford/Newbury.

Continue on the A34 until you get to the roundabout where you'll take the first exit onto the Southern By-pass Road (A423).

Then use the right two lanes to turn slightly right to stay on Heyford Hill Roundabout and continue straight onto the A4074

The last step is to take the exit towards B480 (Cowley/Wattington/Stanford/Littlemore) where you'll want to go past four roundabouts to get onto and stay on Grenoble Road.

After the fourth you'll see the ground on your left.

PARKING

Kassam Stadium has unreserved spaces for around 2,000 cars at each game.

Parking is free of charge and on a first come, first served basis and for big games the main car park does get full.

Generally though, there is still space in the overflow parking at the back of the Vue Cinema, just past the club shop.

At each game a fence is put up behind the North Stand which means that supporters cannot walk from one end of the ground to the other, therefore you should park at the correct end of the ground, in the blue zone car park (see interactive map below).

There is some road parking available, if needed.

PUBS

There's only really two options within walking distance, but we've added a couple of others too, just in case.

J's Sports Bar: This one is slightly strange in that it's inside the Ozone Leisure Complex, but it's your closest option to the ground at a one minute walk.

The Blackbird: A fairly decent 11 minute walk away, with a 3.7 star rating from 80 reviews.

The George Inn: This one is in nearby Littlemore and is a fair trek at a 17 minute walk, but it's a decent pub. Away fans are welcomed alongside home fans and there's a number of TV screens with sport on.

The Golden Ball: In a similar area to The George Inn and offers another alternative.

TEASER

As part of each guide we will put to you a trivia poser about the side City will face, or their ground.

Which player has fetched the highest transfer fee for Oxford at roughly 3 million?

Last time's answer: Pedro Mendes.