R's on the Road.......... To Plymouth Argyle

Lee Brown brings you some info, hints and tips for those R's fans making the long journey down to Plymouth this weekend.



After a long trip down to Devon on Tuesday night to play Exeter in the triumphant 5-0 League Cup victory, Rangers again face an even longer journey down the M5 to Plymouth in the first domestic away game of the season.

The Stadium.

Home Park. Current Capacity – 19,500

Home Park has gone through two major redevelopments over the last 65 years. The first one was totally unplanned as Home Park was destroyed by German bombers during the blitz on Plymouth during World War 2. Having been totally rebuilt once the war was over a second redevelopment took place and was completed in 2002. On Boxing Day in 2001 the Devonport End and Barn Park End were both opened for the first time in the fixture against local rivals Torquay. A month later, on 26th January the Lyndhurst End opened up for the game against Oxford.
The main Grandstand remains as the original stand that was rebuilt after the war. In 2007 it was fitted with temporary seating, complying with the UK authorities ruling on terracing. This has reduced the capacity from 23,000(roughly) due to the 3,500 temporary seats being in place.
There are plans afoot to completely rebuild the Grandstand and completing the redevelopment, this will result in a multi-tiered stand with boxes, conference centre and all the usual corporate facilities. There are even talks of maybe building a hotel or providing housing, this is all rumour so we shall see how this goes. Work is planned for 2010 if this all gets the green light.

Rangers fans will take their places in the Barn Park End in the left corner which enables a lot of singing and banter between both set of fans. 1000 tickets have been allocated to us.




The History between the teams.

At Plymouth Argyle (23)

Plymouth 16
QPR 5
Draw 2

Home Park does not give many happy memories to Rangers Fans on their travels having not won in the last 6 attempts of trying (and I have been to 4 of them!). The last victory was 18th Jan 2003 in the play-off season, a Richard Pacquette goal being the difference maker.


How to get there.

By Car: -
For those of you who use sat nav. here is your lucky post code PL2 3DQ

For those who don’t, here is a rough guide for you......
Get onto the M5 and follow it down where it turns into the A38 and follow all the way down to Plymouth. Just as you enter the Plymouth border take the left turning onto the A386. This road will split in 2, ensure that you keep to the left hand side (it will be signposted ‘Plymouth’) and after a mile or so you will see the ground on the left hand side.
There is a large car park right next to the ground which is very cheap to park in. The only slight downside to it is that it is a first in, first out car park and this can lead you to being sat waiting half an hour or so after full time before you can get ready for that long journey home.
For those of you more daring, there is street parking available nearer the city centre but be careful where you park.

By Train:-
You have 1 of 2 choices to make as you come out of the station, either grab a cab and enjoy a 5 minute journey to the ground for the expense of a few gold nuggets or you can choose to walk to the ground. If you choose to walk then you have a 15-20 minute walk ahead of you. As you come out of the station turn right and walk downhill and under the railway bridge. Carry walking straight on and you will arrive at your destination, with the ground being on the right hand side.

Pubs 'n' Grub.

If you like to enjoy a swift beverage before the game then I would point you in the direction of the Britannia pub. It is a Wetherspoons pub so you can sip your favourite beverage at a very reasonable price. I have been to this pub on 3 occasions and have found this a very friendly place to be. This usually gets very busy and has security staff on the door controlling the show so you can relax and enjoy the pre match build up.
A place to avoid is the Embassy Club; this is located just opposite the Britannia.
This is an easy pub to find, come out of the car park and take a left, walking downhill; the pub is on the opposite side of the road on the corner of a street. It’s roughly a 5-10 minute walk.
If you don’t fancy the pub option then alcohol is served inside the ground, so I am informed.

Where food is concerned I am unaware of what is available in the city centre, I’m sure the usual variety of culinary delights are available there but it is a bit of a walk away.
Otherwise there is a large amount of burger vans to cater for all your needs outside the ground. They are all gathered outside the Devonport End, right next to the car park.