Ahead of this weekend's away match for the Iron at Spotland, we provide a guide to the home of Rochdale for United fans...
BY CAR...
From Glanford Park, take the first left at the roundabout by Tesco’s and the first exit at the next one onto the M181 to Humber Bridge/Doncaster/M180. Keep right upon reaching a fork before following signs for the M180 towards Doncaster.
Take the exit onto the M18 towards M62/Goole/Hull/Leeds and after six-and-a-half miles keep left and merge onto the M62 towards Leeds.
Stay on the M62 for 55 miles and exit at junction 20 onto the A627 to Rochdale/Oldham, taking the third exit at the next roundabout onto the A627, heading towards Rochdale.
After 1.2 miles, take the exit onto the A664 in the direction of A58/Rochdale. Merge onto Edinburgh Way and continue onto Roch Valley Way, following the B6452 and the ground will be on your right.
BY TRAIN...
This trip will consist of two changes. To arrive in Rochdale two hours before kick-off, at 13:00, catch the train from Scunthorpe Station at 10:08 on platform two, which will be the Cleethorpes to Manchester Airport service.
Get off at Doncaster and catch the platform 4 service to Leeds at 10:51.
This service will terminate in the West Yorkshire city’s station, where you will catch the 11:51 platform 10B service to Manchester Victoria, which calls in Rochdale after around one hour and ten minutes. From here, the ground is two miles away, but you have plenty of time to get there.
You can take the 35-minute walk from Spotland. Taxis are available outside the station at a cost of around £6 or £7.
PUBS AND GRUB...
The Studds is a bar located under the Pearl Street Stand and they sell various pies and pasties but not a great array of real ales.
Another ground by the car park entrance is the Ratcliffe Suite, which has Sky TV, real ale, food and a good atmosphere with a mixture of fans from both sides.
There is also a nice historic public house down Sandy Lane, called the Cemetery Hotel which has great service, snacks and choices of drinks. You can get good food and drink within the ground as well.
WHAT TO EXPECT...
Three of the stands are fairly new, having been built in the last decade or two, and it has created a nice looking stadium.
The Willbutts Lane Stand along the side of the pitch is a 4,000 capacity stand opposite the Main Stand, which has the executive boxes.Up to 1,500 away fans are situated in the Willbutts Lane Stand, which is shared with the home fans.
This provides a generally good view with decent facilities and the away fans can make a good amount of noise, along with the rest of the ground on matchday.