One of the long ones!

This coming Saturday (26th August) sees one of our longest trips of the season

It's away to Leiston, in deepest, darkest Suffolk. We've been there several times before, and despite the distance it's worth the trip for the friendly local welcome, where they always seem pleased to see away fans making the long trip from our part of the world.

The ground, if your are driving, is on Victory Road, Leiston; with the all-important postcode for your SatNav being: IP16 4DQ

Admission wise, they are a pound cheaper than us for adults, but with more expensive concessions. Their turnstile prices being: Adults - £10 ; concessions - £7; students (with ID) - £5 and Under 16s - FREE.

On the public transport front, it's a bit of an awkward one to say the least, but at least it's a Saturday...as-midweek-you simply wouldn't be able to get back to London!

The nearest station is Saxmundham, which is around four and a half miles away.

But don't forget the EASIEST WAY 'DOOR-TO-DOOR' is on the 'Dooley Bus' from Champion Hill. CLICK HERE to find out more, with a seat costing only a tenner, & cheaper for concessions!

From there you can pick up a First Norfolk and Suffolk bus 644 from Saxmundham (High Street, 5 mins walk from station) to Leiston (Main Street, Library); hourly, takes 13 mins. Then retrace back along Main Street to crossroads, left into Park Hill, right into Victory Road, and entrance to ground is on left at end (7 mins). This info is taken from the excellent, though not updated, Andy of Kent website & appears to still be correct; with the bus to Leiston listed as [All from Saxmunham] Heron Road, departs xx:11; Street Farm Road [xx:16] & Waitrose [xx:18]. Returning from Leiston, check the name of the bus stop as you arrive, with the only bus stop listed on the timetable I found on-line being Leiston Car Park, which presumably won't be too far from the ground. Only two buses back after the match at 17:20 & 18:20.

Saxmundham itself appears to be a small market town, but I am pleased to say was the home of an artist called Hamlet! The person in question being a chap who died over a hundred years ago called Hamlet Watling !

Culture wise, you really are spoilt for choice. You could break your journey in Ipswich, where there is the Ipswich Museum & Art Gallery, free admission, so why not, as you'll have nothing to lose. A stop-off here will be a 'must' if you are a bit of a transport buff, as the day of the game coincides with the occasional opening hours of the Ipswich Transport Museum, 11-00am to 4pm- admission £5.50 for adults.

If you head direct to Leiston, then it's also the right time of year to visit another little gem that's dedicated to the industrial history of Suffolk, The Long Shop Museum, and is open from ten til five. You may not have noticed it on previous visits, as it closes for the winter at the end of October. For this delight of a museum you have to pay a £6.50 admission charge.

For those of you who love your architecture, but may not have time to catch a film, you could do a lot worse than having a peek at the Leiston Film Theatre, a half-timbered building with street front shops, which is the oldest purpose-built cinema in Suffolk.

Drink wise, I suppose it all depends where you decide to stop off, as there are so many choices, if coming by train. At the ground the bar is spacious, from memory service is quick enough & the food on sale was decent, although I can't recall what I hade.

Wetherspoons wise, apart from the 'Hamilton Hall' at Liverpool street before you leave, or stop off at 'The Cricketers' in Ipswich.

I don't know anything about the boozers up that way at all, to be honest but when you come off the train at Saxmundham there's the 'Cooper's Dip', but the hours only appear to be from 1.00pm, up until eleven; so that might be one for the return journey, being very close to the station. There's also the 'Queens Head' , about five minutes from the station, & 'The Bell', so you could have a mini-pub crawl, before crashing out on the train back to London!

In Leiston itself, apart from the Club Bar of course, there are four real ale pubs listed on the Suffolk CAMRA website; namely 'The Crown';
the 'Engineers' Arms' ; the 'Royal Standard' and, lastly, the 'White Horse'. If you excuse the pun, after the last named one, it's horses for courses, so just stick your head through the door of any of them and see what takes your fancy.

[As always: please double check all information. the Dulwich Hamlet website are not responsible for any changes to information we publish in good faith]